Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP)

“I had the chance to present my work in a Technology Forum in Year 1 and published my first paper and patent in Year 2. I also had opportunities to present my work in the US in Year 3 and launched an S$120 million industrial-Ph.D project in Year 4. After 5 years, I graduated with a Ph.D, filed ~20 patents, published ~10 papers and presented in ~10 conference / forums. I encourage like-minded students to join me in this rewarding journey, as it is certainly a best of both worlds!”

– Dr. Desmond Jia Jun Loy, GlobalFoundries, EDB-IPP Alumnus, graduating class 2021

Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP)

Economic Development Board Industrial Postgraduate Programme (EDB IPP)

The Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP) is an initiative by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to build a pool of postgraduate manpower in Singapore with critical R&D skillsets through training in a corporate R&D environment and local universities. At the end of the training, graduates will take on R&D roles in the industry.

Admitted EDB-IPP trainee must be full-time employees of the company while pursuing full-time research programmes at NTU.
Trainee is expected to spend at least 50% of the research project activity within the company’s facility.
Trainee will undertake an approved jointly-identified research project, and be supervised by an academic faculty from NTU and a company staff with appropriate research qualifications.

EDB-IPP Trainee Eligibility

be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident;
be eligible to enrol in any of the 3 types of full-time postgraduate programmes (Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD), Engineering Doctorate (EngD), and Master’s by Research (MbR)) and be matriculated by 31 Jan 2027;
shall not be receiving concurrent funding under any EDB grant schemes, or, regardless of the awarding body, any bursaries or scholarships;
be employees (permanent or contract) of the company receiving the grant; and be earning a basic monthly salary of at least S$4,500.

Sponsorship Terms by EDB and Company

Sponsorship terms by EDB & company includes full tuition fees for research programme, monthly salary and employer’s CPF contribution;
Fixed monthly allowance of S$4,000 per month, capped at S$192,000 per PhD/EngD trainee, or S$96,000 per MbR trainee;
Support duration for each trainee is capped at 5 years per PhD/EngD, or 3 years per MbR.

How to Apply

Applications must be made through this portal

EBD-IPP Trainees are required to upload a Company Letter stating their support by EDB-IPP as part of the application to the programme.

Interested companies will jointly scope research projects with identified NTU faculty, before submitting the research proposal to EDB for consideration.

Eligibility as an IPP Partner

Singapore-based entity.
Possess the capacity and ability to scope and conduct an industrial postgraduate project with the academic partner, such as
- Assign qualified and suitable PhD-level company R&D leaders to be supervisors.
- Have an established corporate R&D lab in Singapore with a sizeable team of PhD researchers and a good track record of research activities.
- Have financial ability and commitment to support trainee(s) towards attaining a postgraduate degree within stipulated candidatures.
- Have visibility of the R&D role in which trainee will be employed upon completion of the IPP project.

Contractual Agreement & Intellectual Property Arrangements

Companies will work with NTU LSO (Legal & Secretariat Office) to formulate a contractual agreement for each research project undertaken by the IPP trainee, company and NTU.
The agreement will include clauses related to salary, tuition fees, the extent of commitment by all involved parties, conference travel, insurance, publications, consumables, utilisation of equipment and any other indirect costs which may arise during the IPP.
The Intellectual Property (IP) is to be discussed between NTU and the company in consultation with NTU Legal and Secretarial Office.

Company’s contributions:

Supervision and hosting of IPP trainee at research facility.
Co-share research grant to academic faculties for cost incurred at facility.
Funds all other costs related to IPP Project and IPP trainee-incurred expenses (eg. insurance, equipment, travel, conferences, publications, etc).

How to Apply:

Companies who wish to enquire more about IPP can send their enquiries to EDB Email
Companies who are keen to connect with approved Universities with common areas of R&D interest to scope out the IPP project could complete this form (https://go.gov.sg/ipp-project-info-form) for EDB to facilitate with the matching of interested University

Companies who wish to enquire more about IPP can submit their enquiries here.