It is no simple feat to have a research paper accepted at a top tier computer science conference – let alone to achieve this as an undergraduate student. For recent Computer Science graduate Tang Yew Siang, what started out as an opportunity to learn about research turned into an accepted paper at the International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV), one of the top computer science conferences.

These days, it seems that whenever you’re thirsty and in need of a quick caffeine pick-me-up, there’s always a Starbucks close by — whether you’re running errands locally in the Singapore heartlands of Bedok, or climbing the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. Starbucks’ ubiquity isn’t just a figment of your imagination, it’s a fact backed by the firm’s latest sales figures.

They say that in the future, vehicles will be able to talk. Not in the way that those in the Pixar movie “Cars” do, but more in the sense of being able to relay and receive information from surrounding vehicles, buildings, traffic lights, and other infrastructure.

From driverless cars to life-saving medical devices and everything in between, the technologies of the future not only promise to change the world, but also to create high-paying jobs and drive economic growth in the countries where they are developed and commercialised. With so much at stake, it’s no wonder that many countries are racing to build the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems that make this possible.