March 2011 - Temasek Polytechnic

campus newspaper
march 2011
Social gaming
network
Campus
kindergarten
TP Aikido
3 Facebook
games to check
out this year
Tots in TP’s Preschool Learning
Academy
TP’s sports interest
group goes beyond
campus grounds
Extended job fair proves a success
By: Michelle A Kwara
T
he annual Opportunity Fair
was held over two days, for the
first time. Previous editions had
received overwhelming response, which
resulted in feedback that the venue was
overcrowded. So this year, the change
was made to address the issue of space
constraint.
Organised by the Career & Course
Advising Office (CCAO), the Get
Connected@TP Opportunity Fair 2011
was held on Jan 9 and 11 and hosted
54 exhibitors, all industry or education
partners.
Human Resource representatives
from the public and private sectors were
present at the fair to offer a wide array of
job positions to TP students and graduates.
Senior Officer Michele Low, from
the International Relations and Industry
Services Department, spearheaded the
event as Project Manager.
“The aim of the Opportunity Fair
is to connect students with potential
employers. Beside jobs, exhibitors also
offer further education opportunities [for
graduating students],” said Ms Low.
Alongside the main fair happening
at the foyer, talks were held in Auditoriums
1 and 2 for exhibitors to showcase their
career and further education options.
Local universities such as the
National University Singapore (NUS) and
Singapore Management University (SMU)
sent their admissions representatives to
talk to students about their courses.
Ms Min Goh, from the NUS
Office of Admissions, a veteran of TP
Opportunity Fairs, felt that “TP students
are well-behaved and responsive.”
She also lauded the decision to
spread the fair over two days.
“Given the space constraint, holding
the event over two days is very logical…
It’s definitely a successful event, looking at
the crowd we’re getting,” she said.
Industry partners such as IKEA
Singapore, M1 Limited, and educational
partners including Nanyang Technological
University (NTU), Singapore Institute
of Technology (SIT) and IDP Singapore
gave students a glimpse of opportunities
they could have in the future.
City of Sharing project
sees jump in donations
was held, from Jan 10 to 14, collecting a
total of $16,000 worth of food items. It
community service project, City was a joint project by the Kovan Commuof Sharing, received good re- nity Centre and students from the Inforsponse in the five days that it matics and IT Studies Club (IITSC).
A booth was set up outside the TP
Library from 11am to 6pm daily during
those five days, to collect donated items.
The collected food items were later
distributed to three beneficiaries, namely,
Society of the Aged Sick, Pertapis Centre
For Women & Girls and St Luke’s Eldercare Hougang Centre.
“IITSC has been assisting with this
Photo: Esther Ng
project
for six years now and this year,
TP students (from left) Lin Hejun, Johnathe amount of donations received has
thon Lim and Randy Seah helped to collect
$16,000 worth of food items.
increased significantly from the previous
By: Esther Ng
A
Photo: Michelle Ann Kwara
Students checking out job opportunities at the career booths set up in the main foyer.
Graduating students were grateful
for the event. “I had no idea what I was
going to do after graduation, but after
seeing the fair, I think I will consider
applying for a job at IKEA Singapore,”
said third-year student Ho Jia Min.
Third-year Engineering student
Cheryl Lee said: “I didn’t even realise
that university applications are already
open until I heard about it during the
admissions talk. Now I have a better
understanding of what my chances are,
of getting into uni.”
TP graduate Siti Aisha, 21, returned
to her alma mater to check out the fair
and took the opportunity to apply for
some jobs. “I’m glad that TP makes the
effort to help its graduates,” she said.
year,” said Randy Seah, 19, President of
IITSC and third-year Financial Business
Informatics student. Also, more staple
foods were collected this year.
Some 300 TP students and alumni
had volunteered their services for this
project.
This included students from IITSC
and the other “Perfect 10” clubs (studies
clubs from the different schools, TP Students’ Union, Community Service Club,
Sports Club and Adventure Club).
These student volunteers were not
only involved in the collection drive on
campus. Together with about 80 other
non-TP volunteers, including secondary
school students, they also went door to
door to collect donations in the Kovan
and Hougang neighbourhoods.
Volunteers sorted and packed the
donated items and then delivered them
to the respective beneficiaries. The food
items collected were divided into three
categories - canned food, dry rations and
beverages. These included rice, noodles,
sugar, biscuit, oats, canned meat, vegetables, fruits, Milo, coffee and tea.
The reason why food items were
selected as the form of donation instead
of cash was because of the sensitivity of
cash donations.
“Furthermore, when a beneficiary receives cash donations, it is less
tangible and meaningful as compared
to food items,” said Johnathon Lim,
Charity Officer of City of Sharing and
second-year Cyber and Digital Security
student.
Besides volunteering their services, the 15 main committee members of
IITSC also chipped in to buy food items
for the beneficiaries.
“The heart to give is the most
important. Everyone should keep this
spirit of sharing going on in the years to
come,” said Johnathon.
2
Stop Press :: March 2011
Uni guide in TP
By: Abigail Ong
A
s another school year drew
to an end, final-year students
were looking at their journey
beyond the poly — where to pursue
their further studies or which job to
take up.
For its graduating students,
TP offers many different forms of
assistance, like the recent, Get Connected @ TP Opportunity Fair 2011.
TP hosts the annual opportunity fair
to allow you to secure jobs, internship and training positions, grants
and scholarships from our industry
partners and find out about further
education opportunities from our
education partners.
However if you are just starting your search, TP’s website offers
a Further Education Pathways page
that features the Diploma to Degree
Pathfinder. Launched last November, it directs you to a list of all the
universities with advanced standing
arrangements that you can get with
your diploma. Advanced standing
allows you to enjoy exemptions and
Uncovering
cyber truth
By: Nuraini Rizan
I
magine being transported into an
episode of CSI whenever class
begins. Dealing with computerrelated crimes, this course promises a
rewarding experience in the widening
digital forensics industry.
The first of its kind in Singapore,
Diploma in Digital Forensics (DFS) is
the newest kid on the block. Housed
under the School of Informatics and
IT, the diploma’s pioneer cohort begins
its studies in the April 2011 semester
under Course Manager Ms Mandy Mak.
Processes to launch the course began in 2007 when Ms Mak, then Course
Manager of Diploma in Cyber and
Digital Security (CDS), began proposing
DFS to the Ministry of Education.
Surveys were done to determine
the demand in the market and it was
found that there is a need for professionally trained digital forensics and IT
experts due to the rise in computer related crimes and the lack of network
security development.
The approval was obtained in
2010 with the course structure already
in place. Covering a wide range of studies, some of the modules that the pioneer batch of students would be taking
include Network Security and Forensics, Criminal Procedure for Forensics
complete your degree in a shorter
time and at a lower cost.
Dr Radha Ravindran, a senior
officer of International Relations
and Industry Services (IRIS), said:
“It is a comprehensive list of the articulation arrangements TP has with
universities across the world as well
as local universities that can be accessed through this search engine.”
The Diploma to Degree Pathfinder is an efficient and essential
first step in your search for the perfect school. The system is neat and
categorizes your list by countries.
It even specifies exactly how much
you can deduct off your university
education (for example, one year, six
months or nine subjects).
“This helps you find a university in the country that allows you to
finish your degree in the fastest possible time (with advanced standing),”
she shares.
TP also has a Career & Course
Advising Office, located at the Student Development Centre, Block 30,
Level 1, next to the TP bookshop. As
a resource centre, it maintains a col-
lection of catalogues, prospectuses
and guidebooks on overseas universities and education agencies.
Ms Boey Suit Yim, a senior officer of IRIS, says: “Students mostly
ask about how to apply for universities. Their biggest concerns are always about the admission criteria for
the schools they aim for. Students
also ask about advanced standing and
if they qualify for scholarships”.
The office also arranges for
institutions such as the Independent
Development Program, British Council, Singapore Institute of Technology,
and the Singapore University of Technology and Design to provide group
advising sessions on TP campus.
Farah Tan, a graduating student
from the diploma in Law and Management, is just one of many students
who attended a consultation with the
British Council last November.
“The advisers were very helpful
and knowledgeable. They introduced
me to schools that were closest to
what I was looking for and advised
me on the schools I already had in
mind,” she said.
Analysts and an IntroPhoto: Nuraini Rizan
duction to Psychology
of Deviant Behaviour.
Mr Lim Chee
Yong, 48, a DFS lecturer, said: “So far, forensic
skill is usually one subject but here it is an entire course on its own.
It has a wider scope and
overall, it is holistic as it
covers technology, law,
psychology ... to offer
holistic expertise in the
Digital Forensics was a hit among prospective students
area.”
during the open house.
As the field of
digital forensics overlapped with the it is not as ‘glam’ as you’d think,” said
study of law, students would be taught Mr Lim. “Sometimes it takes days to
on “how to use tools to discover the piece together the evidence.”
digital evidence” where they would then
The first exhibition for the course
learn incident handling. This module was held during the TP Open House in
teaches them the proper handling of ev- January with the help of CDS students.
idence so as to “be able to build a strong
Some of the significant exhibits
case when challenged in court”.
included the showcase of SmartScan, a
DFS is often confused with CDS precise digital imaging software that was
with the latter being involved mostly developed by final-year CDS students,
in the preventive stage of computer to detect manipulations to documents.
crimes. “DFS is forensics, it is the afterDFS was promoted through talks
math to when something has been done in secondary schools and response has
and data is affected,” clarified Mr Lim. been encouraging so far, with interest
As the process of investigating being shown by the students.
the crime scene is tedious, students of
Questions were also asked to the
DFS are expected to have good analyti- delight of the lecturers who were mostcal skills and patience.
ly from CDS.
A good foundation in IT and pasA DFS graduate would have
sion for the field is also crucial to tide career prospects in law enforcement
through the long hours of uncovering agencies, financial institutions as well
the relevant evidence of computer crime. as data recovery, audit and consulting
“Basically, truth is, it is very te- firms, working as an analyst, investigadious with a lot of back room work so tor or researcher.
Credit
card
for students
Maybank’s move
gets mixed reaction
By: Jolin Tan
I
t used to be that only those above 21
with an annual income of $30,000 or
more could apply for a credit card. For
those under 21, they could be a supplementary cardholder, with their parents as the main
cardholder. But now, those who are not quite
an adult yet — teenagers who are 18 years and
above — can have their very own credit card.
Maybank has recently launched the
eVibes card, which allows those 18 years
and above to apply for a credit card without the need for any income or guarantor.
The card comes with a monthly credit limit
of $500, and benefits include 1-for-1 movies and buffets deals, phone plans deals and
other periodical benefits.
For those who have always wanted to
have extra spending money, especially during
the month-end periods, where cash flow gets
tighter, this may seem like a dream come true.
This sentiment is shared by Serene
Tan, a 17-year-old student from the Diploma
in Business Process and Systems Engineering, who currently owns the eVibes card. “I
had always wanted my own credit card as I
think the benefits, such as having discounts
at restaurants, are very useful and can help
you save a bit of money,” she said.
So far, Serene has spent an average of
$150 a month with the card, using it mostly
on clothing, movies and food. When asked if
there was the possibility that she would overspend, she said: “I have my own limits and I
would only spend within my means.”
However, not every adult, needless to
say teenagers, can plan their spending wisely. Mr Kenneth Ong, 36, a financial adviser,
feels that 18 is quite a young age for teenagers to own a credit card.
He explained: “They are still too young
to manage their finances. If they overspend,
they might borrow money from their friends
which would create a domino effect. It can
be a dangerous cycle which they may find
themselves unable to get out of.”
There are also those who are staunchly
against a credit card, like Brina Chan, a thirdyear student from the Diploma in Leisure
and Resort Management. “It’s never good to
spend money you do not have and I don’t
want to find myself in unnecessary trouble
some day,” she said.
So, it is really a personal preference of
teenagers when it comes to owning credit
cards, but for those who intend to apply
for one, Mr Ong has this piece of advice:
“Cashless forms of payments may ease the
weight of our wallets, but one must also
keep in mind that it may eventually become
a heavy burden to carry without wise financial planning.”
3
Stop Press :: March
A kindergarten on campus
By: Cassandra Goh
T
emasek Polytechnic is now home
to not only its polytechnic students
but toddlers who have enrolled to
learn at TP’s brand new establishment,
the Preschool Learning Academy.
The kindergarten was put on its feet
thanks to a $1.5-million grant it received
from the Ministry of Education. It was
set up with the main aim of supporting
TP’s Diploma in Early Childhood Studies (ECS) as well as research projects on
early childhood education issues.
It first opened its doors on Jan
3 and currently offers Kindergarten 1
and Nursery 2 classes to children aged
two to five. Running from 8.30am to
12.30pm, the kindergarten has various
facilities such as a play loft, a hall and
even a small stage.
“For me, it’s amazing. I’ve always
loved to work with little children and
now it’s an added bonus of working
with children and teacher-trainers,” said
Dr Dora Chen who heads the facility.
The principal is joined by a team
of staff comprising a handful of TP
lecturers with first or master’s degrees
in early childhood education.
The curriculum being taught at
Preschool Learning Academy is in line
with the Ministry of Education’s Kindergarten guidelines and standards.
It strives to promote active, childinitiated learning taking into account
each child’s interests as well as home and
cultural experiences.
Learning through play is also put
into practice.
“Our goal is to figure out different ways of helping children achieve
these outcomes through less traditional
means, like handing out worksheets. We
Community Service Club
spreads public transport
graciousness
By: Jolin Tan
O
n Jan 15, commuters at the
Dhoby Ghaut MRT station
were greeted by sixty members of Temasek Polytechnic’s Community Service Club (CSC).
In collaboration with the Singapore Kindness Movement, the students were spreading the message: “A
Kind Act Makes Two Hearts Smile”.
It was a public transport graciousness
project with the objective of encouraging, recognising and appreciating acts
of kindness and graciousness in the
daily lives of train commuters.
From 10am to 2pm, student volunteers took on the roles of “escalatorers”, “entry gaters” and “insiders”.
The escalatorers were in charge of encouraging commuters to move to the
rear end of the platform to ease overcrowding situations. Entry gaters ensured that the alighting passengers had
a chance to alight first before incoming
crowd. Insiders travelled on the trains
Student leaders talking to officials from SMRT
and the Singapore Kindness Movement.
to encourage citizens to give up their
seats to those who needed it more.
Ng Ying Qi, 19, an entry gater
and a third-year student from the Diploma in Biomedical Informatics said:
“I feel that people sometimes neglect
the idea of being gracious, especially
when they are in a hurry and on peak
periods like Saturdays.
“I hope that through this event,
I can help make a change, even if it’s a
tiny one.”
Another student, Vanessa Ong,
a freshman from the Diploma in Biomedical Science, did feel uncomfortable about interacting with strangers
initially. “As an insider, I was initially
believe it is important for them to develop the dispositions and for them to
love to learn,” said Dr Chen.
Such dispositions include critical
thinking as well as problem solving.
Children, who are currently attending the kindergarten, have been
taking part in classroom activities such
as Art and English.
They have also been taken outdoors to places like the koi pond, to nurture a curiosity for the outdoors.
Pictures and videos will be taken
throughout the process, to ensure that children learn through a more visual medium.
Besides being a preschool for students, the kindergarten also provides
an area for ECS students to carry out
observation practices. They will mostly
be third-year students carrying out their
final-year research projects.
These projects require them to in-
terview children and observe their interaction and participation in class.
The kindergarten is designed in a
way so that researchers can observe the
children without obstruction. Using a
built-in observation room and one-way
mirrors, teachers will be able to study
Asian children’s development.
Is this an effective way of learning?
“For those who are interested, it’s a
hands-on experience and what better
way to learn than hands-on and for
those who are not sure once they’re
in then they’ll know for sure if it’s for
them; which is a good thing to find out
earlier than later, ” says Dr Chen.
The kindergarten will set aside up to
35 per cent of its places for children from
low-income families whose combined
household income does not exceed $1,800.
Plans to increase the intake to four
classes next year are also in the works.
quite afraid to tell some
commuters to give up
their seats to those who
needed it more. I don’t
think I would know how
to react if they refused to
give up their seats.” she
said.
“Thankfully, all of
the people we approached
were very willing to coopPhoto: Community
erate. We also had ez-link
service club
card holders for them as
Ez-link
card
holders
were
given
as
a
token
of
appreciation
a small token of appreciation after they gave up
their seats, and I think it made quite a a one-off event would not be able to
good incentive.”
meet its purpose and make a huge imMost commuters also responded pact. She explained: “Most people are
well to the volunteers. Mr Lim Khoo already used to the way they commute,
Beng, 45, a technician, was out with it’s like a habit for them to not give up
his family when he was reminded by a their seats and for them to rush into
escalatorer to hold on to the handrails the train when there are still alighting
for his own safety. He was very im- passengers.
pressed and felt that “such tiny actions
“I feel that kindness and graciousby random strangers can make the day ness must be ingrained from young,
of others.”
and we must do more as a nation.”
He said: “I believe that graciousStill, the CSC student leaders
ness comes from within us, and with were glad about the volunteer turnout
these volunteers giving us gentle re- and felt that the event was a success.
minders, we can definitely improve
Keith Lim, the honorary secpublic transport journeys. I hope to retary of CSC from the Diploma in
see more of such volunteers.”
Psychology Studies said: “Through the
However, there were also a few event, we have seen that commuters
naysayers towards the event. Ms Lau- are willing to play their part, and that
ra Teoh, 34, an accountant, felt that our volunteers have made an impact.”
school
4
Stop Press :: March 2011
On top of her game
trail
By: Ang Hiok Joo
I
t was her father who first introduced her to the sport and Oriana
Tay Ling Ying, 18, fell in love with
it. Shortly after, it became her passion
and she started playing bowling
competitively in Primary 5.
Oriana then went on to join the
Singapore Sports School to further
her passion and later made it into the
Singapore National Bowling Team in
Secondary 4.
APPLIED
SCIENCE
“I wanted to continue my passion
for bowling so I decided to give it a
shot at the Sports School. I didn’t even
tell my parents – I just went for the
trials and I got in!” she said.
One of her major bowling
achievements took place in June
last year when she won gold medals
for both the Under 18 and Under
21 categories at the 43rd Singapore
International Open.
“My friends told me that my
name was mentioned quite a few times
on the radio station, 938 Live. I didn’t
hear it though, because I was busy with
some other competition at that time.”
Her personal best score to date is 289.
Oriana is currently a firstyear student pursuing a Diploma in
Biomedical Science at the School of
Applied Science. Initially, she was
offered scholarships by both Temasek
Polytechnic (TP) and the Oakland
University in Michigan, but she
eventually chose TP over the latter.
“I’m more interested in the life
sciences compared to sport science,
‘Motherly’ figure
By: Nadzirah Sariman
H
INFORMATICS & IT
earing mothers of newborns
gripe about their babies not
wanting to sleep gave Stacy
Goh Yun Si an idea for her group
project.
Together with two other
teammates, the Diploma in Financial
Business Informatics student came
up with ComfyTouch, the only baby
cushion that incorporates a pitch
detector and motion sensor. This
allows the cushion to play different
tunes based on the responses of the
baby, enabling the baby to relax and
have a good night’s sleep.
The group spent three months
working on the entire project. Stacy
recalled having to stay overnight at
her teammates’ houses just to work
on the project. All their hard work
paid off when ComfyTouch won third
prize at the University of Adelaide
Entrepreneurship
Challenge
in
November last year. The team won a
trophy, S$100 cash and S$1000 seed
fund for TP.
Stacy did her internship at
Thomson Reuters, one of the leading
information companies in the world.
As part of her internship, she was
tasked to create a new system for the
company to generate Client Service
and Key Performance Indicator
reports from raw data for support
managers all over Asia and Europe.
She acknowledged that it was not
an easy task. However, she believed
that the opportunity given allowed
her to gain a deeper understanding of
programming language, in particularly
Visual
Basic
Application
and
Structured Query Language.
Away from the classroom, Stacy
loves listening to JPop and KPop. She
used to take up Japanese Language
courses. In fact, she is already on her
way to take the advanced classes.
After graduation, Stacy hopes to
get a scholarship for university, where
she plans on getting a double degree.
Career-wise, she intends to venture
into the field of IT or finance, working
to gain experience before going into
teaching, in the hope of inspiring
others to follow in her footsteps.
I wanted to continue
my passion for
bowling so I decided
to give it a shot at
the Sports School.
I didn’t even tell my
parents – I just went for
the trials and I got in!
which was what Oakland University
offered me.” She continues: “Science is
something close to my heart.”
It was something that happened
to her during a competition in 2009 that
made her discover this other passion.
“During the 2009 Asian Youth
Games, I developed rashes around
my mouth. My confidence was very
low during that period of time. It
motivated me to want to find a cure for
eczema and that’s why I want to be a
dermatologist.”
Besides working hard towards this
ambition in TP, Oriana is also training
with both the school and national teams
for bowling competitions. She trains
with the national team at Yishun, from
7pm to 9pm. For the school team, she
only joins their training sessions during
the POL-ITE season.
Judging from her busy schedule,
it is definitely no mean feat that she can
continue to excel in both studies and
sports, to maintain her scholarship. She
currently holds a 3.62 GPA.
“I wouldn’t say it’s easy to keep
up but it’s possible.” Like her idol, local
bowler Remy Ong, Oriana strives to be
in peak form at all times, whether for
bowling or for school. She added: “You
should always keep your goal in mind.”
According to her, discipline and
time management is very important.
She uses her free time to study and
keep up with her schoolwork, even if it
means going out less often sometimes.
But that does not mean that
Oriana is “all work and no play”.
She enjoys catching up with friends
and spending time with her family shopping and playing mahjong.
Tricks of the trade
By: Kathleen Oei
M
ulti-tasking may be a daunting
task to many, but not to Choi
Jia Wei, final-year Business
Process and Systems Engineering
student. The earnest 19-year-old juggles
being a magician’s assistant and fulltime student.
Besides being able to twist
balloons into teddy bears and flowers,
his part-time job taught Jia Wei how to
negotiate and close business deals. He
said: “I got to see first hand the ways to
do business with people, and that really
fuelled my passion for business.”
During his four-month internship
programme, he landed a coveted spot
in the Swiss watch company, Swatch.
ENGINEERING
There, he was part of their competitor
analysis and mystery shopping team.
“I got to go around different
wholesale and retail stores like City
Chain and pretend that I wanted to buy
the different Swatch watches. It was like
working, but shopping at the same time.”
Jia Wei explained: “When I was
mystery shopping, I had to take note
of which store had the most friendly
service, which had the most educated
salesmen... from there Swatch would
then know which of their products
should be placed at which store.”
It was this awareness of customer
service that landed Jia Wei his second
internship. This time with a Small
& Medium Enterprise company
under Spring Singapore, called Maha
Chemicals.
He went from company to
company, selling energy efficient airconditioners. “Its very difficult to sell
from B to B (Business to Business)”
lamented Jia Wei. “But I slowly got to
develop my interpersonal skills, and my
multi-tasking came into play.”
It was his diligence and will power
that landed Jia Wei the Enterprise
Internship Programme award given by
Spring Singapore.
Since he had to travel from his
home in Seng Kang to Tuas five days
a week, the cheerful teenager joked:
“I travelled so far every day! I think I
deserved the money! Don’t you think?”
5
Stop Press :: March 2011
Young and restless
By: Erika Cleo Foo
DESIGN
By: Choo Pei Ting
S
he was part of a team of four who
participated in the Electrolux And
>60 Design Centre Challenge,
amongst 10 other chosen teams
from four institutions – Singapore
Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic,
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and
LASALLE College of the Arts.
Jamie Yeo, 20, had not met the
other members prior to the Challenge,
save for Douglas Lim as they are
both pursuing a Diploma in Product
Industrial Design. The other half of
the team comprised of Javin Soh from
the Interior Architecture Design and
Lu Jiayi from Interactive Media Design.
Together,
they
envisioned,
developed and stylised in three months
a design of a tomorrow’s kitchen and
kitchen appliances, for the over-60s of
the “Silver Generation”.
“Some teams approached the
brief of the Challenge from the cultural
point of view. We, however, decided
to delve deeper into the psychological
aspects of creating such a product,”
said Jamie.
The team wanted users to
appreciate the traditional styles of
cooking, as such traditionalism is fast
diminishing amongst the younger
generation today, and that was the
main concept behind the development
of their kitchen unit design.
They included a distinctive videorecording feature in the product unit
they designed, to allow the younger
If y o u d o i t,
give it your
b e s t. If n o t,
fo rg e t a b o u t
i t.
“I feel that that is the essence of
design, as design does not always only
concern the visual aspects. It is also to
optimise and exploit the boundaries
that are set by machines to create forms
and products suited for human use.”
Previously a science student in
Xinmin Secondary School, Jamie chose
this path for her polytechnic years
because she wanted to develop and
experiment in a more creative route.
“My decision was propelled by the
initial want of designing Action Citylike products as they are cute.”
Jamie describes the driving
force behind her works as “to create
products that are human-centred, to
improve lives and the experience of
people using the products”.
Her dream job? “It would be
to work in a design consultancy and
being able to experience and work on
different kinds of projects.”
Outside of school, Jamie pursues
an avid interest in karate.
Formerly the vice-captain of TP’s
karate interest group, Jamie reminisces
about the good old days. “Truth be
told, my friends were the ones who
dragged me into the group and here I
am today.” She may hold a black belt in
karate, but there’s gentler side to her as
she plays the piano.
With a busy campus schedule,
Jamie manages to balance her activities
and maintain a GPA of 3.5. The selfproclaimed “funny” and “happy” girl
lives by her motto: “If you do it, give it
your best. If not, forget about it.”
Not all child’s play
By: Michelle Ann Kwara
T
hree years in TP, and the one
thing Nur Azeemah bte Kadir
will miss is the “rushing of assignments and projects.” The final-year
student in the Diploma in Psychology
explains: “It’s fun though; everyone
has a spirit of togetherness.” Besides
rushing out assignments and projects,
Azeemah will also miss the ITAS canteen, Flavours.
She has made the most of her
time in TP, having participated in the
Overseas Community Involvement
Programme, and being the president of
the HSS Studies Club. Next, she hopes to
pursue a degree in psychology at NTU.
“I’m very interested in child psychology,
so I’m going to get a degree, probably
go on to do a master’s, and work as a
clinical psychologist.”
In TP, outside of the classroom,
Azeemah took part in activities that have
shaped and changed her perspectives.
She went on a trip to Laos in 2009, to
teach IT and English to working adults.
Azeemah shares that the trip was a
very enlightening experience for her.
“Because when you go for these kinds
of things, you’re like “Okay, I’m gonna
change your life!” but when you go
back, you realise that you didn’t really do
anything to them, and they are the ones
who helped you gain perspective.”
Azeemah did an overseas internship
at Flinders University in Adelaide,
Australia, where she was a therapist at the
Early Intervention Research Programme.
“I’m very interested in child development
and there are very little areas in Singapore
where you can do that in.”
Azeemah said she chose psychology
by chance, but she now knows that this
is the career for her. She is motivated
to work in the psychology industry
“because right now the industry doesn’t
have a lot of help and I know that any
small contribution will eventually help
someone.”
HUMANITIES
& SOCIAL SCIENCES
ones to record videos of the old folks
preparing their traditional recipes.
“As food is the bridge between
people; it is one of the few ways our
team can exploit to bring the old and
young together,” she said.
Attributing
her interest in
product and industrial design to IKEA,
she said: “IKEA’s thought process
during the designing of the product
is not only on user and aesthetics, but
also on the manufacturing process that
allows them to cut costs to a rockbottom price.”
ot many can boast of personally snagging a sponsorship deal
with one of the biggest names in
the photography industry, or representing
their school in an international trading
competition. But second-year Business
Studies Group student, Tedric Tan Yong
Da has done both and wants even more.
The 20-year-old, who majors
in Entrepreneurship and Marketing,
is now looking towards setting up his
very own apparel line, designed and
manufactured by himself and two
other business partners. Although he
admits to “not having actually entered
the hands-on stage of the project
as of yet”, make no mistake – this
enterprising youth means business.
He has his father to thank for
his keen business acumen, who taught
him that a successful entrepreneur is
one who is hardworking, determined,
motivated and most importantly,
disciplined. “My father, who is a
property agent, is my entrepreneurial
role model, really. Seeing his drive
initially inspired me to learn more
about business and entrepreneurship,”
says Tedric.
It was the same confidence,
coupled with resourcefulness that
helped Tedric clinch a sponsorship deal
with Canon for Temasek Polytechnic’s
annual Campus Care Network day,
saving his class a cool $1000 worth
of printing paper and ink. Despite his
successful introduction to the cut-throat
world of business, Tedric is careful not
to fall into the rat-race, and makes it a
point to live true to his mantra: To like
what he does, and to do what he likes.
“This isn’t about mindlessly
chasing after the five Cs; of course, it’s
about the money you can make, but
that’s not all it’s about. This is what
I like to do and what I’m passionate
about,” he explains.
BUSINESS
Inspired by
IKEA, Action City N
6
Stop Press :: March 2011
TEMASEK POLYTECHNIC
OPEN
HOUSE
2011
This year’s Open House spanned
3 days, from January 6 to 8, and
it saw a total of 15,000 visitors.
Clockwise from above: A model from the ADM Fast Forward Fashion Show, TP Indian dance group performing, the crowd doing the
TP Mass Dance, 91.3FM’s DJ Boy Thunder hosting the events at the
plaza and TP Silat exponents demonstrating their moves.
Above: Production Crew setting up the stage for a performer.
Above, right: The Goodfellas’ lead guitarist, Athif, interacting with the audience.
Top: Behind the scenes, the Salvo
drummers had a quick rehearsal before
moving their drums to the plaza.
Right: TP Malay Cultural group getting
ready with their instruments.
Above: A visitor tries his hand at a touch screen table top
simulator designed by Interactive Media Design students.
The different diplomas showcased their special features to
give prospective students a better insight into their courses.
Photos: Jaclyn Ying, Ng Huiwen, Benjamin Ng
Layout: Jaclyn Ying
mind
scape
Stop
2008
StopPress
Press:: ::June
March
2011
7
My dream
for world peace
My Space is for any TP student to share
his or her thoughts and experiences. You
are invited to write an article of about 600
words.
Please write to MySpace.StopPress@
gmail.com with subject heading “Mindscape”. Articles will be edited for content
and length.
It’s never too late to fight for peace
By: Shasha Juraimi
D
on’t judge me when I say this,
but I dream of world peace. I
know that this sounds like I’m
channelling Martin Luther King, but I
actually look forward to the day when
children of all colours can hold hands
and frolic together in a marigold field.
Heck, even Miss Congeniality Gracie Lou
Freebush wants world peace (though only
as an afterthought to harsher punishment
for parole violators, but let’s not digress).
I’ve given it a considerable amount
of thought, and decided that what I want
most is not to scale the world’s highest
peak, or to find the cure for cancer (that
ranks second on my list) – it’s to fight for
world peace. Still, it’s one thing to flash
the V-sign and another to actually believe
in it, and I think that faith is something
we all need a bit of these days.
People have asked how I intend
to go about fulfilling this seemingly
impossible dream of mine – after all, it’s
not like winning the lottery (that’s third
on my list) where you just get a ticket and
wait for a miracle.
Peace is more than the free-loving
hippy lifestyle that ruled the ‘60s; it’s
not about being Zen or practising yoga
or even signing online petitions. It’s an
ideology which, in my humble opinion,
more world leaders should think about.
They say that with great power
comes great responsibility. I say even
greater power comes when you have an apocalyptic World War III, Nostradamus.
Although some people say that
entire arsenal of nuclear arms at
it’s easier to travel to the Sun and back
than to achieve world peace, and they
I m e a n , I know that
may be right, but hey, that doesn’t mean
m y d r e am seems
we have to stop trying. I mean, I know
like a g iganti c l eap
that my dream seems like a gigantic leap
but a journey of a thousand miles starts
b u t a journey of
with a single step, and I’m sure my fellow
a th o u s and mi l es
idealists will concur.
sta r ts wi th a si ngl e
After all, most revolutions begin
ste p , a n d I’ m sure
simply enough – a ride on the bus, a team y fe llo w i deal i sts
party…a commentary. So now I urge
thee, my fellow compatriots, to think.
will co n cur.
Ideals are easily swayed by the whimsical
fingers of fate and time, but perhaps we
could start by taking a cue from the late
your disposal.
The earth is in a volatile mess, and John Lennon.
People may have said that he was a
God forbid but it looks like we’re more
than a step closer to the world ending in dreamer, but he wasn’t the only one. Time
2012, with the way things are looking right is of the essence in the 21st century, and
now. Gee, thanks a lot for vindicating as ironic as it may seem, it is never too
D-Day panic with your prediction of an late to fight for peace.
To sit or not to sit?
The dilemma of giving up your seat on public transport
By: Jaclyn Ying
I
don’t know about you, but I have a
phobia of sitting down when it comes
to public transportation. No, it’s not
because I’m a terrible germaphobe or that
I have muniphobia, the fear of public
transportation (it’s a real anxiety disorder,
Google it!).
It’s because every time I manage
to get a seat for myself, there will always
be a little old lady or pregnant lady who
will shuffle onto the train and that will be
the cue for everyone in the cabin to stare
me down until I finally wave the white flag
and give up the seat to the said old person
or pregnant lady.
Speaking of pregnant ladies, how
do you tell the difference between a lady
who is great with child, from a lady who
is just, for the lack of a better word, great?
I have never been very good at
telling the two apart and my apparent
incompetence in this particular aspect
usually warrants me an awkward look and
even more awkward laughter from nice
women whose bellies I’ve wrongly accused
of hiding a miniature human being.
There was this one morning when
I was in bus number 15 on my way to
school. A few stops later, a lady boarded
the bus. What ensued for the next 15
minutes (yes, I timed it) was an internal
turmoil for me.
“Is she pregnant? Should I give
up my seat for her? If I do, it insinuates
that she is pregnant, what if she is just…
fat?” I was torn between a rock and a hard
place. Call it what you will, but it felt like
it was the Battle of the Bulge (literally) all
over again in my head.
Finally, the thought of having
placenta all over me, should the lady fall
on me, forced me to pop the question “Would you like a seat, madam?”
She looked at me with a blank
look on her face, and after a moment,
smiled and replied just as politely, “No,
thank you.”
Just as she alighted the bus, she
tapped me on the shoulder, eyes twinkling
with suppressed laughter, and said, “I’m
not pregnant, by the way.”
We always hear horror stories
about how young people do not give up
their seats often enough, but what about
rude adults who think they have inherent
rights to the seats?
Normally, I don’t mind giving up
my seat to people who really need it, but
what gets on my nerves is when they ask
for my seat rudely even before I have the
chance to give it up to them.
It may sound a little immature to
be squabbling about a piece of hard plas-
tic to park yourself on for a while, but the
societal issues go deeper than that.
A quick poll among friends
showed that though they don’t mind giving up seats, it would be better if adults
also asked for them nicely and said “thank
you”, instead of making rude remarks
loudly about our “poor” upbringing (it
happens) and grunting when we finally
give it up to them.
It’s the little things like that that
make the journey so much more tolerable
for all of us.
Then again, there are also other
dilemmas like what happens when you’re
really tired and you see an old man decked
out in sportswear, with bulging calf muscles, big enough to give Arnold Schwarzenegger a run for his money.
Do you insult him and his muscles
by suggesting that you think he is feeble
by giving up your seat to him? But then
again, he is old.
With dilemmas like these, maybe I
should just take the advice of a friend and
invest in a foldable chair.
8
Stop Press :: March 2011
The social gaming network
S
Facebook gets better, besides writing on your friends’ walls, you can also build major
cities, investigate crime scenes and collect monsters, says Cassandra Goh
ocial gaming has become a craze in
today’s highly interactive community
and Facebook is certainly one social
networking website that’s been the source
of such a booming trend.
Some of last year’s most played
games include titles like Farmville, Café
World and Mafia Wars. So what’s new in
2011? Here are 3 games worth checking and expand your businesses by setting up
franchises in neighbouring towns.
out.
Once you have added your friends
as neighbours, you can visit their towns
and help harvest their crops. You will be
tasked with objectives to guide you along
to increase your city population and to
expand your territory.
CityVille
CSI: Crime City
Zygna’s CityVille is basically a game
which allows players to build their very
own metropolis. The aim of the game is to
transform a small town into a flourishing
city.
In order to do this, you will have to
For all Crime Scene Investigation
construct various buildings such as homes
and community buildings. You will also fanatics out there, Ubisoft has launched
CSI: Crime City. This game, which has
need to build farms, add decorations,
been modelled after the popular television
crime series, allows you to role-play as an
investigator of the CSI team.
Set in the glamorous city of Las
Vegas, you are decked out in your uniform,
gloves and UV lights, and assigned to
scrutinise the crime scene for evidence.
Back at your lab, you can analyse
various suspicious substances like blood,
fibres and finger prints.
In different cases, you will have to
use various means to search for the hidden
evidence. Based on your game level, you
can then accept increasingly challenging
crime cases.
Monster Galaxy
This game by Gaia Online is a roleplaying game where a player’s objective is
to collect monsters, attack others and level
up by completing quests.
Similar to Pokemon, players begin
the game as a trainer with one monster or
‘Moga’ as it is called.
You are then assigned quests to
complete. These quests are typically
destinations you are to head to whilst
battling other trainers and wild Mogas
along the way.
Players can also catch enemy Mogas
with an item called Star Seeds.
Although Monster Galaxy is in a
single-player setting and does not take
advantage of the social aspect as do
most Facebook games, it still brings
back memories of Gameboy Pokemon
days.
Best spots for public wifi
A comparison of Wireless@SG hotspots near campus
By: Benjamin Ng
O
ut in public with a laptop and
needing an Internet connection,
most would flock to one of
countless “wifi hotspots” islandwide to
tap on the free Wireless@SG service.
These hotspots include Starbucks,
national libraries, some food courts and
restaurants such as McDonald’s, or for
us TP students, the wireless Internet
connection available all over campus.
Assuming you had a choice of
several hotspots to go to, which one
actually provides the fastest connection?
Stop Press tested the connection
speed at some of the most popular public
wifi outlets.
The method was simple: Keeping all
variables as equal as possible, we logged in
to Wireless@SG using the same SingTel
account at all 4 locations, did 3 successive
speed tests using www.speedtest.net, and
then averaged the results to get the mean
download and upload speed of each
hotspot.
The locations surveyed were spots
that are popular amongst TP students –
Starbucks and McDonald’s at Tampines
Mall, the Tampines Regional Library, and
TP Library.
TP Library was the winner, boasting
a 4.29mbps (megabits per second)
download speed and 10.7mbps upload
speed.
Of the three non-TP locations, the
results were quite similar; downloads of
more than 1mbps and uploads of less
than 1mps.
Tampines Library had the best
download speed of 1.94mbps while
Starbucks at Tampiness Mall uploaded
quickest at 0.77mbps.
Koh Jun Feng, 23, from the Diploma in Information Technology course said:
“The speeds at these public wifi places are
Download
Speed
Upload
Speed
usually good enough for general use such
as searching Google, surfing Facebook,
or watching YouTube videos.”
1.69mbps 0.77mbps
Reuben s/o Sukumar, 33, a regular user of Wireless@SG, revealed that
speed is not his concern; it’s whether or
not the modems are working.
“I’ve been to some McDonald’s or
1.31mbps 0.22mbps
coffee spots to use the Internet. After
buying my drink, I turn on my laptop and
discover that the service is not available,”
he said.
1.94mbps 0.23mbps
A representative from the Info- Public
Library
comm Development Authority of Singapore said: “It’s our goal to keep Wireless@SG reliable and efficient for public
use, and so far we’ve been able to upkeep TP
4.29mbps 10.7mbps
a high standard.”
Library
She added: “Our modems are also
capable of supporting a high number of
users, so there won’t be any case of ‘full The best off-campus wifi speeds are
indicated in blue.
house’.”
By: Nadzirah Sariman
By: Wang Min
By: Michelle A. Kwara
Sherrie Wong
Ryan Lim Weiqiang
19, Diploma in Communications and
Media Management
Sport: Tennis
21, Diploma in Mechatronics
Sport: Triathlon
Q: How long have you been
participating in your sport?
A: For 8 years.
Q: How long have you been
participating in your sport?
A: Ever since I joined TP till now. It
has been 3 years now.
Q: What got you interested in it,
and made you join the TP team?
A: I got interested in the sport when
I was 12 after seeing my older sister
participating in her school trainings.
Thus, I joined TP’s tennis team to
continue pursuing my passion.
Q: Who is your sports idol?
A: Tennis player Kim Clijsters.
Q: Why is she your sports idol?
What qualities do you admire most
in her?
A: She is my sports idol because
she achieved a lot in her career as
a professional tennis player. I really
admire the fact that she can juggle
both her career and family and
achieve so much in both.
Q: What got you interested in it,
and made you join the TP team?
A few coaches and friends suggested
I try the sport out and from then on I
have been active in triathlon.
Q: Who is your sports idol?
A: I don’t have a sports idol but if
there is really someone I would say,
Katie Hoff, an American swimmer.
Q: Why is she your sports idol?
What qualities do you admire most
in her?
A:Not only is she an accomplished
swimmer but she also hardly misses
any training sessions. Any athlete
would know discipline and focus are
very tough to practice.
Stop Press :: March 2011
11
A fairytale performance
Taylor Swift wows fans at the local leg of
her Speak Now world tour reports Ng Huiwen
L
ong live Taylor Swift, indeed. The country-pop
singing sensation delivered
a dazzling performance to a soldout audience of more than 9,000
screaming fans in February.
This was the first of the 87
planned shows of her Speak Now
world tour.
It was an explosive opening with Swift performing “Sparks
Fly” dressed in a bronze glitter
dress, with gold flecks twinkling
on the backdrop.
Her confidence was shining
as much as her adoring fans were
glowing with joy to be able to finally see their idol in concert after
five years.
Swift made the 90 minutes
seem effortless with a song set of
13 - her lucky, favourite number.
The four-time Grammy
award winner performed songs
such as Back to December, Enchanted and Mine all from her latest album, Speak Now.
She also entertained the audience with mash-ups and acous-
Photos: 13 Management
tic performances of her past hits
such as You Belong With Me and
Fearless on the guitar, piano and
surprisingly, a ukelele.
The enthusiasm of the
crowd of mostly teenagers showed
no signs of letting up, as they sang
along with every word of her hit
songs.
It was also a heartfelt concert, with the singer teary-eyed at
Art brings education to life
By: Esther Ng
T
he M1 Singapore Fringe
Festival returned for its
seventh year from Jan 5 to
16. Organised and curated by The
Necessary Stage, the festival featured interactive events and artistic exchanges. It showcased over
20 works and performances from
artists of several genres from 10
countries all over the world. These
included dance, theatre, music and
visual arts. The festival’s line-up
included ticketed performances as
well as free admissions to special
exhibitions.
However what differentiated
this arts festival from any other
is its original concept to examine
how art can be used as a tool to
educate. “Identified for its ability
to impart knowledge, art can be
used to acquire new perspectives
and insights to what people already
know, especially the youths,“ said
Melissa Lim, Festival Manager.
The M1 Singapore Fringe
Festival ushered in the brand New
Year by officially opening with the
exhibition, one of the highlights
was School of Hard Knocks by
home grown collective, the little
dröm store, which celebrates the
much-loved and remembered
playgrounds of yesteryear.
Darryl Tay, 21, a polytechnic
student expressed his appreciation for the highlights: “School of
Hard Knocks is particularly close
to the heart for me. Playgrounds
were like our schools when we
were young, a place to learn about
life and to let our imagination run
wild.”
The 2011 festival was held at
several venues, namely, Esplanade
– Theatres at the Bay, National
Museum of Singapore, Singapore
Art Museum, The Substation, The
Arts House and ION Orchard. It
also featured its strongest Asian
several moments, including one
when she dedicated her song Long
Live to her fans as video montages
of them played in the background.
Swift, who is known for
penning down her personal stories
and emotions in her songs, connected with her fans personally
midway through the concert as she
bravely stepped offstage and into
the surprised crowd.
As she made her way to an
island stage at the back of the
stadium, throngs of fans rushed
towards her to catch a glimpse of
the starlet up-close.
Later, Swift wrapped up her
show with 5-time Platinum-winning Love Story before making a
dramatic exit by falling backwards
from the stage into the darkness.
After the show, the singer tweeted one last time before
her night flight to South Korea,
“THAT SHOW RULED!! Thank
you Singapore. My band and I love
you. And your dancing and jumping and singing and screaming!
Good times.”
Graphic and text: Avian Jun Nishikawara
Brand consciousness:
gone too far?
Depicting stereotypes of education
in a highly capitalistic mass society.
Photo: Esther Ng
line-up yet, with artists from Japan,
China, Singapore, and, for the first
time, India and Korea.
“Not only was the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2011 a platform for art that provokes and inspires, it also sought to enlighten
and exhilarate and this is how art
can bring education to life,” said
Alvin Tan, Artistic Director of
The Necessary Stage.
Stop
Press :::: June
June 2008
2008
12Press
Stop
Stop Press :: March 2011
Uno, dos, tres: U2 rock out in 3D
By: Ian Yap
T
he camera zoomed in slowly as
Bono stretched out his hand, and
it almost looked as if the audience
could reach out and grab it.
This was part of the experience at
U2 3D, the first live concert film to be
shot in IMAX 3D format.
The Jonas Brothers also had a 3D
concert film, but it was shot in regular 3D
format, which does not allow for the same
detail as the IMAX 3D.
Screened at the Singapore Science
Centre at $15 a ticket, it offered a new kind
of musical experience for a little more than
the price of watching a movie. A complimentary poster was also given out with
each ticket.
U2 3D showcases footage from
the Irish rock band’s Vertigo tour. It was
filmed on the final leg of the tour in South
America, mostly in Argentina and Brazil.
No expense was spared in the making of the film, and no detail was neglected.
For instance, to make sure the filming cameras could not be seen in the shots,
the crew spent a few days filming from behind the stage and a few days filming from
behind the audience.
To get the close up shots, the crew
convinced the band to play one show to an
empty stadium, so that it could film unobstructed.
To enhance the sensation of being in
the crowd, many of the shots were posi-
LET’S COEXIST: U2 are known for backing various humanitarian causes, such as peace in
the Middle East.
Photo: outnow.ch
tioned behind the audience - hands waving and cameras sticking out.
But it was the varied close-ups and
arial shots that made a difference, as it
would be impossible to view the band
from those angles from among the audience.
“It was a nice, new experience,” said
Allyson Tan, 27. “You get the feel of being there even though you know you are
watching a movie.”
“One of my favourite parts was
when Bono did his theatrics in Sunday
Bloody Sunday,” said Beth Peng, 17.
During the breakdown portion of
the song, the band’s frontman pointed to a
headband he was wearing which read “co-
exist”.
It had the symbols of Islam, Judaism and Christianity on it, and
Bono took the moment to deliver one
of his trademark humanitarian messages
about the violence in the Middle East.
But what about movie goers who
are not familiar with U2’s music? Beth
reckons it would still be worth a watch.
“I think it would be quite interesting for
non-U2 fans. It’s something different, and
they would probably enjoy a few of the
songs anyway.”
Despite the fun, there were a few
areas where the experience fell short. Allyson felt that the biggest disappointment
was the cinema.
The Omnimax theatre was under
renovation, so the film was screened at a
temporary cinema at the Annex.
“The whole cinema was too bright
and the screen was too small. It made us
very conscious of the fact that we were
watching a movie,” Allyson explained.
She added that if she could watch
the film on the Omnimax’s panoramic
round screen instead, it would have been a
lot more exciting.
Still, both Allyson and Beth were
satisfied with U2 3D.
However, they did expect the band’s
set to be longer, as most U2 concerts last
“around two hours” according to Allyson.
Considering the critical praise that
U2 3D has received internationally, we
might well see a new movement in concert films.
If you have never
seen your favourite
band
live
in
Singapore,
watching a 3D
movie of their
tour might be
the next best
thing.
WAVE IN 3D: Lead singer Bono
reaches out to the camera to
make full use of the 3D effect.
A shared passion for dance
By: Aziqa Zaren
I
t was Vasantham’s most notable dance
competition of the year and for its
fourth season viewers were charmed
by eight beautiful and talented young
women- all from Temasek Polytechnic.
They were Diploma in Logistics &
Operations Management student Zalikha
Bte Muhd Zulkifli; Diploma in BusinessHuman Resource & Tourism Management student Norzubaidah Bte Mohamed
Noor; Diploma in Biomedical Informatics and Engineering student Beena Rai
D/O Sri Sunil Rai; Diploma in Law &
Management students Ismath Farhana
Bte Bashir Ahmad and Nandhini Tamilselvam; Diploma in Applied Food Science
& Nutrition second-year student Lam Yi
Ting; Diploma in Consumer Science &
Technology freshman R. Chitrapriya; and
Diploma in Moving Images graduate Kalarani Sathappah.
Every week, they rose to the top
TP Unified standing strong and positive about their future in dance
Photo: TP Unified
as they battled it out with other teams in
Dhool 2010, impressing the judges with
their technique and creativity in incorporating traditional Indian dance with a twist
of modernity.
Though the show targeted mainly
the Tamil population, it did not stop our
Indian Dance Group, called TP Unified,
from recruiting members from others
races.
Nandhini, 18, the team’s representative said: “Language and race is only secondary to our shared love for dance. We
came together for three main reasons- our
shared passion for dance, friendship and
love for each other.”
Indeed, their passion for dance
manifested in their performances, amazing the audience and judges every week.
Dhool 2010 also saw the only all-female
team for the finals this year. “We were
honoured. Our dances have touched many
hearts everywhere and that itself is a very
big accomplishment for us.”
It was no easy feat competing
against five other strong teams, all with
different personalities. Most of them were
male-dominated, such as Pow Chica Wow
Wow and Mera Naam Joker.
“All the teams were equally talented,
each with the mind-blowing capabilities
to come up with awesome performances.
Designed and published by Diploma in Communications and Media Management students, Temasek Polytechnic.
Designers: Jolin Tan, Jaclyn Ying, Choo Pei Ting, Abigail Ong and Benjamin Ng
Most of the groups tried to do something
out of their comfort zone, hats off to
them!”
Through it all, TP Unified readily
admit that they got to the finals all thanks
to the love and support of their family and
their amazing pool of supporters.
“Thank you so much for coming
down without fail for all our rounds and
for believing in us. I would also like to
thank the students and staff of TP for
supporting us throughout our journey by
voting and cheering.
“Last but not least, special thanks
to Kavitha Krishnan and Arvind Naidu,
our mentors. They gave us this opportunity to excel and supported us all the way
through,” said Nandhini.
Despite not leaving the competition as victor, TP Unified are still positive
about their future in dance, says Nandhini.
“(With this experience) we have
learned to be humble and to have an open
mind to learn new things. To love each
other more, despite our differences in
race, and value each other’s opinion and
appreciate each other.
“We also learned to handle stress
and time management but most importantly, to work together as a team, putting
aside our various opinions and coming together, Unified.”