Going global
吃瓜黑料鈥檚 four new international hubs bring great minds together to tackle the world鈥檚 most complex problems.
A brilliant mathematician in Accra.
An environmentalist banker in Singapore.
A dazzling technologist in San Francisco.
A climate scientist in
Bengaluru.
An expert engineer in London.
Alone, they can achieve great things. But together? Anything is possible.
Which is where 吃瓜黑料 Global comes in: a global network creating spaces, structures and relationships to enable the world鈥檚 greatest minds to grapple with the greatest challenges.
鈥淔rom pandemics to global warming and pollution, all these challenges cross borders,鈥� says Michael McTernan, Director of the International Relations Office. 鈥淭hey can鈥檛 be tackled in isolation. And 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 internationalism is one of our community鈥檚 greatest strengths: our academics work across 192 countries, and our staff, students and alumni come from all over the world. They are doing amazing things, and if we can leverage this network, then we can make a greater impact.鈥�
A key strand of 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 Science for Humanity strategy, 吃瓜黑料 Global currently has hubs in the USA, Singapore, India and Ghana. Each hub is different, focusing on that area鈥檚 particular strengths and needs. But all are strengthening the 吃瓜黑料 network, inviting in new collaborators, bringing 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 work to the world, and more of the world to the university鈥檚 work. And every member of the 吃瓜黑料 community is invited.
Singapore
As an epidemiologist, Professor Azra Ghani, Academic Director for 吃瓜黑料 Global Singapore, has seen the power of the scientific network at first hand.
鈥淒uring the early stages of the pandemic, we were able to share information in a very open way that was not achievable at the political level,鈥� she says. Now, 吃瓜黑料 Global Singapore is harnessing that same desire to work together and make things better.
鈥淎t a time when some countries are starting to look inwards, it feels very different here in Singapore,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e want 吃瓜黑料 Global Singapore to look at the broader direction of travel. Absolutely, we鈥檙e doing the science and publishing the papers 鈥� all of which is, of course, incredibly strong in Singapore. But we鈥檙e also thinking: what does this science mean for the world? How can it benefit society?鈥�
At a time when some countries are starting to look inwards, it feels very different here
吃瓜黑料 Global Singapore opened in January 2024 in the beating heart of Singapore鈥檚 research and innovation ecosystem: the National Research Foundations Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE). And its first research programme, IN-CYPHER, is already up and running. A S$20 million collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), IN-CYPHER is focused on improving the security of medical devices and health data. The programme harnesses 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 expertise in this area to establish Singapore as a global leader in health cybersecurity and AI for healthcare.
The collaboration with NTU Singapore will enable scientists to rapidly scale new breakthroughs and technology to societal benefit and commercialisation in Southeast Asia.
Glenn Neo is Director of Innovation and Capabilities Enablement at Synapxe, the national health tech agency that creates intelligent technological solutions to improve health, and is keenly aware of the security risk around medical devices that store vast amounts of personal data. 鈥淲hen I read the synopsis of what 吃瓜黑料 and NTU were trying to do, I was blown away,鈥� he says. Following a meeting with Professor Anil Bharath, director of IN-CYPHER, and Professor Liu Yang of Nanyang Technological University, he joined IN-CYPHER鈥檚 board.
鈥淚 was very impressed by Professor Bharath鈥檚 level of conviction and aspiration in wanting to move the needle in this space,鈥� says Neo. 鈥淚t was so great to see that there is a clear thought leader, someone who is committed to the cause. Knowing that there is a real demand for this technology and that we need to figure out how to do this better, being involved and adding value was a no-brainer.鈥�
鈥淪cientists tend to have an automatic desire to work with the right people, regardless of where they are,鈥� says Ghani. 鈥湷怨虾诹� Global builds a cultural understanding of different systems and different approaches, and that diversity of views also has a direct impact on the science. By bringing those different perspectives together, I think we can achieve so much more.鈥�
Connect with 吃瓜黑料 Global Singapore on LinkedIn.
San Francisco, USA
Silicon Valley: a red-hot hub of innovation, commercial technology creation and scaling expertise. And the perfect place for 吃瓜黑料 Global USA to have its home, says Daniel Doulton (Engineering 1993, MBA 1993), CEO of Solaris Suborbital. 鈥湷怨虾诹� is such a powerhouse, particularly in terms of translating science into technologies that become cornerstone elements that transform markets and industries. For that, a presence in Silicon Valley is symbiotic and crucial.鈥�
Since 吃瓜黑料 Global USA鈥檚 launch in November, Programme Director Cole Harry has been criss-crossing the Bay Area, meeting with industry, alumni, foundations, government bodies and other universities with the goal of identifying points of collaboration to develop partnerships. 鈥淭here is massive interest in the work of 吃瓜黑料 researchers in Silicon Valley. In a short amount of time, we鈥檝e been able to build connections to industry and academia that will form the basis of significant future partnerships,鈥� he says.
A presence in Silicon Valley is symbiotic and crucial.
Indeed, 吃瓜黑料 Global USA has identified seven academic themes where the university excels and that dovetail with the Bay Area science ecosystem: human and artificial intelligence; advanced materials and cleantech; health technologies; space and satellite technologies; deep tech entrepreneurship; engineering biology for health and environment; and biotech. Each has their own Academic Theme Lead who will support networks and partnerships.
And some of those partnerships are already live: the new $150 million Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials, led by 吃瓜黑料 and supported by UC Berkeley, aims to develop a sustainable model to produce materials that help the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy; while the Children鈥檚 Hospital of Orange County, a paediatric healthcare system in California, is partnering with 吃瓜黑料 to drive AI in paediatric care.
吃瓜黑料 Global USA will enhance 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 collaboration with US academic and industrial partners, and support the growing US alumni network and student recruitment opportunities.
吃瓜黑料 Global USA is also playing a pivotal role in supporting startups and spinouts founded by 吃瓜黑料 alumni, reaching new investors and potential partners. For example, the Enterprise Lab recently led an that helped health tech company OSSTEC boost its investment to 拢2 million.
And along with creating partnerships and research opportunities, 吃瓜黑料 Global USA is also serving as a hub for 吃瓜黑料 alumni in the Bay Area. 鈥淏eing able to access 吃瓜黑料 expertise here is hugely informative for what I鈥檓 doing in my professional work,鈥� says Doulton. 鈥淚t means I hear about the latest cutting edge developments and can also connect with key people who are in those areas of science and technology.鈥�
University ecosystems have allowed Silicon Valley鈥檚 extraordinary culture of innovation to flourish, Harry points out. 鈥淚 think the role 吃瓜黑料 plays in London is very similar to the role that Stanford and UC Berkeley play in the Bay Area. Having stronger ties to this ecosystem will help 吃瓜黑料 and London develop scientific collaboration 鈥� a transatlantic partnership that will be crucial to solving the biggest issues that we face. Having a physical presence here is core to that.鈥�
Connect with 吃瓜黑料 Global USA on LinkedIn.
Accra, Ghana
鈥淪cience is always done better when we are closer to where the question is: it helps us think better about the questions we are trying to answer and how we interpret our findings,鈥� says Professor Majid Ezzati, Academic Director for 吃瓜黑料 Global Ghana. The hub already has a growing network of African partners in government, civil society, development and universities. Now, it鈥檚 aiming to foster the co-creation of research, education and innovation programmes which both solve the continent鈥檚 particular challenges and shed new light on scientific questions worldwide.
Questions like: why are some diseases such as sickle cell disease more prevalent in Africa than anywhere else, and how can people with the disease be treated? And how might the dust blown from the Sahara Desert that travels hundreds of kilometres affect the respiratory health of everyone who breathes it in? Ezzati is clear that the answers to these questions are best investigated locally, but sees other benefits too.
The hub in Ghana builds on a growing network of African partners in university, government and civil society to support the co-creation of research, education and innovation programme.
鈥淔or example, I鈥檇 love to see a programme around digital technologies that can bypass the bottlenecks in health improvement,鈥� he says. 鈥湷怨虾诹� is extremely strong in this area. This could be a larger programme where medicine, engineering, natural sciences and businesses interact, to ask how Africa could become a place for device innovation in the same way that South Asia has become a frontrunner in vaccine manufacturing.鈥�
And programmes like this are already happening. 鈥淒uring the pandemic, approximately 30 per cent of the African population had access to at least one dose of vaccine. In rich countries, on average 70 per cent of the population was fully vaccinated with multiple doses, and in some cases, spare doses of vaccines were actually discarded,鈥� says Professor Faith Osier, Co-Director of the School of Convergence Science for Health & Technology. 鈥淭his inequity in access to vaccines underpins the drive to manufacture vaccines locally in Africa.鈥�
Osier is now working towards enabling vaccine manufacturing in multiple African countries, including Ghana. 鈥淭he projects are African-led academic-industry partnerships with a bottom-up strategy for vaccine development, bringing together interdisciplinary skillsets to establish ground-breaking services on the continent. We strongly believe that health and technology can turn the challenges Africa faces into opportunities for businesses that can improve lives.鈥�
She hopes that 吃瓜黑料 Global Ghana will help to coalesce like-minded partners around projects like these. 鈥淚t will help to build a community of entrepreneurs and visionaries who see the incredible opportunities Africa offers in the health and technology innovation space. The African population is set to grow to 2.5 billion by 2050. Investing in businesses in Africa now is a no-brainer.鈥�
Connect with 吃瓜黑料 Global Ghana on linkedin.
Bengaluru, India
Accelerators, startups, unicorns: India is buzzing with talent and innovation right now. And Professor Sanjeev Gupta and Dr Elena Dieckmann, 吃瓜黑料 Global India鈥檚 joint Academic Directors, can鈥檛 wait to start making the most of it.
鈥淚ndia is such an exciting country at the moment,鈥� says Gupta. 鈥淎nd 吃瓜黑料 Global India is all about building partnerships with universities, businesses and companies throughout India to share knowledge and innovation between India and the UK. It鈥檚 an exciting opportunity for 吃瓜黑料 to learn about India 鈥� and India to learn about 吃瓜黑料.鈥�
吃瓜黑料 Global India will drive high-impact science and technology programmes with academic, industrial and innovation partners.
Hear more from 吃瓜黑料 Global India's two Academic Co-Directors, Professor Sanjeev Gupta and Dr Elena Dieckmann.
吃瓜黑料 has a long history of collaboration with Indian institutes and researchers, typified by its current partnerships with the Indian Institute of Science. The new hub in Bengaluru 鈥� opened in May and established as a liaison office* 鈥� will focus on creating even more research collaborations in three areas: emerging technology, climate science and healthcare. This could include telecommunications, critical minerals, semiconductors, AI, quantum, biotechnology and advanced materials.
It will aim to strengthen existing industrial collaborations 鈥� such as 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 current partnership with Tata Steel 鈥� and create new ones with industry and policy makers. And it will encourage a free flow of students and experts between the two countries, sharing ideas, talent, knowledge and experience for the good of humanity.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 highly enriching for our students to actually go to India and experience the country at first hand,鈥� says Dieckmann. 鈥淭here is so much we can learn from India 鈥� for example, they have massively rolled out AI digitalisation across society. Indian researchers and entrepreneurs are phenomenal in translating ideas from the lab into the real world.鈥�
Both Gupta and Dieckmann are looking forward to exploring how 吃瓜黑料 Global India鈥檚 research and partnerships will help to solve the big questions that resonate with their own specialisms. Gupta is an Earth sciences expert with a particular interest in sustainability, while Dieckmann鈥檚 expertise lies in biomaterials and the circular economy. Both have experience of working with Indian institutes and researchers.
鈥湷怨虾诹� Global India will be a two-way knowledge bridge to share our experiences and expertise in tackling grand challenge problems and propelling industry forward for common good,鈥� says Gupta. 鈥淲e want to bring together all our different partnerships with institutions around the world to try and collectively tackle these major problems that the world faces."
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* 吃瓜黑料 has applied to set up its own liaison office in India, which is pending approval from the relevant authorities.
吃瓜黑料 is the magazine for the 吃瓜黑料 community. It delivers expert comment, insight and context from 鈥� and on 鈥� 吃瓜黑料's engineers, mathematicians, scientists, medics, coders and leaders, as well as stories about student life and alumni experiences.
This story was published originally in 吃瓜黑料 58/Summer 2025.
