Kumar Innovation & Entrepreneurship Fellow Award
Overview
Supporting PhD innovators on the path from lab to market
The Kumar Innovation & Entrepreneurship Fellow Award supports entrepreneurial PhD students at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) to translate their academic research and innovative ideas into viable business ventures. This fellowship provides financial support and resources to help bridge the gap between research and commercialisation.
Insights from Former PhD Students
Before there were fellowships like this, many PhD founders navigated their startup journeys without the right support at the right time. These reflections come from NTU PhD founders who have since built successful startups, as they look back on what support they wished they had when they began their entrepreneurial journey.
“Entrepreneurship is the art of building clarity out of uncertainty, where every step feels like fumbling in the dark until a path to creating value finally appears. If this feels a little intimidating but also familiar, it’s because it is almost exactly like starting out in research in a PhD programme. A fellowship like this would have given me the confidence and support I wished I had earlier in the journey when taking my first leap.”
Dr Rex Tan
Chief Technology Officer, Aevice Health Pte Ltd
Forbes Asia 100 to Watch (2025)
Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award (Founder, 2025)
CES Best of Innovation Award (2023)
"Founders often prioritise taking care of the needs of everything else first before themselves. Having a monthly stipend would definitely provide an ease of mind in securing capital through private investments and enhance bootstrapping efforts in keeping operations lean during the early phases of spinning off. This would also allow for corporate resources to be diverted to other relevant pots to streamline and optimise the process of getting started and scaling in the days ahead.”
Dr Mark Lim
Chief Executive Officer, Aliena Pte Ltd
Forbes Asia 100 to Watch (2024)
MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 APAC (Founder, 2021)
Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award (Founder, 2021)
NASA-featured, state-of-the-art small spacecraft technology
Selection will be based on:
- Significance and innovation of the proposed project.
- Merit and feasibility of the business proposal.
- Demonstrated and/or future interest in entrepreneurship, commercialisation, and venture creation.
Preference will be given to candidates whose work reflects a strong commitment to entrepreneurship, technology translation, and commercial impact.
Interested candidates are required to submit the following documents to [email protected] by 28 February 2026:
- Completed Application Form
- Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages), highlighting the applicant’s entrepreneurial track record and participation in I&E-related programmes
Late submissions will not be accepted.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview and required to deliver a brief presentation as part of the evaluation process. Final funding decisions are expected to be announced approximately four months after the application deadline.
| Call for Applications | January 2026 |
| Shortlisting of Candidates | March 2026 |
| Interviews | May 2026 |
| Award | July 2026 |
- Applicants must be a current full-time PhD student at NTU at the point of award.
- The fellowship duration is two years and is non-renewable.
- Upon conferral of the PhD degree, recipients will transition to a research staff appointment at NTU.
- Fellow must secure the support of a host / mentor who must be a faculty member of NTU.
- The fellowship provides up to S$6,250 per month for two years, covering salary support and seed funding to develop a startup.
- PhD students still receiving stipend support are not permitted to use the fellowship award for personal remuneration.
- Fellow is required to submit annual progress updates to NTU Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) until the fellowship concludes.
- Fellow must be committed to incorporate a company by the end of the fellowship.
About the Donor
Hari Kumar is the Founder and CEO of LionRock Capital, a Singapore‑based single‑family office he established in 2009. LionRock employs an endowment‑style approach to long‑term investing across public and private equity markets, with a portfolio that includes over 25 early‑stage growth companies in the technology and consumer sectors, alongside investments in externally managed funds.
Beyond his professional achievements, Hari and his wife Sonia are deeply engaged in philanthropy through the Kumar Philanthropic Foundation, which supports educational initiatives in Singapore, India, and the United States. The Foundation provides grants for basic education to underprivileged students, elder care, and technology innovation projects by secondary and college students. In Singapore and the US, it also focuses on sustainability, funding early‑stage research and startup ideas in this space.
Hari serves on the University of Pennsylvania Asia Leadership Committee, the External Advisory Board to the College of Arts and Sciences, the International Advisory Board of the Center for the Advanced Study of India, Indian Business Leader’s Roundtable for Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) and the NTU I&E Advisory Board.