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Project Prizes & Special Awards
The Recipient - Pang Wei Ling "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, awake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it reality." ~T.E. Lawrence These words by T.E. Lawrence ignite the passion of researchers with the simple promise that the courage to act on their dreams would indeed one day make their dreams a reality. These very words placed at the lobby of the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory inspired Pang Wei Ling who was an intern at the laboratory, to realise her project titled Developing Gene/Enhancer-Trap Insertional Mutagenesis Screens in Zebrafish Danio Rerio Using Maize Ac/Ds Transposon System. Her work was geared towards developing safe and effective methods in creating transgenic mutant lines for the study of genetic functions in embryonic development. Wei Ling devoted a substantial portion of her time on this project. Her perseverance and determination paid off as her project was selected as the Best Project and she clinched the Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore Project Prize for it. Wei Ling's dedication had scored her major points with the judges who felt that her research work had shed some new light on the study. The Transposon System has been successfully used in invertebrates and plants before but not explored in the vertebrate species. Wei Ling successfully proved that this method can function in vertebrate species like the zebra fish. It was also shown that this method, being less harmful and simpler to adopt, was advantageous over other methods. Her project work certainly surpassed the judges' expectations of a project carried out at the diploma level. Her fluent and convincing presentation also gave her an edge over others. She muses that this accomplishment would not have been possible without the guidance, continuous support and invaluable training she received from her lecturers, Company Principal Investigator, Dr Karuna Sampath, and her mentor, Ms Bao Ngoc Helen Quach. This sensible young lady also acknowledges that her family members were her pillars of strength while her friends who always had words of encouragement for her were a constant source of motivation during the arduous project work period. Wei Ling has already received an offer to pursue Biological Sciences at the Nanyang Technological University.Liaison Officer: Mr Kok Chor Wee
The Recipient - Seah Chuan Yong Ronnie Ronnie Seah's academic performance at Temasek Polytechnic is like a beautiful piece of music. He strings the rigours of academia to make the chords of excellence his rhythm. A Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.98, a very close to perfect composition, plus 14 distinctions and 14 As, have been the melody of his academic tune while he pursued his diploma in Accounting & Finance at the Polytechnic. He is unassuming, quiet and goal-oriented. His objective is just to do his best and his best is outstanding. On his goal in life, Ronnie hopes to be able to get a good job and be successful in his career. His next step towards that is by furthering his studies at the Singapore Management University. Ronnie comes from a small family, an all boys club of two other siblings. All are from Temasek Business School. His older brother graduated from Temasek Polytechnic two years ago and his younger brother is currently following in his footsteps by pursuing his diploma in Accounting & Finance. What motivates Ronnie Seah to excel? Who is the pillar that supports him? His parents have been the inspiration that helped him succeed. They were the ones who watched over his academic performance. They were very involved in the early days of his education and laid the solid foundation on which he has built his structure of academic excellence. Ronnie plays the piano and is keen in strumming the guitar. He picked up these new interests a year ago when he decided that he needs to compose music of another kind, other than the high scales of academia that he has charted. His advice to all those who are pursuing their dreams: "Enjoy your time in the poly, but do not neglect your studies. When it is time to get work done, do it." A testimony to this young man's understanding of reality — get the basics right, and all else will fall in place.
The Recipient - Yau Lih Kang Lih Kang has always displayed a strong passion for design and a positive attitude throughout his three years in Interactive Media Design. His relentless pursuit for excellence and attention to detail was often mistaken by his peers as being "kiasu"; or worse, seen as "spoiling the market!". For his final-year project, Lih Kang developed an interactive visitor guide that would enable visitors to Singapore a convenient and seamless way of retrieving and sharing information, while learning about Singapore culture in an engaging way. He was determined to explore the possibilities of creating an overall solution that could be linked through various platforms such as a website, kiosks, in-flight entertainment systems, as well as mobile phones using WiFi and GPRS. The project culminated in a website and mobile device which he prototyped, and features an interactive guide about exploring, sightseeing, shopping and eating out in Singapore. Among many its innovative features, the highlight of the project is the On-location Guide which feeds users on-the-go with customised information via mobile smart devices, served via 3G/GPRS or similar networks and technology, such as the Wireless@SG initiative covering most of the popular locations in Singapore. The design is both functional and intuitive. Not only was Lih Kang's concept highly innovative and original, he was able to creatively integrate technology and design in a seamless manner. Group Account Director, Mr James Chua of Ace:Daytons Advertising (International) is all praises for Lih Kang's work: "Lih Kang's project displays excellent execution skills with an overall high degree clarity, detailing and finishing, but more importantly, it demonstrates the ability to meet clear business objectives and is ready for potential real-world application, making it one of the most commercially-viable projects I have seen so far." We congratulate Lih Kang and celebrate with him for his outstanding achievement! Project Supervisors:
The Recipient - Zulkifli Bin Mohamed Salleh Zulkifli's final-year project, Impian Si Mamat — Mamat's Aspiration is a short Malay film entirely produced on a full High Definition (HD) work flow. In this production, Zulkifli displayed excellent understanding and execution of the HD technology. Coupled with a good storyline and a strong cast, he skilfully weaved a heart warming tale of a father’s love for his son. From the choice of music to the composition of shots, Zulkifli's work mirrors closely the Malay drama genre in giving his viewers close-ups of the personal struggles of the story's protagonist. Overall, this is an excellent piece of work that demonstrates Zulkifli's thorough understanding of the HD workflow in video production. He thoroughly deserves the Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific Special Industry Prize for the Most Outstanding HD Production for this work.
The Recipient - Ong Jia-Ying Jiaying's final-year project, The Bad Nut, is a deceptively charming tale of a rabbit obsessed with a nut. Its use of a high production quality, charming characterisation and finely observed background scenery leave us all the more shocked when it suddenly delivers a timely message on the impact of pollution. In addition to the charming quality of the imagery, the animation timing shows true understanding of storytelling in the animated medium. We can fully understand the character's thought processes and emotions through the precise attention to animation principles such as anticipation and staging. Her illustrative, storybook style demanded a punishing work ethic in order to complete the piece within the tight schedule of the final year project. Overall, this is an excellent piece of work by a talented newcomer to the world of animation, fully deserving of this award.
The Recipient - Ong Wei Sheng Justin Even as a first-year student, Justin's passion for his work was evident. He would question topics assigned to him a little deeper, go a little further, and do a little more than required. This passion has marked his work throughout his three years at TP. Justin has been setting the pace in the photography area with his positive attitude, consistency in his work, and a continuous desire to excel. For his final-year project, Justin decided to walk out of his comfort zone, and embark on a road less travelled. Where he went to in Indonesia are not places many would not even dare go near. In fact, they are not even "real" villages as they were built in dumps, on train tracks and some were just homes built just skimming the surface of a river filled with trash. True to Justin's track record, this project titled WellcomeHome is a unique portfolio of photographs that is both thought-provoking and heart-stirring. It is an extensive portfolio of hand-printed photographs that ranges from impromptu portraitures, landscapes, documentary sequences, nature versus dump. The Philips Design Excellence Award judges had this to say about Justin's work: "The panel recognised Justin's ability not only in the composition of his pictures, but also in his technical ability in the darkroom, which added to the quality and content of the subject matter. The final presentation and book produced were both engaging and well-articulated, showing a very passionate and compelling story well told." For any photographer, documenting the indigent and reminding the world of their presence is something that must start from within the heart. In Justin's work, we can clearly see his heart for this cause. Congratulations, Justin! Project Supervisor:
The Senoko Power Project Prize is awarded to the team which successfully completed a multi-disciplinary project in Temasek Engineering School. This challenging multi-disciplinary project involved the use of a wireless handheld device and interactive kiosk client-server applications to create a range of IT-enabled and e-learning bio-informatics services. Four students played significant roles in this highly demanding project, displaying enthusiasm, ingenuity and dedication. Each one was also outstanding in exercising their initiative and problem-solving skills. Seah Yee Mei, Iris worked on the bio-informatics services aspect of the e-Learning project. She successfully developed a Multi-Layer Perception Artificial Neural Network to enhance Protein Feature Extraction and Structure Prediction. Zulfadli B Nazaluddin focused on computerisation and successfully developed a server-client computer system to retrieve important information for decision making. Lim Wei Siong worked on the Man Machine Interface (MMI) aspect of the project. He successfully used voice and computer vision recognition to enhance MMI of the system. Lim Yuan Sheng, Victor worked on the training aspect of the project. He developed series of games running on handheld devices to enhance e-learning.
The Recipient - Tan Boon Kheng Boon Kheng's Major Project titled Where R U? is an application developed to provide caregivers with an effective way to locate their lost charges. For his excellent work on this project, Boon Kheng has been awarded the CISCO Systems (USA) Special Industry Prize. Done in collaboration with the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS), the project aims to provide peace of mind to caregivers. It is targeted at groups that often need special attention, like the intellectually-challenged, young children and the elderly. Where R U? employs the use of mobile devices such as the easily available mobile phone and PDA-phone. When the charge is lost, the caregiver is able to use his mobile device to send a message to his charge's device in order to obtain his position. This position, made available via the Global Positioning System, is then relayed to the caregive's device and displayed on a virtual map for easy identification. While working on the project, Boon Kheng impressed his supervisors with his ability to independently learn the required technologies and grasp complicated program codes with ease. This practical project addresses a real-life problem that is faced by the intellectually-disabled and many caregivers today. The system helps to alleviate the anxiety that occurs when a loved one goes missing and provides savings in both time and resources.
The Recipient - Su Shaoyu Marcus This year's Budget Day was particularly meaningful for Marcus because he had worked on a project commissioned by the Ministry of Finance, titled "If I were the Finance Minister". Developed to create awareness about the annual Budget, this online game incorporates 2D cartoon-style graphics and multimedia elements that make it highly engaging and interactive. Players take on the role of Singapore's Finance Minister and calibrate Singapore's fiscal policies. This game is aimed at educating the public, especially teenagers and young adults, about the considerations that influence the national budget in a financial year. Launched by the Ministry in February 2008, the game was well-received by the public. Possessing a keen interest and talent in creating innovative multimedia applications, Marcus has spent the past year working on several other significant projects, including the National Day 2007 Heritage Microsite. Capturing photos of National Days events, this application serves as an important repository, showcasing how Singapore has grown and developed over the years. Yet another project that Marcus developed was an interactive multi-player game for primary school children to learn mathematics. In recognition of his contribution to the field of education, Marcus was awarded the Team Merit Award in the Lenovo Innovation Award 2007, organised by the Ministry of Education. A gifted young man, Marcus has displayed remarkable creativity and talent in developing interactive digital applications.
The Recipients: Spiral Star, a project developed by Jonah Victor Dakis Dela Cruz, Loke Lup Peng, Diwanand Davar and Alvin Chin Ming Wei, is an online educational system that enables users to retrieve learning resources that match their learning styles and educational levels. Embedded with an Interactive Adaptive Encyclopedia, Spiral Star is able to correspond to the learner's key learning style — be it auditory, visual or tactile. In doing so, this project seeks to engage and increase the learner's attention span and improve knowledge retention. Its interactive features enable users to collaborate with peers outside the classroom to encourage online collaboration and discussion. In this aspect, Spiral Star appeals to digital natives who are active in online communities. During the development of the project, Jonah, Lup Peng, Alvin and Diwanand took it upon themselves to pick up new technologies and were undaunted by the challenges that they faced. Demonstrating a spirit of innovation and sensitivity to how people learn, the team secured a distinction for this project.
The Recipient - Jonah Victor Dakis Dela Cruz A diligent, determined and focused individual, Jonah is highly respected by his peers for his intellectual prowess and is indeed a most deserving recipient of the SAP Business Objects Award. Hailing from South Manila, Jonah quickly assimilated to life in Singapore after arriving in 2002. Focused and determined to attain mastery in IT, Jonah secured notable professional certifications during his time at TP, including the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification and the Sun Certified Java Programmer certification during his period of studies at the Polytechnic. Displaying a flair for visual design and software engineering, Jonah worked with his final-year project team to design and develop the user interface elements for his group's project — Spiral Star, an adaptive online learning management system. For their excellent efforts, the team secured a distinction for their work. During his internship at Microsoft Innovation Center, Jonah impressed his supervisor with his design and web application skills. Consistent and dependable, Jonah took on the challenge of designing and developing website applications for his company, which have been deployed for use. Always collected and composed, Jonah proved his mettle in the face of stiff competition at the Microsoft Office Specialist Challenge (Excel Category), emerging as the national champion. He then went on to represent Singapore in the Worldwide Microsoft Competition in the USA, where he chalked up an impressive score and emerged the runner-up. |
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