Funding at the Frontier: hosted by The British High Commission in Singapore and ARIA

We're gathering Singapore's most ambitious scientists, engineers, hard-tech founders, and technical leaders — people pursuing research at the edge of what's possible.

The UK's Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is coming to Singapore to build a bridge between the region's scientific excellence and world-class, high-risk capital.

Join us in Singapore, hosted in partnership with the British High Commission in Singapore, for an evening on how ambitious science gets funded and how exceptional technical leaders can shape entirely new research directions.

We'll begin with short introductions from H.E Nik Mehta OBE, the British High Commissioner to Singapore, and from ARIA, before continuing the conversation over food and drinks.

What is ARIA?

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is the UK's high-risk, high-reward R&D funding agency, created to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs by backing research that is too ambitious, speculative, or interdisciplinary to pursue elsewhere.

Rather than traditional committees, ARIA operates through Programme Directors: exceptional scientific and technical leaders who spot overlooked opportunities, define bold technical visions, and bring together the people and projects needed to pursue them.

Why this matters for you

ARIA funds high-risk R&D for both academics and startups, and its funding is open to research teams anywhere in the world — including here in Singapore. Members of ARIA's team will be in the room, alongside Singapore's deep-tech and life-science community.

ARIA is about to open recruitment for its third cohort of Programme Directors — applications open in August 2026 for a May 2027 start.

Who should attend

This event is for deeply technical subject-matter experts who:

Have led ambitious, outcome-driven scientific or technical work

Enjoy uncovering non-obvious approaches to difficult problems

Care about shaping the future of science and technology

May be interested in applying for ARIA's funding and/or becoming a future ARIA Programme Director.

Schedule

18:00-18:15 | Arrival, canapés & drinks

18:15-18:20 | Welcome remarks from the British High Commissioner

18:20-19:00 | What is ARIA? Funding opportunities, the Programme Director role, and Q&A

19:00-20:00 | Canapés, drinks & networking

Speakers

H.E Nikesh (Nik) Mehta OBE — The British High Commissioner to Singapore

Dr. Ivan Jayapurna — Programme Director, ARIA

Dr. Maximilian Sichrovsky — Science & Technology Lead, ARIA

Dr. Alice Pettitt — Frontier Specialist, ARIA

Dr. Aayush Chadha — Frontier Specialist, ARIA