PICTURE CHINA

WHO: Chinese Studies grads Yeo Fu Bi and Janice Lye

WHAT THEY DID: In the digital age, people take photos and put them up on Facebook. The end. Janice and Fu Bi wanted to do much, much more with their overseas snaps – so they self-published a travelogue of photos taken during an 18-week study trip to Wuhan, China. The girls’ 208-page book, A Taste of China, immortalises their musings on seeing Wuhan’s spectacular sights, visiting special-needs children in a school, and feelings of homesickness. Published authors at 20 – not many people can boast of that!

SAY WHAT?: “We volunteered at an institute for children with special needs, where I was put in charge of a class of mute children. It was hard to interact because of the communication barrier, but once we took out our cameras, the kids got really curious and excited and started posing for us. The camera broke down all barriers,” said Janice.

iPHONE APPTITUDE

WHO: Business Information Technology grads Illias Mohammad Iqbal and Ng Boon Thai

WHAT THEY DID: These cheeky tech heads developed a slew of iPhone apps during their final semester. Their Where Ma Lecturer app, which is already up on NP’s very own apps store at http://mobilearn.np.edu.sg, allows School of Business & Accountancy and School of Health Sciences students to instantly access a directory of all the lecturers in the school, and call or email them on the go. Very soon, Where Ma Lecturer will cover all eight schools. With the help of NP’s Technopreneurship Incubator Programme, the boys have also set up their own apps development company TIPmedia.net. With their eyes on developing games for the lucrative iPhone apps market, you could say they’re ready to take on the world.

SAY WHAT?: “This is the age of instant gratification, so we aim to give people exactly that,” said Boon Thai. “We have lots of new ideas for apps, so we always carry around a notebook to write them down when inspiration strikes.”

MASS APPEAL: Boon Thai (left) and Illias are on a mission to develop iPhone apps that aim to please. 

A SHOE FOR A SHOE

WHO: Final-year students Justine Lee (Business & Social Enterprise), John Tay (Business Studies) and Lim Jing Ying (Mass Communication)

WHAT THEY DID: The trio with a conscience started a social enterprise, Soule, which is based on the concept of “a shoe for a shoe”, back in 2008. For every pair of flip-flops they sell, they’ll use some of the profit to buy a pair of shoes for a child in need. Two years on, it’s still an idea that works – they beat other budding social entrepreneurs in Asia to win the SIF Young Social Entrepreneur’s Competition 2010. Recently, they went
beyond shoes, and gave children in a Johor Bahru orphanage new toys. They’re also looking to up the quality of their trademark blue and red flip flops, and co-launch a range of baby rompers with a baby clothing company. And in the near future? A flagship standalone store!

SAY WHAT?: “It’s easy to find youths who want to do business, but not easy to find those who want to do business that will benefit the world. Soule is a business with a heart,” said John.

DIGITAL DUEL

WHO: Multimedia & Animation graduating students

WHAT THEY DID: Talk about going out with a bang: Before they even graduated, final year Multimedia & Animation students have already had their works showcased at an exhibition at downtown shopping mall Illuma. Showdown 2010 was a platform for these young talents to showcase 37 samples of their work, ranging from digital art to fun 3D games. What made it even more impressive was that the students put together the whole thing themselves, from conceptualising the floor plan for the exhibition, to securing sponsors, to designing the four Showdown mascots.

SAY WHAT?: “The industry response was overwhelming! One of us got hired a week after the showcase ended, and about 80 per cent of the graduates were also invited to send in their resumes and portfolios to various companies to discuss employment,” said graduate Adrian Tan, who led the organising team.

A CUPPA ON CAMPUS

WHO: Business Studies grads Ernest Tan and Samantha Quek

WHAT THEY DID: Need your daily caffeine fix of frappes, ice-blended and hot brews? Smooch Café at OurSpace@72 is the place on campus where you can get it. This being the Starbucks generation, it’s not hard to see why a coffee joint on campus was a smart idea. After spending a year analysing the market, Samantha and Ernest set up Smooch Café in October last year. They did it with a $3,000 boost from Ngee Ann’s Entrepreneurs-Connect, an
incubator programme for business-minded students, and guidance from lecturers. Of course, supportive parents helped too – their folks loaned them cash to cope with the startup costs. Serving up about 80 cups on a good day, they expect to break even anytime soon.

SAY WHAT?: “It’s a competitive market out there, so we try to personalise our service by greeting some of our regulars by name. When I see them approach the counters, I even attend to their orders personally. I’ve had people order up to 18 cups at a go!” said Samantha.

WEDNESDAY AT THE MOVIES

WHO: Students from the School of Film & Media Studies

WHAT THEY DID: If you love movies, this club is for you. SGNewWave, named after the famous filmmaking revolution in France (google “French New Wave”), is the only CCA on campus where you can score points by turning up for free weekly movie screenings. The point is to spread the love of cinema, so expect less commercial fare like Inglourious Basterds, and cinematic classics like Blade Runner and Fight Club. With the aim to produce short films on a regular basis, the club is also a platform for aspiring producers, directors and actors to hook up with each other and hone their craft.

SAY WHAT?: “If you love movies, join us. We’re the only dedicated movie club at Ngee Ann Poly. Our screenings are cooler, and we’re a place where you can meet up with fellow movie geeks – and that’s a rare breed of geek in Singapore,” said SGNewWave’s co-chair Serene Low.