CAAS and SUTD collaborate to establish aviation studies institute
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to establish an Aviation Studies Institute (ASI) to advance air traffic management (ATM) research and development (R&D) in Singapore. The agreement was signed by Mr Kevin Shum, Director-General, CAAS and Professor Chong Tow Chong, President, SUTD, on the sidelines of the World Civil Aviation Chief Executives Forum, held at the Singapore Aviation Academy on 9 April 2019.
The ASI, to be located within SUTD’s campus, will be the fourth1 facility dedicated to ATM R&D established in Singapore and the first to focus on operational, economic and policy research. This complements and enhances SUTD’s aviation focus in research and education, and offers students a macro view of the aviation system, and a deeper understanding of its value creation to stakeholders.
The ASI will undertake research projects which aim to benefit the wider aviation community by enabling stakeholders to adopt solutions that can enhance operational efficiency, increase capacity and global interoperability. The ATM tools and policy recommendations developed by the ASI will have significant impact in Singapore and the ASEAN region, and facilitate dialogue on region-wide collaborative approaches. For a start, the ASI will conduct research in the following four areas:
- Network Capacity
- Airfield Management and Economics
- Airport Connectivity
- Information Sharing and Collaborative Decision Making
Over the next five years, CAAS will provide S$11.6 million to fund the aviation and ATM policy research undertaken by the ASI, as well as aviation experts for research projects, while SUTD will provide in-kind contributions of S$5 million, including research manpower and facilities.
The collaboration will benefit from the synergy between CAAS’ domain knowledge in aviation, and SUTD’s expertise in systems engineering, operations research, data analytics, network analysis and game theory. As a leading air navigation services provider
in the Asia-Pacific, CAAS has expertise and experience in ATM operations and has contributed actively to ATM modernisation and harmonisation efforts in the region. SUTD will draw on research expertise from manufacturing and supply chain systems,
telecommunications systems, financial systems, sharing economies, and hybrid transportation systems to bring fresh perspectives to the challenges facing air traffic system design and management.