Final-year poly student interns at his own company

At the age of 19, he scored a $50,000 grant from Spring Singapore to work on his own mobile app.

Temasek Polytechnic's (TP) final-year student Eddie Chew is also working at his own company, Loov, for his internship.

The TP scholar is pursuing a Diploma in Business Intelligence & Analytics.

Mr Chew spoke at the Beyond O Level Seminar last Saturday, sharing his experiences as a TP student and scholar.

He had a net score of eight points for his O levels and heard about the TP scholarship during a TP Joint Admissions Exercise open house.

Mr Chew, who received a conditional offer to be a scholar, jumped at the opportunity. He has been passionate about IT and gadgets from a young age.

His diploma course is his dream field of study.

"I didn't want anything too specific. I like maths and IT, and I was interested in business, so this was the best choice," he said.

Mr Chew and his team gained recognition at the Splash Awards 2013, an international IT competition organised by the Singapore Society Student Chapter and supported by the Infocomm Development Authority.

SUCCESS

Mr Chew credits the student leadership programme, which all scholars have to undergo, as a factor for his success.

"I went through grooming and etiquette classes, and was taught how to act in a formal setting," he said.

"I also learnt how to pitch an idea and sell it, which was useful when we had to present our idea during the countless presentations."

The member of TP's Community Service Club created the app to improve the way community service is done by young people.

Working with two team-mates, his mobile app is targeted at youths, matching them with volunteer opportunities based on preferences such as vicinity.

It also shows the profiles of fellow volunteers at each site.

He explained: "Many young people have the spark and passion to volunteer, but they don't know how to go about doing it because they might not be aware of the events and opportunities available."

Mr Chew, who will graduate this year, is focusing on his business.

The app will be available in the first quarter of this year.

The team is working on data collection and attending networking sessions with industry players to gather feedback.

This article was first published on January 13, 2015.
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