Latest news with #LeeKuanYewAward
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
S'pore Poly valedictorian aims to be clinician-scientist after observing doctors at work
Mr Donavan Tan, valedictorian of Singapore Polytechnic's School of Chemical and Life Sciences, will be studying at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. PHOTO: COURTESY OF DONAVAN TAN S'pore Poly valedictorian aims to be clinician-scientist after observing doctors at work The TL;DR: Mr Donavan Tan Jia Jie, valedictorian of Singapore Polytechnic's Chemical and Life Sciences cohort, e-mailed over 300 doctors for job-shadowing opportunities. More than 10 said yes, sparking his ambition to become a clinician-scientist. Between December 2022 and January 2023, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) biomedical science student Donavan Tan Jia Jie e-mailed more than 300 doctors individually asking them if he could shadow them at work to gain first-hand insight into the profession. Thirteen of them said yes. F rom February to April 2023, Mr Tan rotated through more than six medical specialities, including general medicine, neurosurgery, palliative medicine, and oncology, spending two to five days at each placement, typically from 8am to 6pm. His behind-the-scenes look at life as a doctor inspired him to want to study medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The soon-to-be 20-year-old recently graduated from SP with a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA) and was awarded the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Award, which is presented to outstanding course gold medallists from technology or computer-related disciplines at each of the polytechnics. He has applied for deferment from national service to study medicine at the National University of Singapore, where he has been offered a place. Looking back at his experience of observing doctors at work, he said one moment stood out. At the National Cancer Centre, he met a teenage patient, not much older than himself, who was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer . 'It was difficult for me, because he was someone around my age, a teenager who hadn't had the chance to fully experience life, to pursue his passions, start a family or contribute to society,' Mr Tan said. 'He had a prognosis of less than a year.' That experience ignited a sense of purpose in him – what began as a passing interest in medicine became a committed pursuit of oncology. His final-year project was a seven -month research on breast cancer at NUS Medicine. 'I realised I wanted to do more for patients like him, to help them live their lives to the fullest,' said Mr Tan, who was a research intern at the Cancer Discovery Hub, National Cancer Centre Singapore from March to May 2025. 'The path to medicine definitely hasn't been easy,' he said. 'But what kept me going is knowing that, soon, I will have the opportunity to make a lasting positive impact on the community around me.' One of Mr Tan's lecturers, Mr Goh Tong Hng, also guided him to consider medicine as a career, as well as regularly checked in on his academic progress, offered advice, and helped him prepare for interviews. After graduating from SP, Mr Donavan Tan worked as a research intern at the Cancer Discovery Hub, National Cancer Centre Singapore. PHOTO: COURTESY OF DONAVAN TAN Mr Goh 'was always there not just as a lecturer, but as a mentor', he said. Mr Tan, who achieved an L1R5 (raw) score of 7 at O levels, chose the polytechnic path for its practical learning and specialised curriculum, even though it meant a more challenging route to university. To bolster his application to study medicine at NUS, he also volunteered for community work. At Presbyterian Community Services, he connected with elderly residents living alone. At Meet-the-People sessions in West Coast-Jurong West GRC, he assisted residents in drafting case letters to agencies, gaining exposure to the struggles faced by underprivileged families . Under the Family of Purple Heart programme, which supports caregivers' emotional and mental well-being, he managed volunteers and coordinated outreach efforts. 'I wasn't sure where my interests truly lay, so I wanted to cover as many aspects of society as possible,' he said. 'Each experience touched a different need in the community, and I was keeping an open mind about where I could make the most impact.' Mr Donavan Tan did his final-year project and internship at the Department of Pharmacology, NUS Medicine, helping to develop targeted treatments for an aggressive type of breast cancer. PHOTO: COURTESY OF DONAVAN TAN His dedication was recognised when he was awarded the SP service-learning award for two consecutive years, in recognition of his commitment to supporting vulnerable and underprivileged communities through active engagement in service projects. While he acknowledged the importance of a strong portfolio, he said his community involvement stemmed from a genuine desire to serve, not just to impress medical school interviewers. 'I did all these because I genuinely wanted to do something meaningful for the community,' said Mr Tan. He said: 'For me, it's always been about the bigger picture.' 'I want to do good with my life, not just for myself but for others as well. Medicine offers me the best opportunity to have a lasting, positive impact on the community.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Award-winning Singapore poly graduate is aspiring tech entrepreneur coding for social good
Mr Jeyakumar Sriram was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Award and OCBC Prize for academic excellence, leadership and contributions to the institution. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC Award-winning Singapore poly graduate is aspiring tech entrepreneur coding for social good The TL;DR: Singapore Polytechnic graduate Jeyakumar Sriram had no coding experience before joining the polytechnic. Today, the 19-year-old aspiring tech entrepreneur has participated in multiple hackathons that have won him seed funding for his innovations. When Jeyakumar Sriram was figuring out his next steps after secondary school, he decided to follow his heart. Against the advice of his relatives, who felt that he should attend junior college with his stellar O-level grades, and despite having no coding experience, Mr Sriram decided to pursue applied artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics at Singapore Polytechnic (SP). 'My family (felt) that spending three years at polytechnic (rather than two at junior college) was a big commitment that might not be worth it, especially given that I wasn't set on a career path yet,' said Mr Sriram, who scored seven A1s for his O-level examinations and graduated as the top student of his alma mater Yuan Ching Secondary School. 'But I had always looked up to entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, and I felt that technologies like AI had a bright future, so I decided to take a leap of faith.' Today, the 19-year-old is not only a confident coder, but also a multi-time hackathon finalist whose innovations for social change have won him funding and support from organisations such as Open Government Products and the Ministry of Defence (Mindef). He was one of more than 5,000 students who graduated from SP from May 2 to 8. He was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Award, which is presented to four outstanding course gold medallists from the technology or computer-related courses in SP; and the OCBC Prize, which recognises Lee Kuan Yew institutional medallists for their academic excellence, leadership and contributions to the institution and beyond. Mr Sriram's first big break came during Build for Good 2024 , a month-long hackathon organised by Open Government Products, which called on participants to address public-good problems using technological solutions. During the hackathon, Mr Sriram and two other team members developed Ho Seh Bo?, an app designed to assist volunteers at active ageing centres in their outreach and visitations of vulnerable seniors by digitising record-keeping and providing an AI assistant that gives personalised advice for engaging each senior based on records kept on the app. Mr Sriram said: 'There are a lot of broader issues like sustainability, for example, that many people are already trying to solve or that can't be solved because of external issues. 'By focusing on something more niche, I feel like I can have a bigger impact on the people I'm helping.' Mr Sriram and his team were finalists in Build for Good 2024, and won $5,000 of seed funding for their mobile app. Ho Seh Bo? has been adopted by two active ageing centres in their day-to-day operations. It generates revenue by charging the centres for subscriptions to its services, which are variable based on the size of the organisation. Mr Sriram said: 'Ho Seh Bo? was never really created with the intention of making profits. Right now, we are using the revenue to sustain our cloud infrastructure and just keep the business going.' Mr Jeyakumar Sriram (2nd from right) and his team clinched first place at the YouthXHack annual hackathon for their innovation Oculis. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC He has another up-and-coming start-up in the works – Oculis, a mobile app that uses visual information AI to help visually impaired people to navigate. The prototype of Oculis won first place at the annual YouthXHack 2024 hackathon , which aims to challenge young Singaporean to solve real-life problems. The mobile app is currently being developed under Mindef's Total Defence Sandbox Initiative, which seeks to support initiatives that put Total Defence into action, and Mr Sriram plans to commence user testing for it by the end of May. After graduation, Mr Sriram is planning to study computer science at the National University of Singapore after completing his national service. He hopes to continue working on new innovations and start-ups in hopes of becoming a full-time entrepreneur. Asked about his biggest takeaway from his time in polytechnic, Mr Sriram said: 'It's important to have the courage to try new things. If you told me before polytechnic that I'd be a start-up founder and entrepreneur, I'd have called you crazy. 'I think you never know what you can do unless you try it.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
