International News
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow - Students leverage technology to develop creative and innovative solutions in the hopes of leaving a positive impact on social issues in Singapore
Nov 09. 2018
Winning teams of this year’s Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition showcase the use of technology to help create an inclusive society in Singapore and meet the needs of the elderly and people with disabilities
Singapore – 9 November 2018 – Three teams from the Secondary School category and five teams from the Institute of Higher Learning Category (IHL) today clinched the winning prizes at the Grand Finale of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, which was attended by Guest-of-Honour Mr. Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Transport.
Back for its third edition this year, the Solve for Tomorrow competition encourages students to ideate and leverage technology to address social issues in the local community. Samsung recognises the importance of education and creates programmes that support youth development and training, through the use of technology, services and expertise. Solve for Tomorrow reflects Samsung’s investment in the youth and continued commitment to empower students, encouraging a culture of problem-solving through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
"It is heartening to know that so many youths are motivated to use their knowledge, skills and passion to solve today’s issues in our society," said Mr Lee Jui Siang, President, Samsung Electronics Singapore. "Samsung strives to provide opportunities for students to be empowered, and takes the initiative to proactively create change in our community. The Solve for Tomorrow Competition is the ideal platform for students to harness their potential and use of technology for the good of Singapore."
Ten finalist teams from the IHL category were shortlisted from a total of 153 teams, belonging to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Polytechnics and Pre-University institutions. At the Grand Finale, the finalists presented their ideas to a panel of judges who assessed the presentations based on the relevance to social issues in Singapore, practicality of the ideas, the role their innovation plays, and their overall presentation and delivery skills.
Panel of Judges
This year’s panel of judges include:
- Lee Jui Siang, President, Samsung Electronics Singapore
- Ignatius Low, Chief Marketing Officer, Integrated Marketing Division, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH)
- Georgette Tan, Senior Vice President, Communications, Mastercard
- Ong Kah Kuang, Executive Director, Youth Corps Singapore, National Youth Council
- Adrian Lim, Director, Digital Literacy and Participation Division, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore.
Five winning teams from the IHL category each won $10,000 worth of Samsung products, a $5,000 cash cheque, a study trip to Seoul, Korea and internships at Samsung Electronics Singapore.
In the Secondary School category, three winning teams were selected from a total of 85 teams and were each awarded $20,000 worth of Samsung products for their schools and a $1,600 cash cheque.
Winners of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Competition (in no particular order)
IHL Category
1. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) – Strodesys, an active stroke detection system for timely detection and treatment of strokes
2. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) – BetterLife, an app that provides users with a platform to monitor their mental health and progress, and support them in leading happier lifestyles
3. Republic Polytechnic – SmartStick, a smart walking stick built with technological features such as a GPS tracker and monitoring sensors, to help the elderly better navigate, while encouraging a healthier lifestyle
4. Singapore Polytechnic – SP Buddy, an interactive therapeutic pet robot which serves as an mediator and object of shared attention amongst elderly dementia patients
5. Temasek Polytechnic – Elderly SAFE Wheelchair, a wheelchair integrated with a full non-electrical auto-brake system which is designed to prevent the wheelchair from rolling backwards when on sloping surfaces
Secondary School Category
1. Nanyang Girls’ High School – Alpha Lupi, an app that will help migrant workers and Singaporeans communicate better
2. Pathlight School - #JioME, an app to create awareness about people with special needs and to help them integrate into society by connecting them with groups involved in sports and outdoor activities
3. Pei Hwa Secondary School – Better Tomorrow, an app to help visually-impaired people recognise items and prevent them from getting hurt
"During my time in ideating for the competition, I learned how innovation needs to be created for a need, as something to inspire and spur change in our society. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow has provided me with such an opportunity, where we believe our idea of a smart walking stick can help the elderly live a healthier lifestyle and encourage active ageing, said Samuel Chan, team leader for Team TopKek (Republic Polytechnic).
"It has been an honour to be able to represent Singapore Polytechnic for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition where we were able to showcase and share more about our idea concept, said Mohamed Umar, team leader for Team SP Buddy (Singapore Polytechnic). "Through our project for this competition, we have learnt to apply technology towards benefiting the lives of the elderly, where solutions can help to advance their quality of life."
To learn more about Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, visit https://www.samsung.com/sg/solvefortomorrow/.
More information on the competition, and profiles of the judges can be found in Appendix A and B respectively.
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About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.
Appendix A
About Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
Samsung’s global competition – Solve for Tomorrow – held its third edition in Singapore this year. The competition encourages students to ideate and leverage technology to address social issues in the local community.
Samsung recognises the importance of education and creates programmes that support youth development and training, through the use of technology, services and expertise. Solve for Tomorrow reflects Samsung’s investment in youth and continued commitment to empower students, and encourages a culture of problem-solving through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
As part of Samsung’s dedication to investing in the next generation of leaders in Singapore, it offered more than $180,000 worth of prizes to be won, including a study trip to Korea, internship opportunities with Samsung Electronics Singapore and cash prizes.
To read more about Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, please visit https://www.samsung.com/sg/solvefortomorrow/
Competition Timeline (Secondary Schools)
- Submission Period: 19 July 2018 – 21 October 2018
- Design Thinking Workshop (For Teachers): 3 & 4 September 2018
- Announcements of Winners: 24 October 2018
- Solve for Tomorrow Finale Event: 9 November 2018
Competition Timeline (Pre-University, Polytechnic and ITE)
- Submission Period: 19 July 2018 – 21 October 2018
- Design Thinking Workshop (For Teachers): 3 & 4 September 2018
- Shortlisting of Finalists: 23 – 24 October 2018
- Solve for Tomorrow Finale Event: 9 November 2018
Competition Mechanics
Teams submitted their entries online, consisting of a short description of not more than 1,500 characters. Submissions included supporting documents in the form of a PDF, PowerPoint presentation or video, and articulated the chosen social issue, proposed idea and concept clearly. Ideas demonstrated creativity, innovation and originality, and also leveraged on technology.
Secondary School (Category 1): Based on the judging criteria, the top three entries were selected as the winners. Winning teams were notified via email and received their prizes at the awards ceremony at the Grand Finale.
Pre-University, Polytechnic and ITE (Category 2): Based on the judging criteria, the top ten entries were shortlisted as finalist teams, where each team received $1,000 to refine their idea for the Grand Finale.
Finalist teams then presented their refined idea to a panel of judges at the Grand Finale The judges selected the five winning teams, and they were presented with their prizes at the awards ceremony at the Grand Finale.
Judging Criteria
Secondary Schools
- 30% Relevance and understanding of social issues in Singapore
- 30% Innovativeness of solution (Uniqueness of idea)
- 40% Practicality of solution (Desirability by community, ease of implementation, feasibility)
Pre-University, Polytechnic and ITE
Phase 1:
- 30% Relevance and understanding of social issues in Singapore
- 30% Innovativeness of solution (Uniqueness of idea)
- 40% Practicality of solution (Desirability by community, ease of implementation, feasibility)
Phase 2 (Grand Finale Judging Criteria):
- 30% Relevance and understanding of social issues in Singapore
- 30% Innovativeness of solution (Uniqueness of idea)
- 30% Practicality of solution (Desirability by community, ease of implementation, feasibility)
- 10% Overall presentation and delivery (Clarity and articulation of concept, creativity of presentation)
Prizes
Secondary Schools
Top 3 winning teams each received:
- $20,000 worth of Samsung products for their school
- $1,600 cash prize
Pre-University, Polytechnic and ITE
Top 10 finalist teams each received:
- $1,000 to refine their project ideas for presentation at the Grand Finale
Top 5 winning teams at the Grand Finale each received:
- $10,000 worth of Samsung products
- $5,000 cash prize
- 4D3N all-expenses paid study trip to Seoul, Korea to visit Samsung Headquarters (trip includes registered teacher-advisor)
- Internship for each team member with Samsung Singapore
Appendix B
Profiles of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Judges
Lee Jui Siang, President, Samsung Electronics Singapore
Jui Siang was appointed to be the President of Samsung Electronics Singapore in May 2017. He is a business leader with more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing. In his eight-year tenure with Samsung Electronics, he has played instrumental roles in driving Samsung’s mobile business’ success in various Southeast Asian markets.
Prior to joining Samsung, Jui Siang held various senior marketing and management positions in Johnson & Johnson and Mars Inc. He graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and obtained his Executive MBA from the NUS Business School.
Ignatius Low, Chief Marketing Officer, Integrated Marketing Division, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH)
Ignatius spent 17 years of his career as a journalist and editor with The Straits Times, before he crossed over to media sales—initially as head of SPH’s cross-platform sales team offering marketing solutions across print, digital, radio and outdoor platforms. Eventually, he was appointed to be the group's Chief Marketing Officer, in charge of all content marketing and all pre- and post-ad sales operations.
Ignatius joined the paper in 1999 as a banking and telecoms reporter and subsequently became Business Editor, Sunday Times Editor, News Editor and finally, Deputy Editor. As a columnist, he has taken on a wide range of topics and is equally comfortable doing the occasional business or public policy commentary, as he is with the more personal lifestyle column he writes regularly for The Sunday Times.
Georgette Tan, Senior Vice President, Communications, Mastercard
Georgette is Senior Vice President of Communications at Mastercard. Based in Singapore, she joined Mastercard in 2000 and until recently, was responsible for external and internal communications as well as corporate social responsibility throughout the Asia-Pacific region. She is now part of a global team working to develop Mastercard's narrative and participation at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.
She currently serves as President on the Singapore Committee for UN Women where she is co-founder of the award-winning Project Inspire initiative. She sits on the Executive Committee for BoardAgender.
Ong Kah Kuang, Executive Director, Youth Corps Singapore, National Youth Council
Kah Kuang is the first Executive Director of Youth Corps Singapore (YCS), established in June 2014 to empower youths to make a difference to the community. He believes that volunteering should be a way of life, and that you gain more than you give when you serve.
Prior to YCS, Kah Kuang served in the army for 24 years. He graduated from Imperial College London and holds an MBA from the Nanyang Fellows Programme, Nanyang Technological University.
Adrian Lim, Director, Digital Literacy and Participation Division, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore
Adrian is Director of the Digital Literacy and Participation Division as well as Director of Innovation at the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, a government body that promotes and regulates the country's converging technology sectors. He is also Executive Director of the Media Literacy Council in Singapore.
Adrian is a former Principal of Ngee Ann Secondary, a school that has won widespread recognition for its titles as a Ministry of Education FutureSchool, a Microsoft Pathfinder, Mentor and World Tour school. Adrian was educated at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.