#peopleinournetwork
Have you met Niamh Madden
From time to time, we interview people of the German Centre network. We want to learn who they are – and drill down on their dedication and commitment towards the German Centres.
After studying at the universities in Dublin and Beijing, the native Irish was initially involved in economic cooperation between Ireland and China before moving to Singapore in 2018. She is intensively involved in supporting start-ups in their development and, in her role as General Manager of the Life Science Incubator, offers a motivating environment for these. In her free time, her favorite pastimes include travelling, SCUBA diving and cooking and she is the Ladies Captain of the Singapore Gaelic Lions Football Club, Asia's largest club in the Gaelic Athletic Association.
Dear Niamh, please tell us what is great about your current job?
Life Science Incubator (LSI) is the first of it’s kind and unique in Singapore and ASEAN. It is inspiring to work with so many talented and educated people that benefit from LSI’s vital facilities for their research and development activities. We have an agnostic approach and are open for all types of companies, developed ones and start-ups. In other words: We are accessible, agile and affordable. It is my great pleasure to accompany and support all the LSI users that work on amazing ideas which may change the world.
Why is German Centre Singapore the perfect location fo Life Science Incubator?
The German Centre is the perfect location in many reasons. With its location in the International Business Park it is only a stonethrow away from Biopolis and two main universities. What is also important is our common alignment when it comes to values and doing business, and we both strongly focus on supporting companies on their development and growth paths. The building facilities match perfectly and the LSI users don’t have to worry about coworking spaces, meeting and seminar facilities that are provided by the German Centre. Last but not least, the community in the German Centre is very nice! Customers like Erbe Elektromedizin, Plasmatreat or Büchi collaborate with the start-ups working in LSI. We are quite proud that LSI brought a different demographic and new life to German Centre Singapore, which is a nice side effect.
How did the German Centre support you in establishing LSI?
LSI was formed during the Covid19 pandemic and we were challenged with delays and continuous adaptions of our time schedules. The German Centre was very flexible and had patience with us, especially, as we harmonized the opening of LSI with the opening of German Centre Singapore’s coworking space. Dominqiue Herold, the Managing Director of the German Centre, was stongly involved from the first idea and she and her team linked us with equipment providers, opened the doors to companies and institutions from the Life Science industry and introduced us to many German Centre customers. This helped us a lot!
What motivates you to continue even if it is very difficult?
It is the nice community and the relationships that keep us going even if it gets difficult. It is great to always having a listening ear right next door!
What is your favourite workplace tradition at the German Centre?
That’s undoubtedly the annual fire drill! I don’t know any other building that serves beer and hotdogs afterwards!
Thank you Niamh!
About LSI
Life Science Incubator (LSI) opened its doors in 2021 in German Centre Singapore. It is a state of the art, fully equipped co-working laboratory catering for Biotech, Medtech and Life Science companies. Within 1,000sqm, founders, researchers, start-ups and their investors have access to a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory, including the most modern lab equipment, contributed by companies like Waldner Laboratories, Erbe Elektromedizin or Plasmatreat. It offers a broad event and mentoring program as well as a mockup Operation Theatre and a makerspace for trainings and presentations.
This scientific ecosystem forms a perfect symbiosis with the flexible space solutions and the network of the German Centre, allowing all partners to introduce and present their products and services in a real-life showroom, as a platform for sales and business development in Asia, while getting direct user feedback from the member companies.