R/GA partners EDB to launch Smart Design and Tech centre

R/GA Singapore has launched the Smart Design and Technology Centre of Excellence which is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). According to a press statement, the goal of the Centre is to impart R/GA’s approach and expertise by mentoring and coaching the next generation of Singaporean talent.A three-year plan focuses on hiring and training expert practitioners in areas such as experience design, creative technology, data science and innovation consulting, to expand the existing team. R/GA Singapore’s senior technology director, Laurent Thevenet, group creative director, Tim Cripps, and creative director experience design, Mark Law will head the Centre and grow associated capabilities already within the agency.According to R/GA, the flow of this type of talent has been identified as a “key challenge”, and it is also working closely with key educators to shape training that will “better meet the changing needs of the industry”.R/GA Singapore managing director, Dorothy Peng, said that the Centre will focus on ingraining “emerging real world challenges” in learning to better prepare students for job readiness. She added that the Centre would put design and technology at the heart of business solutions through product and service innovation, helping establish Singapore as a “leading global hub for Smart solutions”.“R/GA helps businesses navigate the exponential change brought on by the disruption of technology. The way we apply design and design thinking to do this ensures any technical innovation or solution we create is human-centric, designed to deliver transformative value to both consumers and business as a whole,” said Peng.“It’s our hope that this not only strengthens R/GA’s position as a design leader in Singapore, but also Singapore’s position as a global design leader,” she added.