SINGAPORE – Mapletree Investments (Mapletree) and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) successfully held the inaugural Grand Final of The Mapletree Challenge on 2 May at Mapletree’s flagship property, Mapletree Business City, attended by Guest-of-Honour Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health.
The Mapletree Challenge aims to equip SIT students with job interview and presentation skills while providing them with a test-bed to pitch their entrepreneurial ideas. Supported by Mapletree, the Challenge, which began in October 2018, culminated in the Grand Final, as six teams of students with entrepreneurial ideas for sustainable innovations presented their business ideas before a panel of distinguished judges.
Over the past seven months, 520 SIT students have gone through a series of masterclasses on personal branding, interview and presentation skills, a forum discussion on entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation, as well as small group mentorship from industry experts on their entrepreneurial ideas. More information about The Mapletree Challenge is detailed in Annex 1.
As part of the Grand Final, the teams vied for the Mapletree Gold award, up to $5,000 cash prizes, and the opportunity to get support for prototyping their idea.
Among some of the ideas that were presented are innovations that (a) seek to enhance the working efficiencies of healthcare workers, (b) a pedal-powered scooter, (c) an environmentally-friendly way for used tires to be recycled for road-paving, and (d) a cloud-based receipt invoicing system for SMEs. The judges were impressed by the teams’ creativity and presentations, and Team Trolley emerged as The Challenge Champion, clinching the Mapletree Gold award and a cash prize of $5,000. The full list of prizes and winners is in Annex 2.
Professor Tan Thiam Soon, President, Singapore Institute of Technology said, “As Singapore’s university of applied learning, we create an environment in which our students can apply the theories learnt in their classrooms to solve real-world problems and come up with ideas on practical applications. The Mapletree Challenge is the first learning initiative of its kind at our young university, and it is a great example of a platform that integrates learning, industry and community. This is important because beyond academic pursuits, we place great emphasis in cultivating the SIT-DNA which will prepare our students to be ‘Thinking Tinkerers’ who are ‘Able to Learn, Unlearn and Relearn’. We also want to develop students who are ‘Catalysts for Transformation’, to be able to make significant contributions to our society, and yet, at the same time, be ‘Grounded in the Community’, to reflect and give back to the community.”
Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman of Mapletree, said “As a real estate developer, investor, capital and property manager, Mapletree is always on the search for innovations to enhance sustainability. Aligned to our support for education, which is one of our four Corporate Social Responsibility pillars, it is our aim for The Mapletree Challenge to provide entrepreneurial students with a platform to test their ideas and showcase innovative solutions which could be adapted into real life scenarios.”
Photos are available for download here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r5bj4wjqokzlb4z/AACDTyOEKuF5QH_UXvm4fkuua?dl=0
Photo credits: Singapore Institute of Technology
The top three teams of The Mapletree Challenge with Guest-of-Honour Dr Amy Khor (front row, centre), Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, Prof Tan Thiam Soon (third from left), President, SIT and Mr Edmund Cheng (first from right), Chairman, Mapletree.
(L-R): Winning team of The Mapletree Challenge and their supporters with judges Dr Reto Callegari (first from left), Entrepreneur-in-Residence, SIT, Prof Yaacob Ibrahim (second from left), Advisor, Office of the President, SIT, Guest-of-Honour Dr Amy Khor (eighth from right), Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, Prof Tan Thiam Soon (fifth from right), President, SIT, Mr Edmund Cheng (fourth from right), Chairman, Mapletree, Ms Heng Yeow Khing (third from right), Mapletree CSR Board Committee Member, Mr Wan Kwong Weng (second from right), Mapletree Group Chief Corporate Officer, and Ms Heng Sue Yuan (first from right), Vice-President, Corporate Communications, Mapletree.
Mr Edmund Cheng, Mapletree Chairman, presents a token of appreciation to Guest-of-Honour, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, while Prof Yaacob Ibrahim (first from left), Advisor, Office of the President, SIT, Mr Wan Kwong Weng (second from left), Mapletree Group Chief Corporate Officer, and Prof Tan Thiam Soon (second from right), SIT’s President look on.
Annex 1
Panel of Judges
Professor Ng Siu Choon
Associate Provost (Students)
Singapore Institute of TechnologyPrior to joining SIT, Professor Ng has over 28 years of experience in academia at both the National University of Singapore, NUS (1989-2005) and Nanyang Technological University, NTU (2005-2015), where he held several academic leadership positions. He served as Deputy Head (Teaching & Research) at the Department of Chemistry, NUS from July 1999 to December 2004.
Dr. Reto Callegari
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Singapore Institute of Technology
Dr. Reto Callegari is currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at SIT. He was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor at INSEAD from 2005-2012. Prior to setting up an investment company in Singapore and acting as an Angel Investor, he held various senior positions in banking, among them CEO Private Banking Asia-Pacific at Credit Suisse.
Professor Yaacob Ibrahim
Advisor, Office of the President
Singapore Institute of Technology
Professor Yaacob Ibrahim joined the SIT Board on 1 Jan 2019. He is currently Professor of Engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) where he is also Advisor to the President of SIT. Prior to his current position, Professor Yaacob served as Minister in the Ministries of Communications and Information (2011 – 2018), Environment and Water Resources (2004 – 2011) and Community Development and Sports (2002 – 2004). Throughout the 16 years as Minister, he was also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. He started his political career as a Member of Parliament (MP) in Jalan Besar GRC on 2 January 1997. He held several political appointments before becoming a minister in 2002.
Ms. Heng Sue Yuan
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Mapletree Investments
With over 22 years of communications and marketing experience, Sue Yuan leads Mapletree Investments’ Corporate Communications, in the Group’s communications, branding, public relations and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Understanding the fundamentals of business, she was one of the panel of judges for the Inaugural River Hongbao Hackathon 2019, an entrepreneurship competition which was also supported by Mapletree.
Annex 2
The Mapletree Challenge in its entirety comprises the following components:
Job Interview & Presentation Masterclasses (October 2018 to March 2019): focus on helping students refine job interview skills and personal brand, with the workshops directed by leading corporate trainers.
The Mapletree Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (20 March 2019): panel discussion focused on entrepreneurship and innovation.
Mentoring Masterclass (3 April and 10 April 2019): coaching sessions on entrepreneurship and innovation, and honing students’ entrepreneurial ideas and persuasive pitching and presentation skills
The Grand Final (2 May 2019): Selected participants will apply their discipline-specific skills to generate ideas for sustainability and present an innovative, practical and marketable plan to a panel of experts.
The Grand Final will feature six competing student project teams who will present entrepreneurial ideas for sustainable innovations, in a 10 to 15-minute live presentation. Teams will compete for The Mapletree Gold, Mapletree Silver, or Mapletree Bronze awards, cash prizes and the opportunity to have their ideas supported for prototyping.
Annex 2
List of winners:
| Prize | Winning team & members | |
| Mapletree Gold(S$5,000 cash) | Team Trolley The trolley innovation intends to enhance the design of a ‘changing’ trolley in a healthcare setting. The trolley aims to improve the workflow of staff when changing and cleaning patients and minimise time and money wastage from disruptions and laundry sorting errors. At the same time, the change in material and layout of the trolley also reduces the breeding of bacteria on the surfaces, ultimately improving the health of patients and promoting cost effectiveness for organisations.Team members: • Abdul Rafi Bin Abdul Rahim, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Nursing • Ang Zi Qing, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Nursing • Chua Wen Ling Joanne, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Nursing • Tan Hong Da, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Nursing | |
| Mapletree Silver(S$3,000 cash) | FX1 Revenue management is growing in complexity by being multi-dimensional, and there is a lack of modern tools available for training students in it. This results in ineffective traditional education that does not take advantage of the new technologies that are available. Our product aims to change that with an application by which students can learn the concepts of revenue management through simulations.Team members: • Phee Wei Boon, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Computing Science • Samuel Seah, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Computing Science | |
| Mapletree Bronze (S$2,000 cash) | JNL Our system innovation aims to automatize and digitalise the existing business process of SMEs by utilising existing cloud computing technologies and data visualisation libraries to abolish the obsolete “pen and paper” practice that is still in use today. Studies have shown that employing cloud-based computing will generate numerous advantages, such as capital investment savings, simplification, scalability as well as real-time visibility of crucial information required. An Automated Seafood Receipt Processing System developed and deployed by the presenter for Jong Fresh Supplies Pte Ltd will be used as a prime example.Team members: • Wong Yong Quan, Leslie, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Computing Science • Tong Jun Hong, Bachelor of Science with Honours in Computing Science | |
| Consolation Prizes(S$1,000 cash) | Scooter Power While the use of electric scooters is considered a “greener” mode of transport for short distance travel, the majority still rely on electrical power generation. This team’s scooter can be efficiently powered through pedalling by an average-sized adult, and it has the potential for replacing less cost efficient electric scooters for short distance travel.Team members: • Chan XinYin, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechanical Design Engineering • Liew Kar Quan, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechanical Design Engineering • Lim Jia Xin, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechanical Design Engineering • Wang Xin, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechanical Design Engineering | |
| YARJ Green Insight In line with Singapore’s vision of being a zero waste nation, YARJ Green Asphalt is proposing the incorporation of waste rubber tires (crumb rubber) into bituminous pavements. YARJ Green Asphalt is an environmentally friendly method to pave Singapore’s roads and ensure a constant 100% recycling rate of waste rubber tires. YARJ Green Asphalt, when implemented appropriately, will have the potential to improve the quality of Singapore’s current pavements and also help rectify a growing environmental problem.Team members: • Aliff Hamzah Bin Abdul Aziz, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Civil Engineering • Tor Lok Wei Joel, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Civil Engineering • Rennie Toh Qian Yu, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Civil Engineering • Tan Yong Quan, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Civil Engineering | ||
| Ng Wei Da, Jim Relationship problems and family conflicts are routine in our daily lives. Hearts.sg is an innovative crowd-sourcing online community that might assist any person who requires relationship advice. As a platform that allows those with an internet connection to ask any relationship question, Hearts.sg is also moderated so that sources from the public with the best answer are optimized to help anyone within the community. While aiming for profitability by partnering with healthcare practitioners and motivational speakers, Hearts.sg is a sustainable innovation dedicated to make Singapore a happier place. Team member: • Ng Wei Da, Jim, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in InfoComm Technology (Software Engineering) | ||
Each team received team and individual medals and certificates, and the winning team members’ names will be inscribed on a winners’ plaque.
