OREANDA-NEWS. Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and Fujitsu Limited (Fujitsu) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study the establishment of the first Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Computational Social Science and Engineering in Singapore.

The purpose of the CoE is to identify technological solutions and opportunities for sustainable urban development in key areas such as transportation management and energy efficiency with high performance computing (HPC)-enabled technologies based on real-world data.

The MoU was signed today at Fujitsu headquarters in Tokyo between Dr Raj. Thampuran, Managing Director, A*STAR, and Mr Kenji Ikegai, Corporate Senior Executive Vice President and Representative Director, Fujitsu Limited, in the presence of Mr S. Iswaran, Singapore's Minister in Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs, and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.

Facing similar challenges and demands on infrastructure and energy usage, both Japan and Singapore need to develop long-term urban sustainability solutions to ensure high standards of living, ample work opportunities for the populace as well as quality economic growth.

The CoE will utilise data from various agencies in Singapore to derive an understanding of complex dynamics within the city and exploit the power of modelling and simulation to guide both critical decisions and implementation of solutions. This, in turn, will create greater efficiencies in resource usage and allocation as well as generate vital growth opportunities in new areas.