June 2007

SIS Student Olivia Chiu, Singapore's first iWhiz, had an exclusive session with Mr Bill Gates at Microsoft's HQ in Redmond, USA. More on Olivia's trip to Microsoft

16 April 2007 - ChannelNewsAsia

SMU Undergrad Wins Infocomm Reality Game Show

A 19-year-old undergraduate has emerged as Singapore's first iWHIZ.

Olivia Chiu, from the Singapore Management University (SMU), beat 11 other contestants and overcame 10 challenges in the country's first infocomm reality game show. More news

The SMU SIS Advantage is its Business-IT Education

"iWhiz was the ticket to the wonders of the infocomm industry. Not only did it offer the opportunity to meet industry people and gain professional insight, iWhiz also taught me that the sky was the limit. I could accomplish so much more than I expected. I probably would not have won iWhiz if I was not an SMU SIS student. SIS's Business IT focus allowed me to have a clear aim in mind for every challenge, since the judges were industry people with a business perspective. Also, rather than simply teaching designated modules, SIS teaches us how to learn effectively. 'Learning to learn' is a quote from Prof Desai which I always keep in mind. Many industry people I met during iWhiz told me that they would definitely hire SMU SIS graduates simply because we were trained to think critically in a unique way. Having encouraging Profs like Prof Ben and Prof Desai made me want to do them proud. They were never too busy for a chat, and Prof Ben often went out of his way to offer comments on my work. SIS is certainly my home away from home, a place which would groom me for the future."

Olivia CHIU
iWhiz Winner
SIS Undergraduate Student (Batch 2006)

"The iWhiz experience has been an eye-opening one for me, where I've been exposed to different facets of the infocomm industry and interacted with and gained invaluable experience from industry leaders. Being a SMU SIS student has stood me in good stead throughout the whole competition. The SMU SIS education moulds us to think innovatively about leveraging infocomm in providing solutions for everyday problems, and also to look at things from the businessperson's point of view. I believe that this will give me the versatility to handle different problems that I will face in my future workplaces, and the most important thing is that life at SIS is fun!"

TAY Kang Xun
iWhiz Top 3 Finalist
SIS Undergraduate Student (Batch 2006)

More About iWhiz

Catch Singapore's latest and hippiest infocomm reality game show which challenges the brains and determination of these young contestants as they strive to become Singapore's whiz in infocomm.

iWhiz is a new 10-episode infocomm reality game show on Channel 5 that will pit Singapore's brightest young IT talents against each other in a competition of knowledge and skills to succeed in the competitive infocomm sector. The 12 contestants are aged between 15-21 years old, and selected from secondary schools, junior college, polytechnics and universities.

SMU students Olivia CHIU and TAY Kang Xun from the School of Information Systems look forward to taking part in iWhiz .

The series is themed along National Infocomm Competition (NIC) challenges. Catch the 30-minute episodes starting 5 February 2007, 8pm on Channel 5, every Monday.

Episode 1:    Digital media & games creation
Episode 2:    Networking & Security
Episode 3:    e-Learning
Episode 4:    Software Programming
Episode 5:    Software Programming
Episode 6:    Business IT

This segment of the competition, Business IT, is held at SMU and features SIS dean Steven MILLER, professor Benjamin GAN and competing SMU SIS students Olivia CHIU and TAY Kang Xun. Channel 5

Episode 7:    Virtual Combat & Software Programming
Episode 8:    3G and mobile technologies
Episode 9:    Digital multimedia animation
Episode 10:  The Finals – industry project

See Episodic Synopsis here.

Media Coverage & Press Release

Apr 17, 2007 - The New Paper
Apr 16, 2007 - Channel NewsAsia
Apr 16, 2007 - Channel 5
Apr 16, 2007 - Channel NewsAsia
Apr 16, 2007 - Channel NewsAsia
Apr 16, 2007 - The Straits Times, Digital Life, p 12
Mar 19, 2007 - Channel 5
Feb 05, 2007 - TODAY, p29
Feb 05, 2007 - Channel 5
Jan 30, 2007 - The Straits Times, Digital Life
Jan 24, 2007 - IDA Press Release