STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS & STUDENT LIFE
CDE shines at NUS Achievement Awards 2024
A sense of pride and accomplishment filled the air at the NUS University Cultural Centre on 26 October 2024 as NUS celebrated its brightest talents at the NUS Achievement Awards (NAA). The NAA recognises student achievements beyond academics, across six categories: arts, community impact, competitions (general), leadership, sports, and recognition (of Eco Champions and Campus Vibrancy), with each category split into Distinction, Merit and Commendation levels.
Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS President, the Guest-of-Honour, highlighted the importance of celebrating students' journeys and achievements. He emphasised that student life is pivotal in fostering well-rounded individuals through new opportunities in the arts, sports, community impact, and leadership roles. He noted that "NUS student life would not be complete without a string of signature events such as the freshmen orientation camps, Rag and Flag, and the Student Life Fair," calling these the "heart and pulse of the university."
Among the honourees, CDE students and their outstanding projects earned one Distinction award, two Merit awards and two Commendation awards. Chua Hao En from Built Environment was recognised with the prestigious Sportsman of the Year award.
Three projects from the Department of Architecture received Distinction and Merit awards. The Distinction award in the competition category was presented to Tan Wei Jie Eugene, Class of 2023. He garnered international recognition for his thesis drawing, “Archatographic Map of the Incomplete Landscape on Pedra Branca,” under the supervision of Associate Professor Lilian Chee. Josephine Pun Tsz Kiu from the Class of 2025 won the Merit award for Original Artistic Work of the Year under the Arts category for her project “The Lantern”, which transformed 5,500 discarded bottles into a pavilion facade.
Designing for sustainability extends beyond reusing items. Team Limue, comprising members Zikry Nasrullah, Jordan Yeo, Sean Lim Jun Rong and Glen Ang Xun Zhe from the Department of Architecture, Class of 2025 proposed a sustainable solution to foster future resilience. Their innovative approach, which combined AI-driven design software with advanced rendering techniques, earned them third place in the International Building Design Competition (IBDC) 2023 and a Merit award in the Competitions (General) category.
Kudos to our other winners!
- Team OTTER / iGEM 2023: Biomedical Engineering
- Sports Scholarship Award Ng Yi Hsuan: Materials Science and Engineering
- Fan Qing Yao, President, NUS Students’ College of Design and Engineering Club
- Sharmila Selvam, President, Residential College 4: College Students' Committee
Read more about their accomplishments at: https://cde.nus.edu.sg/news-detail/cde-shines-at-nus-achievement-awards-2024/
CDE Community Day 2024
Food, fun, and fanfare were the order of the day as CDE held the annual Community Day at To-Gather on 16 October 2024. From carnival games to booths offering hot dogs and ice cream, CDE faculty, staff, and students could pop by to unwind and enjoy with one another. But it wasn’t all about just the food and games. It was a celebration of community as CDE staff, students, and projects were recognised for their contributions to CDE and the community at large.
In recognising their contributions to community-building, the Office of Student Life awarded these outstanding individuals, dubbing them CDE’s very own Superheroes. The recipients include:
Chia Ya Jun Alicia (Industrial Systems Engineering and Management)
Over the past year, Alicia has been instrumental in enhancing the visibility and engagement of the ISE club as Project Director for the Freshmen Orientation Camp (FOC). She showcased exceptional leadership and organisational skills by developing the department's first overnight camp. Alicia has contributed creatively as a member of the publicity team for the Business Analytics Case Competition (BACC), designing eye-catching themes and posters that attracted students from various institutions, including NUS, polytechnics, and junior colleges. Now serving as the Vice President (Internal) of the club, Alicia coordinates activities and fosters a supportive environment for all members.
Jasmin Lee Swee Fong (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
Jasmin has been a vital part of the undergraduate experience in the department for nearly a decade. As a beloved admin staff member, she is fondly remembered by many generations of students who frequently return to visit her at NUS. Beyond her administrative duties, Jasmin connects with the ChBE students through academic advisement and personal support, becoming a trusted source of guidance. Her extensive network has been instrumental in outreach events, helping to nominate outstanding student ambassadors and facilitating connections between juniors and seniors for peer tutoring and SEP opportunities.
Tan Jun Wei (Industrial Systems Engineering and Management)
Junwei's selfless dedication to his colleagues and students truly sets him apart as a superhero staff member. He actively participates in group chats for prospective and current students, responding to queries promptly, even during evenings and weekends. He responded swiftly during emergencies, like when he helped a colleague whose gifts were damaged by a leak. Beyond these contributions, Junwei is known for his physical support, frequently helping with heavy items and event setups. His reliability shines as he covers for colleagues during exams or switches leave days to ensure the office remains staffed. He proactively manages stock for outreach gifts and supplies and takes the initiative to troubleshoot office equipment issues.
Other recipients of the superhero awards include:
- Harini Ravichandran (Materials Science and Engineering)
- Assoc Prof James Kah (Biomedical Engineering)
- Assoc Prof Gabriel Kor (Department of the Built Environment)
Several projects were also recognised for their impact on the community. In the research category, the following projects were awarded the Superheroes: Impact Research Project Awards.
- 3D Printing Enabled Urban Farming. A student team mentored by Asst Prof Sing Swee Leong (Mechanical Engineering)
- Green, High-throughput and Universal Solution for Spent Lithium-ion Battery Materials Recycling. Led by Prof Wang Qing (Materials Science and Engineering)
- Research, Documentation, and Restoration of Singapore's Built Heritage through 3D Modelling. Led by Dr Nikhil Joshi (Architecture)
- Transforming Waste Glass into Sustainable Building Materials. Led by Dr Du Hongjian (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
In the community service category, the following projects were awarded the Superheroes Community Service Project Awards.
- Engineering Design Innovation Centre (EDIC) projects
- Biomedical Engineering for Good (BGood) initiatives
- College of Design and Engineering (CDE) Club's Community Service Project with FaithActs
- Chemical Engineering Students Society (ChESS) Club's Project Cheway in Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Civil Engineering (CE) Club's Operation Orion in Ha Giang Province, Vietnam
Check out all the highlights from CDE Community Day 2024 below.
CDE Star Awards 2024 Performance and Awards Ceremony
The CDE Star Awards held on 23 October 2024 was a night to remember! The event kicked off at the SDE4 Open Plaza with a warm welcome and introduction of our esteemed guest judges. We were then treated to mesmerizing performances by Varun Kohli, Li Jiani, and Wu Xianqin.
During the intermission, we had an interactive Kahoot quiz that tested attendees’ knowledge of CDE. The top three scorers received cute keychains and a Star Awards-themed Wolfram pin. The energy continued to soar with a song request segment while the votes for the top performer were tabulated.
The evening of performances and celebration peaked with the awards ceremony, where we celebrated our students’ non-academic achievements. Congratulations to all the award recipients!
CDE Star Awards recipients
Community Engagement
- Chong Tse-Ning (Biomedical Engineering)
- Shiek Abdullah Mohamed Fazil (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
- Operation Orion (Civil Engineering)
- Engineers Without Borders (NUS)
Commendation: Shaul Hameed (Architecture)
Design & Media
- Josephine Pun Tsz Kiu (Architecture)
- Ryan Quah Kun Hao (Architecture)
Commendation: Kristy Tan Wei Qi (Industrial Design)
Leadership
- Fan Qing Yao (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Zeng Xinyu (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Commendation: Saashtika Mohan (Biomedical Engineering) and Shan Yu Xuan (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Sports Competition
- Teo Yu Xuan (Biomedical Engineering)
Commendation: Nadiah Ong Kia Hwee (Environmental Engineering)
Performing Arts
- Varun Kohli (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Women Excellence Award
- Chong Tse-Ning (Biomedical Engineering)
- Josephine Pun Tsz Kiu (Architecture)
- Zeng Xinyu (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
- Teo Yu Xuan (Biomedical Engineering)
Thank you to everyone who made this event possible!
Inspiring design earns MArch student Cai Yujun first prize in the Underbridge International Architecture Competition
Cai Yujun, a Year 2 student in the Master of Architecture programme, has achieved outstanding success by securing the 1st Prize and the Buildner Student Award in the recent Underbridge International Architecture Competition. His project, "New Raft," was selected from among 103 entries and received high praise from the organisers for its exceptional quality. The Head of Department, Professor Jeff Hou, commended him for his remarkable accomplishment in winning first prize in this competition.
Click here to read more about his winning project.
BME students help to advance healthcare in Timor-Leste
Helping the wider community while on an overseas trip? The bGlobal programme combines the best of both worlds as students from the Department of Biomedical Engineering headed to Timor-Leste this August to dive deep into the country’s healthcare system and identify gaps that the students can potentially help fill.
“This gives us a very unique geographical advantage for giving our students an opportunity to see how healthcare is administered in resource-constrained countries,” said Assistant Professor Andrew Holle. bGlobal provides students with the opportunity to apply what they learn in school and use their knowledge and skills to address the healthcare challenges in Timor-Leste.
Just ask Gabriel Wong, who was part of the first batch of students who participated in the bGlobal programme last year. One of his biggest takeaways from the programme was how “small things can make a large impact.” He added, “Simple things that we may take for granted here, such as battery accessibility, can in fact be a hurdle in other areas.”
Read more about their trip here: https://cde.nus.edu.sg/news-detail/bme-students-help-to-advance-healthcare-in-timor-leste/
Arcade-like fitness games for seniors wins Huawei Tech4City Competition
Seniors staying fit with arcade-style games?
Meet PrimePlay, the winning project at the Huawei Tech4City Competition 2024. Designed by graduates from Biomedical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, this innovative arcade-style game is developed to keep seniors active, showcasing how technology can improve lives. Driven by AI-powered fitness plans, PrimePlay is redefining senior fitness!
Congratulations to the team!
Learn more about their journey here: https://cde.nus.edu.sg/news-detail/arcade-like-fitness-games-for-seniors-wins-huawei-tech4city-competition/
Triage+ awarded a Red Dot Design Award
Another feather in the cap for NUS Division of Industrial Design! Its student team, comprising Damian Lim, Yi Zhi Loh, Swee Yin Teo and Elvin Saracan, under the tutelage of Assoc Prof Song Kee Hong, received the Red Dot Design Award for their project Triage+.
Submitted under the Next Gen Award category, Triage+ is an innovative handheld printer designed for disaster relief, optimising the patient triage process. Equipped with onboard sensors for automatic vital sign detection, it minimises errors and enhances the efficiency of rescuing survivors. The device generates triage labels with critical information, ensuring seamless communication between first responders and hospitals, saving precious seconds when every moment counts.
Congratulations to the team!
For more info about the project, watch this video: https://youtu.be/7rZ_ktOI1hA
Lee Xian Hui, Year 2 Computer Engineering student, wins 1st place at the Rewired Hackathon
Lee Xian Hui, Year 2 Computer Engineering student, secured 1st place at the Rewired Hackathon sponsored by Espressif.
Xian Hui first stumbled upon the hackathon through the IEEE student group and was drawn to the opportunity of creating cutting-edge solutions using Espressif hardware. Driven to push the boundaries of innovation, the project takes an eco-friendly approach to repurpose components from a broken mouse, specifically the red LED, to build a smart farm system.
The team developed an IoT setup controlled through a Telegram bot, to monitor and automate key farm parameters. One feature the team implemented was to adjust the LED light intensity based on ambient light conditions, ensuring optimal growth for crops.
Read more about this innovation, that gives life to second-hand electronics at: https://www.instagram.com/p/DA-Dv_VuL-U/?img_index=3
Computer Engineering students Chew Jing Xiang and He Shaoliang with Computer Science teammates Evan Lee and Ni Shenghan receive Build for Good Starter Fund for their innovative project, Bloo AI
Year 3 Computer Engineering students Chew Jing Xiang and He Shaoliang, and their teammates from Computer Science, Evan Lee and Ni Shenghan, received the Build for Good Starter Fund of $5000 for their innovative project, Bloo AI, an AI-powered chatbot designed to improve recycling efforts, at the Open Government Products’ Build for Good Environment hackathon. This support will enhance Bloo’s capabilities in promoting sustainability through cutting-edge technologies like computer vision and AI-driven guidance on recycling practices.
Read more here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBL5joSiPw7/
iDP Students awarded the Gold Award at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)-SINO One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition 2024
Congratulations to our Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) students, Dhanda Armaan (Chemical Engineering, Year 3) and Baid Samyak (Economics, Year 3), who were awarded the Gold Award at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)-SINO One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition 2024 (International Student Track) on 4 October 2024. This award comes with a non-dilutive HKD$50,000 (~S$8,500) prize and collaboration opportunities at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.
The HKUST-SINO One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition 2024 showcases innovative startups vying for the Grand Prize. In the Final Round, 15 finalists presented their ground-breaking ideas to a panel of expert judges based on several criteria such as entrepreneurship and creativity.
Armaan and Samyak are co-founders of Pawsible Foods, a start-up that focuses on leveraging filamentous fungi to develop sustainable protein solutions for global food security and product commercialisation. They are presently exploring valorisation of food side-streams into mycoproteins as their project for the CDE3301 Ideas to Proof-of-Concept course under the supervision of Dr Jovan Tan and Dr Elliot Law from the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre.
iDP students achieve first and second runner-up at the Hydrogen Innovation Challenge
Congratulations to our outstanding students from the Innovation and Design Programme (IDP) for their remarkable achievements at the Hydrogen Innovation Challenge, organised by the NUS Centre for Hydrogen Innovations!
We are incredibly proud of Raymand Tey Jia Sheng (Year 3, Electrical Engineering) and Moey Sean Jean (Year 3, Mechanical Engineering), who claimed the First Runner Up position with a $2000 prize, and Lee Seung Jun (Year 2, Chemical Engineering) and Adhvika Mohan (Year 3, Chemical Engineering), who secured the Second Runner Up spot with a $1000 prize.
The Hydrogen Innovation Challenge invited participants to explore how hydrogen can help Singapore achieve a carbon-neutral energy economy by 2050. The competition consisted of two exciting rounds:
- Synthesis – where participants created awareness videos on "Hydrogen for Singapore in 2050."
- Ignition – a thrilling on-stage quiz testing their knowledge of hydrogen technologies, the hydrogen economy, and policy.
Their awards were presented by Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, during the opening ceremony of the NUS Centre for Hydrogen Innovation.
This achievement is a testament to our students' innovative spirit, hard work, and dedication in addressing pressing global issues through creative design and innovation.
Team Bumblebee headed to Florida for the Maritime RobotX Challenge
Wishing Team Bumblebee the best of luck as they head to Florida to represent NUS in the Maritime RobotX Challenge from 3 to 9 November!
The Maritime RobotX Challenge is a prestigious international competition designed to inspire interest in autonomous robotic systems within the maritime domain, with a focus on the science and engineering behind cooperative autonomy.
Team Bumblebee is a multidisciplinary, student-led robotics team comprising students from CDE's Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering as well as students from School of Computing, and the NUS Business School.
They design and build autonomous maritime vehicles capable of navigating underwater and on the water surface, performing complex tasks autonomously. The students also design intelligent systems robust to changing environmental conditions, achieving full autonomy with an advanced sensor suite and an array of powerful actuators.
After their impressive 2nd place finish in RobotX 2022, Team Bumblebee has been hard at work refining and enhancing their Autonomous Surface Vessel 4.0, aiming for an even stronger performance at RobotX 2024.
We’re all cheering for you! Good luck, Team Bumblebee!