Singaporeans interested in advancing their Intellectual Property (IP) careers can now look forward to new SkillsFuture Study Awards for the IP sector. Administered by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), the Study Awards will benefit working professionals who are seeking to acquire or update their IP skills and knowledge to value-add in today’s innovation-driven economy.

A key thrust in the updated IP Hub Master Plan is to expand and grow the size of industry-ready IP professionals to 1,000 in the next five years. The Awards will equip the Singapore’s workforce with the essential skillsets to meet the increased demand for IP human capital by enterprises that are leveraging on innovation to stay ahead of the game. A highly skilled IP professional who understands technology trends, business data and legal knowledge can bring immense value to any enterprise whose business model is centred around technology, brands, designs or content. Up to 60 SkillsFuture Study Awards will be available for the IP sector.

Mr Daren Tang, Chief Executive of IPOS, said, “The Committee of Future Economy (CFE) report has outlined the importance of innovation in growing our future economy. To achieve this, we need experts in translating ideas and IP into products and services, which in turn will drive enterprise growth and create jobs. IPOS will help to build a community of experts who are not only technically strong in IP knowledge, but also skilled in using it to help companies drive business growth. At the same time, IP jobs are specialised and resilient, and will give mid-career Singaporeans a chance to reskill and further their training for a rewarding career in a sunrise industry, as Asian economies focus on innovation as a driver of growth.”

Successful applicants will each receive S$5,000 to defray out-of-pocket expenses associated with their training courses. The Award is bond-free and can be used on top of existing Government course fee subsidies such as the SkillsFuture Credit and SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy. The IP-related courses that are eligible for support under this Award include the Master of IP and Innovation Management and Graduate Diploma in IP and Innovation Management (Patent Agency) administered by the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), as well as the Master of Science (Intellectual Property Management) and Graduate Certification in Intellectual Property Law jointly administered by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and IP Academy Singapore (IP Academy).

To train more IP experts for the innovation ecosystem, IP Academy (the training arm of IPOS) will also introduce courses and programmes under the auspices of the Study Awards. Mr Kok Kitt-Wai, Executive Director of IP Academy, said, “The enterprises of the future will see that most of their value being increasingly built around their intangible assets and IP. To build and deploy the right expertise to assist these enterprises, we will offer a series of courses to train and reskill IP professionals in different specialisations, as well as offer introductory programmes for working professionals who are considering making a career switch to innovation and IP.”

Ms Ong Ai Lian, Senior Copyright Manager at INSEAD, and a candidate reading the Master of IP and Innovation Management programme at SUSS, was excited when she heard about the Awards. “The Study Awards are opportune and timely for mid-career Singaporeans who are keen to hone and deepen their skills in the IP sector through continuous education and training. The funding from the SkillsFuture movement will enhance my learning journey as I upskill my competencies in helping enterprises scale up and take their ideas to the global market,” she said.

Details on the SkillsFuture Study Awards for IP sector are available at http://www.skillsfuture.sg/studyawards/intellectual-property.