Director, Smart Nation and Digital Economy, National Research Foundation (NRF)
Dr Marvin Lee was appointed Director (Smart Nation and Digital Economy) at the NRF in June 2022. He leads a team that oversees the national research strategies and priority matrix for Singapore’s investments in AI, cybersecurity, quantum sciences, future communications, trust technologies as well as online trust and safety. He joined EDB as the Vice President of the Semiconductors Accounts Group in 2020, where he had created project opportunities and strengthened client relationships to secure “win-win” outcomes for Singapore and our strategic partners, notably a S$5 billion wafer fab investment that would create close to 1,000 high-value jobs in Singapore by 2024. He also successfully brokered the Singapore R&D expansion plans of several top global semiconductor companies during the industry super cycle.
Prior to his stint at EDB, Dr Lee was the Director of Strategic Planning at the Science and Engineering Research Council in A*STAR. He was involved in the formulation of research policies to foster greater multi-disciplinary research activities and public-private partnerships amongst companies and local research institutions across various industries in Singapore’s manufacturing sector.
He also worked closely with MTI and NRF to co-develop the national strategy and investment plan for the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Domain as part of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 endeavor. In the process, an extensive network of partners was cultivated to facilitate a seamless flow of technologies from conception to commercialization.
Before venturing into the physical and engineering sciences, Dr Lee led a team that drove the strategic policy and corporate plans in the health and biomedical sciences space in Singapore. He had also supported various government-to-government science and technology partnerships across MedTech, biopharma and the food sciences.
Dr Lee spent some time as a scientific researcher and was formerly a Research Fellow at the Bioprocessing Technology Institute. He received his DPhil in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford in 2011, where he specialized in the development of anti-viral compounds against the Hepatitis C virus. Dr Lee graduated with First Class Honours in Biology from Imperial College London in 2006 on the National Science Scholarship from Singapore.
Presentation Title: Opening Keynote: Harnessing opportunities at the convergence of Semiconductors and Emerging Digital Tech
Semiconductors form the backbone of modern technology, and their importance cannot be overstated in the advancement of emerging digital technologies. In my speech, I will share our R&D investments, specifically in the areas of AI and Cybersecurity, and how the Semicon industry critically enables as well as benefits from such technologies. I will also touch on the importance of talent development which undergirds the success of our partnerships in the digital domain.