Start-Up@Singapore:A crucible for innovation

-Koh Eng Beng

A BUSINESS plan competition that started almost a decade back in NUS has evolved into a whole crucible for innovation. This year’s Start-Up@Singapore – organised by the NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, NUS Business School Alumni Association and NUS Entrepreneurship Society – saw the big winners creating mind-boggling products that tap on the mobile gaming market and the proliferation of online virtual communities.

The team Pic2Pic took home the top prize of S$30,000. The team comprises NUS graduating student Kasidit Methajarunon and partner Sean Seah. The youth category award went to The Mobile Gamers whose idea is about giving mobile gaming enthusiasts the option of playing without paying. The team Ikatoo comprising of five NUS students – Charles Gordon, Aditya Shah, Michelle Chen, Christopher Goh, and Jeremy Tan – won the BuzzCity IDM (Interactive Digital Media) Award. Their start-up provides innovative advertising solutions for virtual worlds.

BEACON FOR ENTREPRENEURS: Guest-of-honour Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Finance; Prof Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost; with members of Ikatoo from NUS which won the BuzzCity IDM award.

Speaking at the awards ceremony (31 May), guest-of-honour Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Finance said the kind of products and services that these young budding technopreneurs have come up with is the spirit of innovation that the Government is trying to encourage.

“It is this spirit of innovation that holds the key to Singapore’s continued success in the globalised economy. This is why we want to do all we can to promote a vibrant entrepreneurial sector, and make innovation pervasive in Singapore, in our universities, and in firms small and big.”

Start-Up@Singapore provides aspiring entrepreneurs with a repertoire of resources – such as educational seminars, team building workshops, mentorship opportunities and networking sessions – to help them make the critical transition from paper to product. The annual competition has spawned more than 60 start-ups over the years including award-winning businesses like tenCube and FriarTuck.

Green award winner works with Earthwatch scientists

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: HSBC/NYAA Youth Environmental Award 2008 winner Ong Wei Tao (extreme left) is the man behind the many impactful green initiatives on campus.

ACTION is needed more than words. This is the mantra of environmental activist Ong Wei Tao, who won the HSBC/NYAA (National Youth Achievement Award) Youth Environmental Award 2008. He does not believe in one-off campaigns that just use slogans like ‘Go Green’, ‘Save the Earth’, or ‘Recycle me’ – choosing instead to walk the talk with impactful sustainable projects. As chairman of the NUSSU SAVE (Students Against Violation of the Earth), Wei Tao, a 2nd-year Social Work student, is behind the many impactful green initiatives on campus. His OneDegree project reduces energy usage by setting the air-conditioning at 25 degrees in all lecture theatres and seminar rooms. And thanks to his Rebate2Earth campaign that charges 10 cents for each plastic bag used at the NUS Co-op stores, plastic bag usage was reduced by over 90 per cent. “I hope that I can influence people to rethink what is important in their lives and be grateful for the resources we have now instead of taking them for granted,” he said. As part of the prize, Wei Tao will be sent on a fully sponsored trip to Vietnam (16 - 24 June) to work with Earthwatch scientists on how butterflies are affected by climate change.