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SINGAPORE : Two more research centres have been set up under the National Research Foundation's Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.
The Technical University of Munich and Hebrew University of Jerusalem will work with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on their projects.
This brings to five the number of such centres here.
Technology is the buzzword at the Technical University of Munich.
Now, the plan is to create a prototype of the next generation of electric cars with Singapore's NTU by 2013.
The universities said these cars could revolutionise the way people move.
Professor Bertil Andersson, provost, Nanyang Technological University, said: "We are in a new era, we have driven our cars for 120 years with the same type of engines, using petrol. But, today we see a big change where we are now going to drive the cars with electricity.
"We will work very hard to develop the next generation of cars, electrical cars and a system for electrical cars, particularly for mega-cities like Singapore. I think that has a big potential of creating a good economy for Singapore, because this is going to be a very good change, how we transport our bodies and goods in the future."
The tie-up will see a team of 150 researches from the two universities working together.
Professor Markus Lienkamp, scientific director, TUM-CREATE, said: "We want to build one prototype - this is the focus point of all the research projects, and we want to see if all the components work together correctly, if the car in the end is driveable, if it looks good, if the customer really wants to have the car and if the car fits well in the infrastructure."
One key consideration for partnerships is the ability to translate research into an economic or societal impact.
The other centre is a partnership between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and NUS.
They universities are looking at novel therapies for common inflammatory diseases, like asthma, in Asia.
Professor Barry Halliwell, deputy president, Research & Technology, National University of Singapore, said: "The whole purpose of research is not only to advance knowledge but to make people's lives better.
"What we hope will come out of this research would be to develop drugs that can treat diseases and make the lives of people with these diseases better, to understand the diseases, so we can do something to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
"(We also hope to)...facilitate the economic growth of Singapore by having a pharmaceutical industry that generates very profitable medication for worldwide use and which helps people at the same time."
All the five research centres will be housed at the CREATE complex, which is expected to be ready by the end-2011. - CNA/ms
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