Under Pressure

"Under Pressure! Pushing down on me! Pressing down on you." Freddie Mercury couldn't have said it better. As the famous Queen song goes, pressure is building up on the 21st floor - or at least for now, on each of the participants computer screens. If you are a participant and you're still awake reading this, Kudos to you. We did promise to give you a rather authentic experience as an EDB officer right?

To lower your temperature / increase the volume on this blog / lower your pressure, we present you with memorable moments from day 2!

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it."
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
(well the universe.. or Natalie..)

Wee Khiang's secrets to human resource success!

Host to Home..
and Ghost Recon Online

Wei Wen: and we wonder why Linan is still single despite his very apparent good looks.

*peers*

Lignum Casei (cheese sticks) - Single, $1 bills. Derived as an antonym of Cheddar, a slang term meaning massive amounts money (usually in large increments, e.g. $50, $100 bills).

If we were characters from Sesame Street, Gabriel would be Oscar the Grouch,
Wei Wen would be the Cookie Monster and Crystalbel would be Count von Count!

Natalie rawr.

Cerebralities really fighting to meet the dateline for the project.

Linan "reminding" them of the importance of playing hard

"The losers go home" - Eric Cantona, Nike Scorpion Ad

Referee Ming Jie

Gabriel vs Cerebralities

Gabriel beats the Cerebralities?

"We forgot to camwhore!!!"

"We forgot to camwhore!!!"

"We (totally) forgot to camwhore!!!"

"We (really really) forgot to camwhore!!!"

Checkered Shirt Buddies!

Juicy :D
Everything seems to be going well except for Yongzhi's incredible inability to remember names

Post foosball match debrief

why so fierce, Chen Yang? :)

MPH realigning their project focus

"Alright guys this is our battle plan"

Host To Home

The Director of InfoComm Media and Strategic Planning talks about the "Host-to-Home" strategy for Singapore. How would our students make Singapore a home for business?

The Other End of the Spectrum

Disclaimer: This is a long blog post and somewhat unrelated to the competition scope. Not so much the intellectual stuff posted so far, but more emotional and sentimental content. Do hope you could spend 5 mins reading what I have to share.

Most of us here at this Amoeba Challenge share a similar background with me - being raised in a comfortable and fortunate family. I enjoyed good education in my formative primary and secondary school year, and went on to RJC for another 2 quality years. In such a sheltered and privileged environment, everything is easy and rosy; the world seems all good and nice. "Hot-button issues" that we see plastered over newspapers on the influx of foreign talent, lack of suitable jobs and the practical difficulties faced by lesser educated citizens feel foreign to us. After all, we don't face and encounter them in our daily lives. With our social interactions confined to our educated social circle, we probably don't see the 'less educated, less fortunate' side of Singapore.

That was how I was in my civilian persona. Not indifferent, but just lacking the additional touch of empathy.

When Wee Khiang earlier shared on human capital and education in Singapore, it stirred up deep feelings I have developed across my National Service stint. There, I serve as a Staff Officer and have 20 guys under my charge. These 20 guys are medically unfit to be combat soldiers, and thus serve in the capacity of a store man, but as a person, they are nothing less than the average Singaporean on the streets. The short 4 months I have spent with them threw everything I had previously experienced out of the window.

If you would bear with me, I will embark on a short journey into the lives of some of my guys; their stories might inspire and trigger some thoughts from you.

1. John, now 20, has spent his past year studying for his O'Levels. He is planning to take the exams at the end of this year, and has been working hard for it. So far, his hard work has not borne results as he still struggles with the topics of the O'Level Science subject. Mind you, most of us eased through O'Levels without having to take them due to the Through Train system.

2. Peter has a major depression problem. He has a higher NITEC certificate, and for those who did not catch that in the earlier sharing, its a certificate from ITE. He has been going for counseling and psychiatrist sessions for the past year, and has even been warded for a week due to his depression issues. He does not know what to look forward to in life beyond army, and believes that the whole society hates him.

3. Jack was retained twice in kindergarten (K1). Believe I don't need to say anything further about him. He can hardly converse fluently, even in his preferred mother tongue. Somewhat socially awkward, it is easy to see why he struggles to fit in socially. Recalling one fond memory, he cried twice when I chatted with him nicely once, for reasons still unknown.

4. Tom has a gambling problem. He is seven thousand in debt, due to him clicking one too many times on an online casino website. Using half his current meagre salary to pay off his debts, he will finish his NS liability still $3000 in debt. With the dragons and skulls pasted all over his body, and his PSLE certificate, one wonders the kind of employment he can seek in our current society.

5. Ben and Jerry have N'Levels certificates, but struggles to understand simple English. Coupled with severe health issues (one with a thyroid problem, the other with kidney issues), there doesn't seem to be many jobs for them in our present society.

What I just described is a simple snapshot of the lesser privileged of my 20 guys. These are real people, people whom I work with and face on a daily basis. These guys are sons of their parents, members of our society, and citizens of our country.

When Wee Khiang talked about creating jobs, my thoughts strayed to these guys. Listening to you guys discussing about new budding industries with well-paying jobs in cosy offices for the well educated, I worry for them. But if you and I don't think of these less educated and underprivileged in our society, who will?

I do believe in education, and not handouts. After all, the quote goes "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, you feed him a lifetime." My rational mind shouts out for education as the "comprehensive solution", but my heart bleeds and begs to differ.

So what does your mind, and your heart tell you?

Weekhiang's Words of Wisdom (As Well)

Wee Khiang, EDB's Executive Director for the Human Capital Division, held a fascinating session on "EDB's Approach to Human Capital Development". He insists there are no secrets :)

When Power to Flattery Bows

And, in thy best consideration, cheque this out.

In other words, present your idea ready for it to be rejected or modified. As team mates, do not be afraid to tell a team mate that "your idea is not feasible because of xxx." At EDB, we are outcome driven. If saying that achieves the same outcome (or perhaps even better) as saying "well...um...ok...perhaps we can try this...but...xxx."

With that, let's start day 2!

Tiny Tips

On the way home, Linan was bored on the train. So to keep himself awake on the train, (he's not so high because Gabriel didn't want to go for drinks with him) he typed a few tips for the teams at Amoeba.

Tiny tip 1: Grouping industries and services together doesnt make them integrated no matter how cool "integration" sounds.
The I word sounds cool. It does. But a match and mix of industries, even if united by a common theme, does not make them integrated. If an EDB officer working on nanotechnology decides to create a nanotechnology hub, simply listing names of chemicals companies, venture capitalists and materials engineering firms will not do. He would have to show how one firm that demands a particular product might be another's supplier. He needs to identify the missing links in the supply chain and find the appropriate firms to fill those gaps. He would have to demonstrate the mechanisms through which he brings the companies together.
Then he would need to decide if the collective value of this entire "integration" actually produces a significantly larger value than the sum of the individual industries. If the value add is not significant, it might not justify the cost of bringing them together initially. If he decides that the value is really significant, he will have to think about why the industries did not come together by themselves without any intervention? This leads us into the second tip.

Tiny tip 2: Why hasn't your plan already materialised if it was so profitable and lucrative.

Your plan is great, but it is highly likely that you're not the only who thinks that it is great. Top executives are paid hundreds of thousands to recognise these great profit potentials. Is it as simple as them being short sighted? If not, what are some of the barriers that they have yet to scale and how can we make it easier for them to do so.

Tiny tip 3: Will our comparative advantage always be an advantage.
To quote a Bob Dylan classic, "For the times, they are a-changin." 

Tiny tip 4: Do not automatically assume the existence of bureaucracy ridden governments in other countries, especially 30 years ahead.
"If the grass is greener on the other side, check their fertilisers". Don't be surprised if many governments are walking sneakily around our lawns.

Tiny tip 5: If you keep running into a wall, try using a ladder instead. Saves time and heads.
Don't be afraid to trash ideas that don't work. If it is not good enough, it is not good enough. Come up with a new one. Trying to bash your way through one wall will only hurt your head. Work hard, but also work smart.

Tiny tip 6: Why test their product in Singapore instead of their own country?
A company based in Germany would want to test their products in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne or Frankfurt. Why would they come to Singapore? Find that compelling reason for them to travel all across the land or ocean.

Tiny tip 7: How representative is Singapore of their market audience.

Of course, that company from Germany might want to come to Singapore because we are representative of the asian market. Hit us first before they go for the biggies - Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo etc right?
Wrong. Why won't they just go Shanghai straight? If they're trying to use Singapore as a model for an aging population in Shanghai, why not just do it in Shanghai straight? Prevents wasteful duplication.
In other words, justify Singapore really well.

With A Little Help From My Friends

"I get by with a little help from my friends / Ooh I get high with a little help from my friends". John Lennon gets high from the help of his 3 friends. While we have some at the Amoeba Challenge who declare that their dream is "to do a rock band thing", we are no Beatles; but by no means are we less high than Lennon.

Over the first day, despite the stress of working on a case they've never seen before and presumably in an environment that they've never been to before, you, our dear students, seem perfectly capable of getting high. With the little help from you (and our photographers Crystalbel and Gabriel), we wrap up day 1 with a collage of interesting photos.

Yongzhi: I know I have damn small eyes.

Cheng Xun and Shze Hui: *Contemplative*

Benjamin: (when asked how was day 1) "we are great! GREAT! GREAAT!" 

Moses, Lin Sen and Yuan Yuh: "Microchip ... Chip ... Semi conductor chip ... chip ... chip ... chip ..."

Zann at Moses, Lin Sen and Yuan Yuh: "Chip? Potato?"

Nicholas: *seductive eyes*

Check out our friendly EDB mentors. They can have their cake, eat it, all while looking super serious. Awesome right?

Michelle: "Oh you can mutilate the Trexis?" *proceeds to perform head transplant*

Symptom of Cerebralitis: Winning Smile

Kwun Tong: "Linan looks like a snobbish brat."
Yong Zhi: "Wei Wen looks like a pai kia."


Linan and Wei Wen: ...

Ian: *pervy smile*

Guess what they're doing.

That's right. They love their name so damn much.

Trexi Love / Fight!

If we started with a Lennon line, we better end with one. There's two more days left, and "we hope you will enjoy the show". We love you guys so much, "It's wonderful to be here / It's certainly a thrill / You're such a lovely audience / We'd love to take you home with us".

See you tomorrow!