The University of Cambridge discuss how to leverage international collaborations for various streams of research in arts, humanities, biological sciences, medicine, physical sciences, engineering and technology.

Prof Dame Lynn Gladden, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the time, initiated discussions with Prof Lam Khin Yong (NTU), Prof Barry Halliwell (NUS), and the National Research Foundation (NRF) on how Cambridge could make the most of partnerships with local Singaporean universities.

CARES is formed as Cambridge’s first overseas research centre. A first for Cambridge, an educational institution over 800 years old!

The Centre for Carbon Reduction in Chemical Technologies (C4T) programme starts in response to NRF’s call for research programmes under the new CREATE initiative.

CREATE, short for the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, is the brainchild of Singapore’s National Research Foundation to establish an international research campus and innovation hub made from co-located research centres from top international universities.

An old CREATE brochure showcasing C4T with (from left to right) Prof Dame Lynn Gladden, Prof John Dennis, Prof Markus Kraft, Prof Adrian Fisher, and Prof Gehan Amaratunga.

Prof Markus Kraft, a celebrated combustion scientist, is appointed as the Founding Director of CARES.

This lends to the initial CARES research having a strong focus on decarbonisation, with Prof Kraft’s research investigating new flame-based synthesis routes influencing a large part of the combustion lab’s design. This early footprint allowed the Hydrogen and Ammonia Combustion (HYCOMBS) programme to leverage the infrastructure and resources of C4T to get a head start in 2024.

CARES employees move into the CREATE offices. Our very first PhD student joins us in Singapore, kick-starting a successful pipeline of students who will spend 2 years in Cambridge and 2 years in Singapore.

C4T will eventually support 47 PhD students in total. 1 PhD student from this scheme, Dr Nicholas Jose (pictured in the middle), will go on to commercialise his technology for nanomaterial scale-up via his company, Accelerated Materials.

The first experiments start in the newly opened CARES lab.

Pictured is Dr Sheng Yuan, a researcher studying flame synthesis of nanoparticles for catalytic applications, and one of the first lab users.

CARES join CREATE’s 10th Anniversary. As of 2026, the CREATE partners include Berkeley, CNRS, ETH-Zurich, MIT, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, TUM, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Imperial College London.

The late Prof Chris Abell (pictured in brown), Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Cambridge, attends CREATE’s 10th Anniversary.

CARES starts our first Intra-CREATE project with the Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) on carbon capture and utilisation called eCO₂EP: A chemical energy storage technology, leveraging the strength of CREATE partners for collaboration.

Prof Alexei Lapkin (left) and Prof Joel Ager (right) representing CARES and BEARS, respectively.

CARES adapts to home working and staggered lab schedules during the pandemic. Nevertheless, we launch our first programme in Human Health and Potential, the Centre for Lifelong Learning and Individualised Cognition (CLIC), which studies the concept of lifelong learning among the Singaporean population.

Her Excellency Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore, provided the opening remarks for CLIC’s online public launch and lecture.

CARES celebrates our 10th Anniversary with an impactful year: 12 seminars (1 involving a drone demonstration), 1 collaborative activity with the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore, and 1 public outreach event at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore. See this page for a collection of our 2023 highlights.

Our year-end Scientific Showcase highlights the best of CARES over the years and the following evening reception at the British High Commissioner’s Residence emphasises the importance of international collaboration.

CARES launches three new programmes: Hydrogen and Ammonia Combustion in Singapore (HYCOMBS), Sustainable Manufacture of Molecules and Materials in Singapore (SM3), and Health-Driven Design for Cities (HD4).

In parallel, the launch of HYCOMBS and SM3 as part of nine projects under CREATE’s latest SGD$80m Decarbonisation Programme leads Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, visiting the CARES facilities.

CARES expands our Cambridge connections with many “firsts”:

1. The first skills training trip for the Research Communications Office in Cambridge to share best practices with CARES researchers
2. Gates Cambridge organise their first overseas scholarship interviews for the Southeast Asian region in Singapore in CREATE
3. CLIC hosts their first outreach event in Cambridge, reaching up to 70 academics and staff members from across the University

Attendees from CLIC’s outreach event in Cambridge.