CHRONICLE - Nanyang Technological University

04 NEWS
Students react to
climate change
GREEN CONSCIENCE: Jeremy Lim (back row, right), his team members and mentor after
presenting their project at the National Climate Change Competition.
PHOTO | COURTESY OF TONG SIAN CHOO
A SAIL boat trip and a water
bucket three years ago taught
undergraduate Jeremy Lim the
value of water conservation.
Lim survived for 14 days
with only half a bucket of water
a day to bathe with.
The experience taught the
22-year-old that it is possible to
live on much less resources than
he was used to.
“I realised that when I had
the options presented by the
comfort of modern life, I did not
choose to save. Since then I have
become uneasy about wasting
resources,” said the third-year
student from Wee Kim Wee
School of Communication and
Information.
During the last semester
break, Lim collaborated with
three other NTU undergraduates
to create the ‘Green Seed Initiative’
to encourage Singaporeans
to conserve energy and water
consumption.
The project won first prize
in the National Climate Change
Competition
Lim is one of many NTU students
who have become more involved
in green initiatives.
“When I had the
options presented
by the comfort
of modern life, I
did not choose to
save."
Jeremy Lim
Third-year student
Wee Kim Wee School of
Communication and Information
The environmental club also
reported collecting a record
amount of recyclables at the end
of the last academic year during
its annual recycling drive.
It collected 2,670kg of paper
from 16 recycling bins across
campus as opposed to 800kg the
year before and just 420kg in
2009.
According to them, the spike
in collection shows that more
students now know that their
belongings can be recycled, instead
of simply being thrown
away.
While some chose to do their
part via Earthlink NTU, others
chose to take up initiatives more
in their areas of expertise.
Another student who joined
an eco competition is Nelson Tan
Yan Cong, 20.
The first-year student from
the School of Art, Design and
Media was among the 12 finalists
in the National Environment
Agency Eco Music Challenge
2011.
For him, raising awareness on
being environmentally friendly
is a form of eco-friendliness in
itself.
“Caring for the environment
is everyone’s responsibility and
we can all use different means to
do our part. For those who are
musically inclined, why not do
their part by doing what they do
best with music,” he said.
He composed a Chinese song
titled “Green Environment” to
raise awareness about climate
change and the importance of
the environment.
In another initiative, a team
of eight NTU students showed
their care for the environment
by designing and building a fuel-efficient
car named Nanyang
Venture IV.
It not only won the top prize
in the diesel fuel category at
this year’s Shell Eco Marathon
Asia but also won the Off-Track
Award for Safety.
Team member Kuganeshan
Ganesamoorthy, a third-year
student from the School of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering,
said: “Until people completely
accept alternative energy
sources, fossil fuel will be used
extensively.”
“Caring for the
environment
is everyone’s
responsiblity."
Nelson Tan Yan Cong
First-year student
School of Art, Design & Media
He added that it is important
to ensure fuel efficiency in cars
so that we can reduce our carbon
footprint.
Vice-president of Earthlink
NTU, Nandita Beri, 19, said the
increase in student participation
is simply a result of increasingly
visible consequences of climate
change such as change in weather
patterns, shortage of water
and food in many countries.
The third-year student from
the School of Chemical and
Biomedical Sciences said: “Not
only is climate change and the
environment a pressing global
issue, it’s become an individual
concern.”
Earthlink NTU has reported
an increased participation in its
initiatives this academic year. Its
membership increased by 30 per TEST DRIVE: NTU students won the top prize at this year’s Shell Eco-Marathon Asia
cent this year alone.
with their fuel-efficient car. PHOTO | COURTESY OF NTU VENTURE IV TEAM
CHRONICLE
18
05
A meeting of minds
FREE IDEAS: Entrepreneur Wong Meng Weng intriguing students with an iPhone
application demonstration.
PHOTO | NG JUN SEN
STEVE Jobs may have passed
on, but the legacy of his foresight
and creativity lived on
through some 400 participants
at a seminar organized by NTU
graduates on October 15th.
Named TEDxNTU, the seminar
held at the Marina Bay
Sands Expo and Convention
Centre was the largest one so far.
TED, a non-profit organisation
that hosts idea-sharing
conferences, stands for ‘Technology,
Entertainment, Design’.
But it has since broadened its
scope to include talks by accomplished
thinkers such as
local entrepreneurs, academics
and researchers.
It boasts people like James
Randi and Steve Jobs as its
honorary alumni.
Vivek Manoharan, 23, assembled
his team of graduates
to host the seminar after being
inspired by watching the riveting
TED videos on YouTube.
Despite bearing the name
of the seminar, official TED
organisers played no role in
organising the event. Instead,
it was Manoharan and his
team who brought the seminar
to fruition, with the help of
funding from NTU’s Student
Affairs Office.
“TED is all about people
coming together, sharing
ideas,” said Manoharan, who
is currently pursuing a PhD in
biomechanics.
The speakers were selected
based on their remarkable
achievements and their ability
to inspire others.
One of them was entrepreneur
Wong Meng Weng, who
demonstrated an iPhone application,
which could teach users
how to order the different permutations
of “kopitiam-styled”
coffee.
Wong is the founder of
several technological companies,
such as pobox.com,
and organised the TEDxSentosa
event in 2009.
Other speakers spoke on pursuing
ideas, and shared insider
tips on how to reach career or
personal goals.
“This session was about how
to dream and succeed. It is for
people with ideas, and how if
they have the right method, they
can make it work,” said Manoharan.
Although many in the audience
felt inspired after attending
the event, some saw room
for improvement.
Elvin Zhang, a second-year
student from Nanyang Business
School, said that the session had
given him a lot of good ideas.
But the 22-year-old felt that
the speakers could have been
more energetic, as the seven
hour long seminar could wear
some listeners out.
Others, like School of Computer
Engineering undergraduate
Arun Puraiswamy, 22, felt
that while the event was not
on the same level as global TED
events, there was still value to
such seminars as they are important
to the places where the TED
conferences do not officially
visit.
“The talk could be made specific
to the younger generation,
such as NTU students,” he said.
On hearing such feedback,
Manoharan admitted that
TEDxNTU is still at its starting
stage.
“We’re still growing, and the
main TED event also started off
like this.”
He intends to make it a biannual
event, and promised “an enhanced
experience” in the future,
which he said would depend on
future selected speakers.
But the essential message
of TEDxNTU will still be unchanged.
“Have an idea. Life is all
about ideas, good ideas, bad
ideas, doesn’t matter. Just follow
it,” he said.