Silicon Valley culture and local business and technological insights came together in a heady mix at a two-day Global Entrepreneurship Conference, organised by NTU alumni and Stanford University students.

Can successful models of entrepreneurship adopted by Silicon Valley be applied in Singapore? 

Some serious thought was given to this at a two-day Global Entrepreneurship Conference, held on 2 and 3 September.

Titled "Forging Alliances: A Silicon Valley Singapore Synergy", the event was organised by alumni of NTU's Technopreneurship & Innovation Programme (TIP) and students from the Stanford Asia Technology Initiative (Stanford University's premier Asian technology programme), to bring Silicon Valley expertise and culture to Singapore.

The NTU-Stanford organisers achieved this through a series of lectures, panel discussions and networking sessions at a power-packed event featuring high-profile entrepreneurs and technopreneurs from Silicon Valley and Singapore, as well as budding entrepreneurs and eminent leaders from industry, academia and government.

Besides offering a forum for the sharing of business ideas and technological possibilities, the conference served as a launching platform for companies seeking to tap directly into the financial and trade centres of Asia.

The guest-of-honour, Dr Tan Sze Wee, Nominated Member of Parliament, and Managing Director and CEO of Rockeby Group, related his experiences in the biotechnology field.

Other stimulating dialogues covered topics from industrial alliances in technology and investment opportunities to the entrepreneurial process.

Mr Bobby Chao, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of DragonVenture, and one of the founders of Cadence Design Systems, a US$4 billion Nasdaq-listed company, offered a Silicon Valley venture capitalist's perspective on investment opportunities in the region. The serial entrepreneur also shared his experiences of creating a start-up from scratch.

At a panel discussion, Assoc Prof Tan Teng Kee, Director of NTU's Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre, which hosted the conference, and technopreneur Roderick Chia, a graduate of NTU's fast-track graduate diploma TIP, discussed ways to forge entrepreneurship across the generational divide.

Mr Kannan Pashupathy, Director of International Programmes, Google, USA, gave a presentation on his company's interests in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore's growing entrepreneurial culture, and talent development in the region.

© Corporate Communications Office