The Lee Kuan Yew Award

The Lee Kuan Yew Award for Mathematics and Science for polytechnics is awarded to the top technology or computer science graduates in each of the polytechnics. This Award is funded by an honorarium that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew received from an overseas speaking engagement. The Award was first presented at the 1993 Temasek Polytechnic Graduation Ceremony.

The recipents:

• Jonah Victor Dakis Dela Cruz
• Lim Lu Kai
• Loke Lup Peng

When he was 15, Jonah left the Philippines and moved to Singapore with his mother and two siblings to join his aircraft engineer father. He joined Loyang Secondary School where his love for IT was evident when he single-handedly redesigned its website, having picked up web designing on his own.

After his O levels, Jonah decided to pursue his love for IT at TP and subsequently, the O-level 12-pointer took up the Information Technology course. His passion for the course was clear and that has driven him to graduating today with a very impressive 3.97 Cumulative Grade Point Average, 20 distinctions, a diploma with merit and as the top student of his course.

Describing his TP experience as “much more than what I hoped it would be”, Jonah is grateful for the many opportunities he has had to interact with lecturers and other students. His well-rounded experience included being involved in local and overseas projects, as well as in TP-wide events such as the Open House and Campus Care Network Day. According to Jonah, all these experiences have made him more confident when interacting with people, given him a global outlook and enriched his life tremendously. As vice-chairman of Info-Strategists, a Special Interest Group at the Temasek Informatics & IT School, Jonah also had many opportunities to organise events that promote IT.

His achievements are aplenty. In 2006, he came in second in the Tertiary Institutions Council for Environment Web Design Competition and was first runner-up in the Motorola MOTODEV J2ME Developers’ Competition. In 2007, he was national champion in the Microsoft Office Specialist Challenge (Excel Category) and went on to represent Singapore in the Worldwide Microsoft competition in Orlando, Florida. There he emerged runner up, overcoming participants from over 40 countries. Also in 2007, Jonah was part of a team which emerged one of the semi-finalists of the Singapore leg of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Competition.

During the course of his studies at TP, Jonah secured professional certifications such as the Microsoft Office Specialist certification and the Sun Certified Java Programmer certification. He was also handpicked by Microsoft Singapore to be a Microsoft Student Partner (MSP), representing TP in the MSP community.
   
Known to be compassionate and socially-aware, Jonah has also been involved in various community outreach projects in Cambodia and Vietnam. “These experiences have taught me never to take things for granted,” he says.  

Looking ahead, Jonah hopes to specialise in information systems when he does his Computer Science degree course at the National University of Singapore where he has already secured a place. To him, success will come if there is passion for what you do. Indeed, his success to date proves the truth in that statement.

After one month in Junior College, O-level 10-pointer Lim Lu Kai decided that the polytechnic route would better suit him. Having visited TP’s Open House, checked out the courses offered and the many exciting student activities available, Lu Kai was very sure that TP was the polytechnic for him. Now, three years later, he has topped his Electronics diploma course bagging 16 distinctions and achieving a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.98. 

The only child of his taxi driver father and receptionist mother, Lu Kai started excelling academically only after Mr Marvin Chan, his Secondary 2 form teacher who also taught him Science in North Vista Secondary School, encouraged him to put in more effort and study harder. There has been no turning back since then. Lu Kai has consistently been the top student in his cohort and was placed on the Director’s List, Temasek Engineering School’s academic roll of honour in both Academic Year 2005/2006 and Academic Year 2006/2007.      

Lu Kai also excelled in his co-curricular activities. He helped out at events like Open House, Orientation and Chingay Parade 2006. In 2007, he was appointed president of the E2-Matrix (Electronics diploma) club after serving as vice-president of the club the year before. Among the many events he organised were the Japanese Student Exchange Programme between Temasek Engineering School and Kumamoto National College of Technology and an island-wide treasure hunt. For his outstanding contributions, exemplary leadership and high level of commitment to the club, he was awarded the CCA Merit award (Leadership).  

Apart from club activities, Lu Kai also participated in both biathlon and triathlon races, training up to 10 sessions a week at times. As a member of the TP Triathlon Team, Lu Kai took part in many events both locally and in Malaysia, winning a good number of awards.

“I always make sure I have an objective when I embark on something. Planning is key and my achievements motivate me to push on,” says Lu Kai. His focus and diligence were apparent to his supervisor when he undertook his final-year Major Project for which he obtained a distinction.

Described as an excellent role model, Lu Kai is well-liked by his lecturers and peers. Amicable, humble and helpful, he helped organise a Peer Tutoring seminar in which he participated as well. In his own words, he is “very disciplined”, “motivated” and a “go-getter”.  

Lu Kai has been accepted at the Nanyang Technological University to do the Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree course. For this young man who believes in “doing what you like because it is the passion that will keep you going”, Lu Kai will undoubtedly succeed at whatever he sets his mind to.

Not many people can claim to have earned the title World Champion, but that is what this born leader, Loke Lup Peng, has achieved.

In 2007, Lup Peng brought glory to Singapore and TP when he won the title of World Champion in Microsoft Word 2003 at the Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office in Florida, USA.

Lup Peng, whose father works in the aircraft maintenance industry and mother is a housewife, knew for sure that he wanted to take the polytechnic route as it would best equip him with the necessary skills and technical knowledge to enter the job market. The O-level 8-pointer was set on studying Information Technology at TP to pursue his interest in the field.

It proved to be precisely the right move. Lup Peng was on the Director’s List of top students for two consecutive years. Today, he graduates with 18 distinctions, a remarkable Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.93 and a diploma with merit. While at TP, he also acquired a range of professional IT certifications which include the Sun Certified Java Programmer Certification, the SAP Consultant Certification and the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification.

His list of achievements does not stop there. In 2007, Lup Peng was one of the semi-finalists in the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2007. He also emerged first runner-up at the Motorola MOTODEV J2ME Developer’s Competition in 2006. This year, he paired up with a classmate and participated in the Polytechnic Student Research Programme. They worked on developing an application that allows ordinary light sources and laser pointers to control objects on a computer screen. Lightdraw was selected as one of the top projects from TP.

Beyond academia, Lup Peng has excelled in his CCA. He is a Cadet Inspector with the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) and was awarded the Commissioner of Police Commendation Award in 2007 for his dedication, exceptional performance and invaluable contribution to the vocation. During his three years at TP, he spent Friday afternoons and school holidays at Ngee Ann Secondary School, his alma mater, where he tirelessly helped out with the School’s NPCC unit.

As a self-proclaimed “IT evangelist”, he was the first president of his diploma’s Special Interest Group and the Temasek Polytechnic Lead in the Microsoft Student Partners Programme.

Lup Peng lives life by the thought-provoking motto: “You must do the things you think you cannot do”. Such is his determination and desire to challenge himself.