Nanyang Technological University bags 'Best IoT - Education Award' accolade at SBR Technology Excellence Awards 2021

The win is the result of implementing NTU Barrier-Free Smart Car Park on its campus.

With a vision of harnessing technology-enabled solutions to create better learning and living experiences at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), NTU’s implementation of Singapore's first barrier-free Smart Car Park System garnered Singapore Business Review's annual Technology Excellence Awards, in the IoT - Education category.

Ms Tan Aik Na, Senior Vice President (Administration) at NTU Singapore said, “This award reaffirms NTU’s Smart Campus vision to support better learning and living experiences by leveraging the latest technologies. Being the first in Singapore to implement the Smart Car Park System enables NTU to lead the way in innovative solutions for Smart Cities around the world. This is also part of our NTU 2025 strategic plan to expand the University’s global impact.”

Solving Real-World Problems Through Innovation

The Smart Car Park System is an innovative ticketless and barrier-free parking solution developed in partnership with ST Engineering. Paired with the GoParkin mobile app, the system integrates the latest technologies such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), data analytics and mobile payment technologies to make parking easier across the university's campuses.

After registering via the GoParkin mobile app, the registered number plate of a car entering NTU’s Smart Car Park will be recognised, and the parking fee billed to the motorist's preferred mobile payment method upon exit. The barrier-free system enables hassle-free convenience for motorists with seamless entry and exit, leading to higher customer satisfaction and a reduction of more than 50 per cent of the time needed to handle barrier-related issues.

By accessing real-time car park occupancy information on the mobile app, motorists are pointed to the closest available parking spots with car park rates, saving them time in searching for available car park lots. Motorists can also conveniently apply and pay for season parking via the app.

Creating Value and Impact

Through rethinking traditional operational models and harnessing the power of technology, the barrier-free parking system allows NTU to manage its car parks more effectively and sustainably. This helps to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion, contributing to improving the quality of life of the NTU community.

The Smart Car Park System at NTU offers several benefits. This includes 24/7 full visibility of parking status across NTU's sprawling 500-acre main campus, and at NTU’s one-north and Novena campuses.

The system offers significant savings to the University by reducing operational and maintenance costs by over 10 per cent. The cloud-based platform enables centralised management and control of car park operations, providing the University with an overview of parking occupancy records and an asset management module to help identify preventive maintenance that can extend the value of equipment and prevent costly downtime.

As the mobile app allows motorists to make their parking payments remotely at any time, it also eliminates the need for physical payment stations and barriers at the car parks.

Since September 2020, the Smart Car Park System has been rolled out to 50 car parks. It will be progressively implemented at all 59 car parks across NTU's three campuses, covering more than 4,000 parking lots when completed by the end of 2021.

The Technology Excellence Awards, presented by Singapore Business Review, was held via studio award presentations and video conferencing sessions throughout the second and third week of April.

This year’s nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Daryl Pereira, Head of Cyber at KPMG; Cheang Wai Keat, Partner, Consulting at Ernst & Young Advisory Pte. Ltd.; Henry Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Nexia TS; Sivakumar Saravan, Senior Partner at Crowe Singapore; Cecil Su, Director, Head of Cybersecurity of BDO Singapore.

If you would like to join the 2022 awards and be acclaimed for your company’s exceptional technological innovations, please email Jane Patiag at [email protected].