Partnership accelerates healthcare innovation by connecting real-world hospital needs with technology expertise

SINGAPORE, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the National University Hospital (NUH), through its Kent Ridge Office of Innovation (KROI), have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI), marking IMDA's first Open Innovation Platform (OIP) partnership with a public healthcare institution. The partnership aims to accelerate healthcare innovation by connecting real-world challenges faced by healthcare professionals with technology innovators who can develop and test practical solutions.

Established in April 2024, KROI works closely with clinical and operational teams across NUH to identify areas where innovation can enhance care delivery, patient experience and operational efficiency. This partnership brings together NUH's clinical and operational expertise with IMDA's OIP network of approximately 21,000 innovators and solution providers, including startups, technology firms, and research institutions. It also supports Singapore's National AI Strategy (NAIS) to drive AI innovation and adoption in key sectors such as healthcare.

Turning healthcare challenges into practical solutions

By focusing on needs identified by healthcare professionals rather than technology alone, NUH can tap on the expertise across the OIP network to identify, evaluate and pilot promising solutions that address its priority healthcare challenges and make a meaningful difference to patients and healthcare staff in a real-world hospital setting. The MOI has already seen the launch of its first healthcare-themed innovation challenge seeking AI-enabled solutions to help identify fall hazards in patients' homes earlier and at scale, with Calls for Applications (CFAs) closing in November 2026.

Since its launch in 2018, IMDA's OIP has facilitated more than 450 innovation challenges and supported over S$25 million in prize funding, helping organisations tap external technology expertise to address business and operational needs.

Dr Ling Zheng Jye, Head of the Kent Ridge Office of Innovation, said: "Healthcare innovation is most impactful when it addresses real needs on the ground. Through the Open Innovation Platform, we can engage a broad community of innovators to tackle challenges identified by our clinicians and operational teams, creating new opportunities to develop and test solutions that can benefit both patients and healthcare professionals."

Mr. Alvin Kang, Director of Innovation at IMDA, said: "In support of Singapore's National AI Strategy, we are bringing IMDA's open innovation capabilities into healthcare, and creating opportunities for technology companies to apply their expertise to real clinical and operational challenges. By working with NUH through our Open Innovation Platform, we want to help turn promising innovations into practical solutions that can improve healthcare delivery."

A foundation for future collaboration

The IMDA-NUH partnership builds on KROI's broader efforts to strengthen ties across Singapore's innovation ecosystem. These include collaborations with organisations such as the National University of Singapore and academic publisher Elsevier, as well as the launch of the NUH Innovation Hub earlier this year, which supports the development, evaluation and implementation of staff-led innovations, including MedBot, NUH's AI-powered virtual pharmacy assistant.

Building on this momentum, NUH plans to launch innovation challenges on IMDA's OIP in March, July and October each year. These regular challenge calls will provide opportunities for technology innovators to develop and pilot solutions in response to priority areas identified by the hospital, thereby creating additional avenues for collaboration between healthcare providers and industry.

About Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads Singapore's digital transformation by developing a vibrant digital economy and an inclusive digital society. As Architects of Singapore's Digital Future, we foster growth in Infocomm Technology and Media sectors in concert with progressive regulations, harnessing frontier technologies, and developing local talent and digital infrastructure ecosystems to establish Singapore as a digital metropolis.

For more news and information, visit www.imda.gov.sg or follow IMDA on LinkedIn (IMDAsg), Facebook (IMDAsg) and Instagram (@imdasg).

About the National University Hospital (NUH)

The National University Hospital (NUH) is Singapore's university hospital. While the hospital at Kent Ridge first received its patients on 24 June 1985, our legacy started from 1905, the date of the founding of what is today the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. NUH is the principal teaching hospital of the medical school.

Our unique identity as a university hospital is a key attraction for healthcare professionals who aspire to do more than practise tertiary medical care. We offer an environment where research and teaching are an integral part of medicine, and continue to shape medicine and transform care for the community we care for.

We are an academic medical centre with over 1,200 beds, serving more than one million patients a year with over 50 medical, surgical and dental specialties. NUH is the only public and not-for-profit hospital in Singapore to provide trusted care for adults, women and children under one roof, including the only paediatric kidney and liver transplant programme in the country.

The NUH is a key member of the National University Health System (NUHS), one of three public healthcare clusters in Singapore. For more information, visit www.nuh.com.sg 

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