2011 – Project Prizes & Special Awards

Recipient: Toh Lai Ling

When Lai Ling first stepped into the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), she had no idea that her research work was going to make such a big difference to her life. Her project, “Expression, Purification and Characterisation of Frizzled-4 Protein” soon proved noteworthy enough to be featured in a research publication.

In five short months, she had managed to express a cloned membrane protein of insect cells, improve the protein yield and protein recovery rate. She screened for various detergents required to extract the proteins while still retaining activity. From there, she managed to optimise the conditions to purify the membrane proteins and prove that it still retained activity as part of her objective to purify a correctly-folded protein. Those who had worked on membrane proteins before will understand that this is no mean feat. Characterisation of this receptor is needed to gain insights into cancer metastasis.

Not only did her work clinch the best project award in the Major Project Symposium held annually to select the top Major Project for the year, it also won a merit award at the Polytechnic Student Research Project (PSRP) awards ceremony. The judges at the Major Project Symposium marvelled at her meticulous completion of research work. She also impressed them with her eloquence when she shared with the audience her knowledge gleaned from the research work.

She muses that this accomplishment would not have been possible without the guidance and support of her mentor Dr Xinlei Qian, her group leader Dr Charlotte Hauser, and her fellow members of the Biodevices and Diagnostics research group in IBN. Lai Ling acknowledges that her family and friends were her pillars of strength, giving her companionship and words of encouragement which were her constant source of motivation throughout the duration of the project.

Her careperson, Mr Singaretnam Lloyd, has only praises for her: “Lai Ling is an exceptional student who is an inspiration to the rest. She has demonstrated excellent research potential and is strongly committed to her work. Despite her family’s financial difficulties, she persevered whilst earning her own keep to become one of the top students in the course. In her time here, she had helped lead a team of students develop an educational kit that has interested a company in commercialisation. Her dedication towards helping her classmates is testament to her endearing character which sees her easily forging strong bonds of friendship with those who work closely with her. She will one day make a significant contribution to the field of science.”

Lai Ling has been offered a place in the second year of the biological sciences course at the Nanyang Technological University. She is also waiting for an offer to pursue a degree in life sciences at the National University of Singapore.

Liaison Officer: Mr Zhang Pengchi
Evaluator: Mr Cheung Po Loong Paul
Principal Investigator: Dr Charlotte Hauser

The Recipients:

Chua Hui Hui Guo GuanHui Nicole Jeremy Lim Jun Long Johann Lee Wei Zhi

Koh Shao Wei Natalie Koh Xiao Wei Lim Fang Jing Seon Lim Jia Ying

Loh Jia Wen Low Kuan Ling Crystal Shen PeiYing Sherlyn Simon Ling Kuan

Tan Yan Ting Joclyn Tham JiaWei Tracy Toh Yun Jin Vilvian Yeo Qi Rong

Recipient: Lin Xiuhuan

Simply smart; simply stunning

That’s Lin Xiuhuan. If you ask her why she chose Temasek Polytechnic (TP) as her tertiary institution, she will first tell you, “I do not know why,” but in the same breath she will also say, “TP has always been very special. Perhaps I’ve been influenced by my siblings – all TP graduates.”

Lin Xiuhuan is neither indecisive nor fickle. Instead, she is a very determined young lady who has set clear goals for herself: “The only course that I had read up in great detail was Accounting & Finance as it had always been my goal to be in the accounting profession when I enter the workforce.”

She is a focused, dynamic and distinguished student who secured 17 distinctions and 11 A’s in her three-year journey at the School of Business. Her Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is a stunning 3.98.

Xiuhuan does not come from a very comfortable background and had learnt from a very tender age that she had to work really hard to achieve. Her parents worked very hard to make ends meet and seeing them struggle left an indelible impression on her. How does she make excellence her playing field? Strategy and drive are her constant companions. She does all her tutorials ahead of her class and is always well-prepared. She draws out a study schedule to revise her work for the examinations. She is a consistent learner.

What drives her? What makes her want to excel? To Xiuhuan, her mother is her role model and “my greatest motivator.” When she was very young, her mother contracted cancer and little Xiuhuan had to accompany her on her trips to the hospital as there was no one to mind her at home. She saw her mother’s quiet determination to help the family move on. This taught Xiuhuan to be self-reliant and self-motivated. Today, we see a young lady with big plans. She will continue her education and hopes to graduate from either Nanyang Technological University or the Singapore Management University in accountancy.

Lin Xiuhuan, we applaud your achievements. We wish you the very best and know that you will always carry the TP torch and light new pathways of success.

Recipient: Chua Yu May
Project Title: SYMMETRY/ASYMMETRY
Course: Visual Communication

A consistent high performer, self-driven, talented and conscientious, Chua Yu May is the winner of this year’s prestigious Philips Design Excellence Award. Highly adept and articulate, she is also a creative thinker with a critical and analytical mind, able to handle demanding expectations and projects thoroughly and intelligently.

Her outstanding Final-Year Project entitled, SYMMETRY/ASYMMETRY, perhaps best describes Yu May’s unyielding passion, her relentless drive and her consistent commitment to work of exceptional merit.

The judges were most impressed with her creative prowess, executed with such strong conviction that clearly evidenced her maturity and intellectual capacity. In her visually-engaging project, Yu May offers a deeper understanding of the intriguing universality of symmetry and its essential co-existence with asymmetry.

Her thought-provoking designs and compelling visuals demonstrate the various aspects of symmetry, teasing viewers to look beyond aesthetics as there is definitely more to symmetry. She believes her project serves to provide a different perspective as well as an educational journey in learning more about this fundamental aspect of our lives that is too often easily dismissed.

In Yu May, one finds a thoughtful and caring person, an extremely accomplished and pleasant student, always working confidently and doing it with much humility.

Recipient: Quek Hui Ping Jolene
Course: Interactive Media Design

Jolene Quek’s final year project “The Sugar Mill” reflected her cheerful and easygoing approach towards life. A self-confessed foodie with a sweet tooth, her chosen theme allowed her the space to flex her creativity and imagination.

Her hard work and unique illustration style caught the attention of Mr Magnus Teo, associate creative director of Wunderman: “Jolene has produced some outstanding work. There is maturity in the development of her concepts, and the executions were delivered with polish. The results are wholesome digital narratives that resonate with the user through its visual appeal and creative depth. In the smooth articulation of her approach, she eloquently raises the value of her productions and user experience.”

Despite her achievement, Jolene remains humble: “My three years at TP can be described as a journey of self-discovery. Here, I’ve met many different individuals from diverse backgrounds, gone through a myriad of experiences, and forged new friendships. These experiences continue to shape my thinking and perception. However, I believe in staying true to myself; I’m still the same cheerful, easygoing and shy girl, only with a different outlook on life now.

Recipient: Gwen Chan Si Min
Project Title: The Craftsman Project
Course: Visual Communication

Gwen Chan Si Min sets high standard for herself, and her peers to emulate. Her outstanding qualitative work in terms of creative concepts, intellectual rigour and final execution is particularly evident.

In The Craftsman Project, Gwen laments the disappearing craftsmen in our midst and tackles the social implications of fastchanging technology which is rapidly replacing them. Designed to encourage interaction, her tactile design solutions immediately captivate her target audience in communicating the urgency to restore and to reconnect with the past and, importantly, to embrace it for the future.

Craftsmanship feeds on the society’s need for its existence and they thrive on it. Over the past century, the number of craftsmen has been dwindling and sadly, people no longer value the fine art of craftsmanship. Unfortunately, we have unknowingly lost our sense of uniqueness in this technology-driven world. Gwen passionately believes we should learn from their experiences and value what truly defines a craftsman and its trade.

Her project manifests in three parts - Past/ Present/ Future. While it is executed as a serial publication, it could subsequently be transformed into an exhibition for public display at the museum.

Recipient: Chong Jia Ying Jasmine
Project Title: Tiny Little Bugs
Course: Visual Communication

Exemplary in her conduct, Chong Jia Ying Jasmine is a highly-motivated and industrious student, clearly standing out in her cohort. This is attested to by her academic excellence – achieved consistently over the years, usually topping the entire cohort across the various subject areas in the course.

Recognising the need for social responsibility, Jasmine’s illustration project involves the creation of nine different young characters and a unique bug for each of them. Each bug represents an intellectual disability attached to the child. Her endearing and delightful drawings urge readers to view intellectually challenged children as unique individuals in their own rights and not to marginalise them for their disabilities.

In her opinion, everyone has a bug – we all have things we are unable to perform, for example, seeing without glasses, for some. The illustrated story leads readers through simple truths of revelation effortlessly, creating a new and an even more expressive means of communication. She uses typography, geometrical forms, linear elements, and shapes combined with a palette of colours, richly and appropriately textured to surprise the readers in her simple narration.

Recipient: Chaudhry Imran Suhel
Project Title: VERSUS
Course: Visual Communication

Throughout history, with naturally endowed physical strength, the male species has accepted the role and responsibility of tending to the more strenuous tasks, leaving the seemingly lighter jobs to the females. With the passage of time, a social stigma regarding the female species rode its way into a stereotypical attitude that pervades the human race.

Imran’s submission for his Final-Year Project depicts the emergence of the female species, and her rising challenge to gain equal respect and admiration, as she exerts her rights thereby creating a level playing field for all of mankind.

In his lavishly-produced photography book, entitled Versus, Imran has proven himself to be both a creative conceptual photographer and a consummate communicator. With a strong sense of visual drama, fresh and ingenious use of photography, he purposefully explores and persuasively dispels the stereotypical attitudes towards the fairer gender. He does so coherently with his strong emphasis on the expressions of ideas with powerful imagery which is intuitive and at the same time stunningly refreshing.

Recipient: Wee Mei Yi Mayguss
Course: Interior Architecture & Design

Mayguss is highly motivated and disciplined. She trusts her instincts and feelings when it comes to making decisions. She has proven to be a strong conceptual designer and persuasive presenter. She has impressed the tutors with her maturity in design thinking and visualization skills.

“Lucid Plane” is Mayguss’s final-year project, through which she aims to bring the inner world of schizophrenia to society. The concept of duality of mind which is closely associated with schizophrenics interlaces beautifully within the interior architecture. The proposal is indeed expertly designed to achieve its desired effects.

Mayguss is insanely talented and a passionate designer who is very capable of creating amazing designs in the not so distant future.

Recipient: Muhammad Ishaq B Abdul Rahim
Course: Interior Architecture & Design

Ishaq truly believes that design is a powerful force in life. He is well-versed with global issues that affect our existence especially the religious conflicts and violence in today’s world. As a responsible designer, Ishaq made an informed decision to tackle this issue through the medium of design by proposing an Inter-Faith Centre that promotes understanding and respect among the religious and spiritual communities living in Singapore. The centre aims to build bridges of dialogue and friendship between communities.

Ishaq’s endurance and intense focus is reflected in the relentless research of the subject area which was not only difficult to comprehend but equally challenging to interpret in terms of spatial language. His notion of disregarding boundaries is portrayed sensitively in the design proposal.

Ishaq is extremely pleased that he has made a conscious attempt to promote the message of fostering peaceful coexistence to his peers and design community in general.

The Singapore Manufacturers' Federation Project Prize is awarded to outstanding students who have also successfully completed a challenging project at the School of Engineering.

Four students have done very well in completing their highly demanding projects, displaying enthusiasm, ingenuity and dedication. Each was also outstanding in exercising their initiative and problem-solving skills.

The Recipients: Feng Yu Xin, Niran U Patel, Ng Yong Da Justin, Yang Shuang

Feng Yu Xin worked on an interesting project to develop a computerised billboard system to extend the functionality and increase the effectiveness of billboard advertising. He successfully developed a computerised billboard that uses A*Star’s gender recognition algorithm, to select and display a suitable advertisement according to the viewer’s gender. The billboard is also able to track the number of viewers and graphically present the statistical data.

Niran U Patel successfully completed a project aimed to develop and design a Remotely Operated Vehicle (R.O.V) for underwater surveys. Weighing just 35kg, the improved ROV was designed for easy deployment, and to conduct under water surveys up to a depth of 100m. This is a joint project between TP School of Engineering and DHI Singapore, and improves the existing ROV.

Ng Yong Da Justin improved and upgraded an existing autonomous robot which is capable of multi-tasking. The main strategy for the improvement was to study the current robot’s limitations, and modify these areas to strengthen the robot’s capability. The study and upgrading targeted three specific areas – speed, reliability and stability, besides other improvements and enhancements. These enabled the robot to perform very well at Singapore Robotic Games 2011, helping TP to retain the title of champion in the Intelligent Robot category.

Yang Shuang worked on a project to determine the feasibility of converting an existing outsourced logistics operation at the National Library Board (NLB) to an in-house operation. This would enable NLB to explore the different options for the key circulation process known as Return to the Owning Branch (RTOB), with a view to saving costs and reducing the risk of relying on a single vendor. An Evaluation Matrix and a Cost Analysis were successfully used to select a total of eight vendors and project a 10-year cost plan.

Recipient: Sayed Hamzah B Sayed Ali A

In his final year at TP, Hamzah, together with his team, worked on a major project titled “Automated Image Tampering Forensic Tool” - a first-of-its-kind automated tool to assist in forensic investigations. Hamzah worked keenly on the project, conducting research and contributing constructive solutions to the problems encountered to produce a superior project which has been commended for its technical strengths and potential commercial viability.

Hamzah is the first polytechnic student from Singapore to be selected for attachment to INTERPOL in France. Tapping on his reliability and resourcefulness, INTERPOL assigned Hamzah to the Information Security Incident Response Team where he was tasked to perform malicious code analysis as well as penetration testing on the wireless network in the General Secretariat. Recognising Hamzah’s keen understanding of cyber security issues and his organisational capabilities, he was also tasked to assist in organising INTERPOL’s firstever cyber security conference in Asia. The conference was held in Hong Kong and Hamzah was sponsored by INTERPOL to attend the event and assist in ensuring its success. Hamzah rose to the occasion and earned a strong commendation by INTERPOL for his contributions and performance during his period of internship.

Untiring in his pursuit of excellence, Hamzah has acquired professional certifications that give him an edge in the industry. These include the Red Hat Certified System Administrator certification (RHCSA) in 2009 and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) in 2010.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Hamzah impressed his peers with his drive to excel and ability to multi-task. A natural leader, Hamzah was also appointed President of the TP Open Source Student Interest Group since 2010. Hamzah was also the Vice-Chairman of the second All ’Bout Security (ABS) & Connectivity Seminar in 2010, and the Chairman in 2011 when he planned, coordinated and executed the public event that aimed to raise awareness on cyber security.

Humble and helpful, Hamzah does not hesitate to share his knowledge with others and has demonstrated a deep appreciation for learning. He also graduates as the to student and gold medalist of the Cyber & Digital Security diploma course.

Recipient: Elson Ong Yi Qiang

Elson Ong’s journey at TP has been one marked by excellent achievements.

In his final year at TP, he was posted to Thomson Reuters (Singapore) for eight months, working with the Risk Management Group. Elson worked with one other intern to develop a tool called “Kondor+ Structured Products, Pricing and Mapping Definition (KSP PMD) Generator” for the company. The tool was sent to Thomson Reuters’s European Innovation Team in Paris, where it was well-received and highly commended by the European team. His supervisor at Thomson Reuters found him to be someone with an excellent attitude and presentation skills. He was in fact so impressed with Elson that he sent him to Hong Kong where he assisted in the KSP upgrade and User Acceptance Test at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Pitching his skills in the global arena, Elson and his team participated in the Oracle Global Data Modelling Competition 2009/10. Of more than 100 entries from around the world, his team’s solution received an honourable mention by Oracle Corporation, a commendation specially reserved for the top 10 teams.

Elson and his team also took part in the Final5 Entrepreneurship Competition 2009/10, an entrepreneurship competition organised by TP. Unsurprisingly, they emerged champions.

A natural leader with excellent organisation abilities, Elson participated actively as an executive committee member of the interest group, TP Cliquers. He was an active and passionate outreach ambassador for TP, and was the Head of the Outreach Committee of the interest group.

In his time at TP, Elson participated in the TP-BP Mentors Scheme where he helped disadvantaged students from neighbouring schools. For his keen efforts, he was awarded the BP International Mentoring & Tutoring Bronze Service Award.

A young man with much promise, Elson has the attributes of compassion, responsibility and commitment. He is a respected leader and graduates as the top student and gold medalist of the Financial Business Informatics diploma course.

Recipient: Tng Ren Qi

Ren Qi’s keen passion for game development was evident from the day he started his course at Temasek Polytechnic. By the time he was in his final year, he had created a 3D, first-person, action game where the player makes use of an innovative puzzle mechanism to record and replay the path that a player has travelled. Working on the project with a team of developers, Ren Qi contributed significantly to the success of the project by taking on both the artist’s and audio engineer’s roles. The game, Vicinity, was showcased at the 2011 IT Project Show and was one of the best student projects of the year.

A dedicated student with a drive to excel, Ren Qi earned the highest praise from CONCISYS, a company in San Diego (USA), where he served his internship. He worked with a fellow intern from the National University of Singapore (NUS) to create a secure client-server system which allowed a pop singer and actor to record and upload voice messages using a mobile phone, and to send virtual gifts to their fans around the world. According to his internship supervisor, Ren Qi demonstrated excellent knowledge and was very skilled in applying his knowledge to the task at hand. Ren Qi’s supervisor was impressed to see that he possessed programming skill sets that are normally seen in a person who has had extensive work experience. Ren Qi had demonstrated a great attitude towards his work and was very eager to learn and engage in using new concepts and techniques.

A determined and amiable student with excellent interpersonal skills, Ren Qi looks forward to an exciting future in the area of digital game development. If his current achievements are anything to go by, he looks set to be a trailblazer.

Ren Qi also graduates as the top student and gold medalist of the Game & Entertainment Technology diploma course.

Recipient: Lim Yuan Jie

Yuan Jie is an outstanding student who joined TP via the Direct Polytechnic Admissions Exercise route in 2008, and garnered a remarkable 3 aggregate points in the GCE O Level examinations. An active student at the polytechnic, he proved his technical prowess in key IT competitions at both the national and international levels.

In 2008, he competed in the Singapore Microsoft Office Academic Skills Challenge and emerged the first ever participant to become national champion in both the Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel categories. Yuan Jie also participated in the WorldSkills Singapore Competition where he won the gold medal in the Singapore IT-Software Applications category. He subsequently represented Singapore at the international level in Calgary, Canada, and was awarded a Medallion for Excellence.

Adept at using various programming languages, Yuan Jie led a team of students to participate in the code::XtremeApps::2010 competition. Yuan Jie - the lead software developer - and his team created a community-driven web portal to encourage a green lifestyle among Singaporeans.

He went on to excel during his period of internship at the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), applying his technical skills and knowledge to conduct research on semantic technologies. His supervisors were impressed by Yuan Jie’s work ethic and technical competence, commending his remarkable problem-solving skills.

Yuan Jie also collaborated in a research project with Professor Tan Kian Lee, NUS Provost’s Chair Professor at the School of Computing where he developed a system that was capable of processing large amounts of data while simultaneously producing incremental statistics on the data. His work demonstrated a high level of capability and intelligence in applying existing concepts to solve new problems.

Coming from a humble home background, Yuan Jie made time to help those in need. He did this through the TP-BP Mentoring and Tutoring Scheme, where he helped students with their academic studies and also committed time to help students at his alma mater, North Vista Secondary School, prepare for the national level Microsoft Office Competition.

He did this through the TP-BP Mentoring and Tutoring Scheme, where he helped students with their academic studies and also committed time to help students at his alma mater, North Vista Secondary School, prepare for the national level Microsoft Office Competition.

Yuan Jie has demonstrated a resilience and passion for learning which have enabled him to succeed. He graduates as the top student and gold medalist of the Information Technology diploma course.

Recipient: Yeow Chun Sian

A highly motivated and independent learner, Chun Sian worked on a number of successful projects in his three years at the School of Informatics & IT.

One of these was the Interactive Digital Media Ideation Platform, a collaborative project between Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT) in Ireland and the School of Informatics & IT. With his team, Chun Sian created an interactive platform that enables people to use objects to represent ideas in a forum. This platform also serves as a medium to bring interested parties together to work on an idea, and also provide a better representation of ideas through the use of animation.

Chun Sian has worked in collaboration with the Singapore Wind Symphony Youth Winds to produce excellent animated graphics to accompany an orchestral interpretation of their performance of ‘Noah’s Ark’. With his team, Chun Sian also designed the logo for adventurer Khoo Swee Chow’s Friendship Kayak Expedition in 2009.

Chun Sian also used his skills to give back to his alma mater, Elias Park Primary School. He created and designed an interactive immersive technology game for the school’s 15th Anniversary Celebrations cum Racial Harmony Evening 2010.

In 2010, Chun Sian was assigned to the Global Maritime Port and Services to serve his internship. There, he put his design and technical abilities to use and created an animation production on boat safety. He went the extra mile and created e-learning materials on boat signals, which enabled staff to learn how to identify boat signals and test their knowledge.

Chun Sian has exhibited outstanding talent and interest in 3D animation and design. A quick and enthusiastic learner, he shows huge potential to excel in the creative industries. He also graduates as the top student and gold medalist of the Interactive Media Informatics diploma course.

Recipient: Tan Tai Man, Raffles

A quiet, but diligent and highly motivated learner, Raffles worked with a team on deploying an enterprise Unified Communication Service for his Major Project. Playing a key role in his team, Raffles contributed ideas and directed the team’s efforts leading them to develop a commendable application. On his own, Raffles produced several tools and scripts for monitoring and troubleshooting the problems. A bright student, he analyses information quickly and effectively by using sources available to solve problems and generate new ideas.

Raffles served his internship at ST Electronics (Info-Comm) Pte Ltd. There, he worked in a highly structured software development environment and demonstrated excellent knowledge of different programming languages as well as the various software development tools. His supervisor at ST Electronics was duly impressed with his dedication as well as his ability to learn fast and work independently.

Conscientious, approachable and helpful, Raffles has earned the respect of his lecturers and fellow students, who recognise his academic distinction, sound attitude towards learning and commitment to excellence. Raffles also graduates as the top student and gold medalist of the Mobile & Wireless Computing diploma course.