Mission

Illinois Advanced Research Center at Singapore’s mission is to advance interdisciplinary research and innovation by leveraging the combined strengths of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Singapore’s global research and innovation ecosystem. We aim to develop transformative solutions to complex global challenges in areas such as sustainability, health, and advanced technologies, while fostering talent, collaboration, and impact across borders.

Vision

To be a global leader in transformative research and innovation, harnessing the synergy of science and technology to address grand societal challenges, and shape a sustainable, resilient, and interconnected future.

History

Illinois Advanced Research Center at Singapore (Illinois ARCS) was launched under Illinois’s initial affiliated company, Illinois at Singapore Pte. Ltd., in 2009 to strengthen the digital sciences, research, and technology landscape in Singapore. It served as a landmark collaboration between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) to represent a decisive step towards building a better future against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. A monumental milestone in 2017 propelled the research center to greater heights when it became part of the National Research Foundation’s Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) with its funded program, Trustworthy and Secure Cyber-Plexus (TSCP). Continuing its success, the program extends its focus on digital communities in the Singapore urban environment. Trustworthy and Secure Cyber-Plexus for Digital Communities (TSCP-DC) addresses new challenges that arise with complex critical infrastructures.

Building on our expanding impact, the Centre for Precision Fermentation and Sustainability (PreFerS) program was launched in 2024 as a precision fermentation hub focused on future foods with the science of microbial cell engineering and the toolsets for precision fermentation. We achieved another major milestone in 2026 with the launch of the Advancing Knowledge-Guided AI to Develop Agricultural Digital Twins for Singapore’s Climate Resilience (KGAI4Ag). This new initiative brings cutting-edge, knowledge-guided AI and agricultural digital twins, driving Singapore’s food and climate resilience.

Today, the research center presents itself as the Illinois Advanced Research Center at Singapore, in reflection of the university’s commitment to expand its research portfolio in Singapore and beyond.

MILESTONES

about image
Before 2005

The vision of creating a research center in Singapore was motivated by the sponsored student programs in the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

2005

The opportunity came along when the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) visited University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and showed interest in building a research center, modeling after the College of Engineering’s (COE) Coordinated Science Laboratory (CSL). 

The CSL leadership and researchers visited Singapore and developed the concept for a major research initiative nurtured through multiple visits, technical workshops, etc.

2008

Illinois at Singapore Pte. Ltd. were incorporated in December 2008. A*STAR awarded funding to Illinois at Singapore for a 5-year research program (Human Sixth Sense Project).

2009

The research center launched as Advanced Digital Sciences Center (ADSC) in partnership with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR). 

2017

By 2017, under the partnership with A*STAR, we had launched 12 spin-off companies: I3 Precision, Ampotech, Inspirit, Dimension 5, Xjera Labs, Pixtelz, AutoScout, iFashion, LifeDisc, Opsis, Feb 30, and HemCam.

In 2017, the center received core funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF) for the Trustworthy and Secure Cyber-Plexus (TSCP) program and moved to Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE). This initiative aims to make information systems, primarily related to the power grids, trustworthy and secure against malicious attacks.

2023

The program, TSCP, was awarded additional funding to extend its research for the digital communities. The program was renamed to Trustworthy and Secure Cyber-Plexus for Digital Communities (TSCP-DC). The center underwent restructuring, with the name changed to Illinois Advanced Research Center at Singapore Ltd. in reflection of the research portfolio expansion and name recognition purposes.

2024

A second program, the Centre for Precision Fermentation and Sustainability (PreFerS) was established to focus on microbial cell engineering and precision fermentation to produce alternative proteins.

2026

The third program, Advancing Knowledge-guided AI To Develop Agricultural Digital Twins For Singapore’s Climate Resilience (KGAI4Ag), established in June, leverages technological advancements such as knowledge-guided AI digital twins and machine learning to enhance data efficiency and data insights to drive climate-resilience agriculture in the ASEAN region.