P&G Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC)

It was an honor to welcome Ambassador Allaster Cox, Australia’s High Commissioner to Singapore, at the P&G Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC) recently. During his visit, the ambassador took the time to understand our approach to innovation, asking thoughtful questions along the way. His Excellency was even willing to engage in the immersive science experiences we had prepared for him. The day concluded with an intimate gathering with several Australian P&G employees, where they had the opportunity to foster dialogue, exchange ideas and engage in meaningful discussions with Ambassador Cox. Thanks for stopping by, Ambassador Cox! #thefuturemakers #singapore #australia

From the moment she completed her Chemistry PhD, Nickita N was certain that the lab wasn't in her future. Instead, she ventured into business in Australia, balancing part-time barista work with running her own café. Despite her dedication, her business struggled. Seeking stability, she applied to various jobs, including one in regulatory affairs at P&G, a field she knew little about. Her interviewer focused on her problem-solving abilities and how her PhD skills could translate into regulatory work. Captivated, she accepted the job and spent her first few months diving into regulations, leveraging her chemistry background to understand and apply safety standards. She was drawn into a world of complex challenges, from managing product inquiries to ensuring that new product innovations are accompanied by robust data to meet stringent regulations. In the early years she was more focused on learning how to do the job right and building a foundation of technical mastery. It took several years for her to truly appreciate the importance of driving value through collaboration and personal growth through mentorship. Her mentors offer invaluable guidance in strategy development. “Many of us don’t think like visionaries,” she reflects. “Its mentors who give you the long-term view.” She periodically asks herself if the job is the right fit for her, in terms of value and growth. At every point it has been a 'yes' given her learning journey, as well as her professional and personal growth. 14 years have passed since she first began at P&G and it feels like yesterday. Nickita is recognized for raising the bar in regulatory and safety. As a senior leader who now has mentees of her own, she inspires them with high expectations and clear guidance. Coming from a single-parent family, her journey from survival to thriving fuels her commitment to helping others. She hopes to trigger a ripple effect, so that the SgIC community of women and others will in turn raise their profiles and mentor others. #singapore #chemistry #phd #thefuturemakers

10 years can pass in the blink of an eye, especially when we’re focused on the future. To ensure we learned from our innovation journey to date, we recently held an event called “Learn from the past, Lead the Future”, where we opened our SgIC site time capsule from 2014.   Teams put up displays of the products that were stored in the 2014 time capsule next to the products of 2024. It was inspiring to see how the product offerings had evolved, driven by our sharpened focus on evolving consumer needs along with our advancing capabilities.   Leaders from the 4 product categories on display - Hair care, Skin care, Home care and Personal Healthcare, took turns to offer insights and lessons from the 10 years of innovation to date, concluding with pointers for how we should focus our work in the months ahead. Andrew Weatherston, Senior Vice President, Global Hair Care R&D, offered a pithy insight that in the last 10 years, the Asian population has grown several multiples the growth of the Americas and Europe combined, underscoring the ongoing role of the SgIC in this region.   Mark Smerznak, Senior Vice President, Corporate R&D, concluded by sharing his advice for the next 10 years. He urged us to stay consumer obsessed and continue to raise the bar on irresistible superiority.   The event culminated in a ceremonial launch of the 2024 time capsule. 13 teams presented their “pods” for the time capsule, complete with a collection of today’s latest products, team pictures and letters to the future.   Congratulations to #thefuturemakers on their incredible accomplishments over this past decade! Here’s to many more.

SongHai Liang is a process engineer on the hair care team at the P&G Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC). To improve their formulations, he must be a master of phase changes: Combining materials through different physical states to improve their properties. Using timing, temperature, and mixing, he transforms the materials from an unstable liquid mixture to a cloudy gel and then to a stable liquid, dispersing new ingredients more finely in the solution. The result of these phase changes is an elevated shampoo formulation with pleasing clarity.    Songhai’s career has similarly been marked by transformative phase changes. He has embraced new challenges that, while stressful, have led to significant growth.   He joined P&G with a diploma in Materials Science from Singapore Polytechnic and had the opportunity to work with some of the most senior formulators in the company. They introduced concepts he had never encountered before, inspiring him to aspire to the same level of technical mastery.   Determined to advance his knowledge, Songhai decided to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering at the National University of Singapore while working full-time at SgIC. He also took on the task of implementing a new manufacturing process, which required him to join global teleconferences in between night classes. The pandemic added an additional layer of stress and uncertainty, making him question at times if he had taken on too much.   The support of his team was invaluable during this time. One manager even joined meetings on his behalf when they coincided with classes. Others provided attentive coaching, challenging him to run robust tests and understand the limits of the equipment he was using.   The pressure of juggling work and school improved his approach to both. He learned to use his time efficiently, and the technical knowledge he gained at work helped in his studies. Conversely, the skill of studying technical literature he gained at school benefited his work projects.   Songhai graduated last December with a Bachelor’s of Technology in #Chemical #Engineering as one of the top scorers, having made the Dean’s list. His project was launched successfully and led to a P&G CEO award, a very prestigious recognition awarded to a highly select group of individuals globally by the company.   Reflecting on his journey, Songhai is glad he embarked on these phase changes. He acknowledges that he couldn’t have done it without the support he received. “We have a very inclusive, supportive culture here, and we’re willing to help each other out through difficult times. It’s inspired me to pay it forward,” he notes.   Congratulations, Songhai, on these remarkable accomplishments! #materialsscience #chemicalengineering #singapore #thefuturemakers

We're honored to be featured! We're committed to elevating the craftsmanship of every aspect of our skincare formulations, from the very first moment she opens the jar. Thanks to our partners at A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, and congratulations to our very own Susan Gong for the inspired work! https://lnkd.in/gr7X9PSp

We had the privilege of welcoming A*STAR Chairman Prof Chorh Chuan Tan and senior leaders from A*STAR including Prof Sze-Wee TAN, Assistant Chief Executive, Biomedical Research Council, Prof Rachel Watson, Executive Director, A*STAR Skin Research Labs and Dr Wai Kiong Ng, Acting Executive Director, A*STAR Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy & Environment (ISCE2).   We covered topics ranging from health and wellness to digital and discussed future research priorities.   This visit reaffirms the strong partnership between P&G and A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research and we look forward to driving stronger outcomes through our collaboration. #singapore #thefuturemakers

Wellness is essential for #thefuturemakers! https://lnkd.in/gTXq6qqx

Alia Mustafa is a Technical Specialist at the P&G Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC). But her career began in the #arts, taking on gigs in graphic design and event planning. She even graced the stage herself, as a talented singer and trained MC.   She craved a more structured environment, so she took a bold leap into the world of science at the SgIC as a #Sensory Panelist. She found it fascinating.   Alia relished representing the consumer as a professional panelist, quantifying intangible sensorial experiences. Ever inquisitive, she constantly questioned the basis for standard quantifiers used for training.    In 2017, she transitioned to a Support Specialist role, working with both Haircare and Skincare categories. During this time, Alia developed a deep appreciation for #consumer understanding and aspired to join P&G R&D as a full-time employee, leveraging her diverse skill set, experience, and inquisitiveness.   She achieved her goal in 2018, when she became a Technical Specialist. In this role, she gained invaluable insights into the various aspects of product development, from formulation to packaging, testing, and demo creation. But she wanted to get closer to the consumer, so she decided to apply for a role in product research testing.   In this role, Alia plans and executes consumer studies, a role she approaches with the zeal of an event planner. She finds joy in a well-executed study, akin to a well-executed event. By combining her background in arts with her newfound love for science, Alia has discovered a more complete way of seeing the world around her.   Sometimes she still wonders how she ended up in the world of #science. To overcome the occasional bout of imposter syndrome, she has learned to speak up and share her unique perspective, encouraged by directors and senior leaders who recognize the value of her consumer-centric insights. She refuses to limit herself to the strict definition of a Technical Specialist and instead sees it as a platform for creativity and idea generation.    In addition to her technical role, Alia makes an impact in other ways. She is a dedicated member of several employee wellness teams, and is also asked to perform at milestone events, such at the P&G 35th anniversary and during the recent SgIC 10th anniversary celebrations. Her vibrant personality and talent have captivated colleagues and managers alike, allowing her to break free from her initial timidity and make a name for herself within the organization. Her dedication and contributions were recently acknowledged when she received the "Inspiring Others" award from the culture team, highlighting her commitment and advocacy for the Technical Specialists community.   Today, Alia contributes her expertise to raise the bar on Beauty Product Research Testing in the Beauty Revealed organization. Thanks Alia for helping to make SgIC a vibrant community of #thefuturemakers! #consumerunderstanding #singapore

Our data scientists constantly explore new ways of using AI to drive innovation. To inspire fresh approaches, we recently participated in an innovation sprint with the NVIDIA AI Tech Centre (NVAITC) and Republic Polytechnic’s school of Infocomm (RP SOI). This 8-week sprint focused on #GenAI and Foundation Models, #AI models designed to serve as a foundation for various applications and can produce a wide variety of output. RP students participated in a 2-day bootcamp, followed by two months of immersive learning sessions guided by mentors from RP SOI, NVIDIA and the P&G Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC). The students applied their growing AI skills to practical problem statements provided by P&G, ranging from analysis of patents to designing more effective approaches to understanding consumer needs. To spice things up, P&G sponsored the top 3 prizes.   Five teams presented their final projects on 29 April 2024. “We were impressed by the passion and fresh thinking the students brought to the challenges we had posed - we learned a lot!" commented senior product researcher & data scientist Jonathan Feyaerts. Well done, RP students and thanks to the team that made this such a fruitful experience!

Jaspreet Kochhar, PhD grew up in New Delhi in a family of architects, engineers, and pharmaceutical professionals. These surroundings gave him an innate curiosity that ultimately led him to the #pharmaceutical sciences. He excelled, winning an National University of Singapore Research Scholarship to do a PhD where he developed a promising innovation in microneedle drug delivery systems and contemplated starting up his own company.  Then, towards the end of his #PhD, he was selected for a Serial Innovator camp at P&G. Here he had the opportunity to interact with some of the most prolific innovators in the company. He found it so enthralling, that he decided to bring his skills to the Personal Healthcare division at P&G instead. His schoolmates once questioned his choice of a consumer goods company instead of a pharmaceutical company, but he hasn’t looked back. From strengthening the innovation programs to elevating the technical stories, Jaspreet has found that all his skills and experiences are brought to bear, and then some. In addition to playing a leading role in growing the suite of Vicks product offerings in the region, he’s found that his #pharmacy expertise has gained new relevance with the acquisition of Merck and Voost. While setting high standards in scientific excellence for the products he develops, Jaspreet is also big on making the science accessible, both internally as well as externally. Jaspreet’s #communication skills have brought him to the podium with world leading academics and scientists, experiences that he finds greatly enriching. Not one to rest on his laurels, Jaspreet notes excitedly that there’s “lots to do ahead – the consumer health world is evolving, with more consumers interested in proactive health measures, and an increasing focus on healthier living despite a more stressful, polluted environment and busy lifestyle. It is imperative on us to deliver consumer-delighting, meaningfully superior propositions that are affordable, effective, and build trust.”   Thanks for setting an example as one of #thefuturemakers, Jaspreet!