NC MM A G A Z I N E

4

CELEBRATING 3rd place in the QS World University Rankings 2012 for Communications and Media Studies!

FOREWORD

One of my favourite American poets Robert Frost penned these lines that continue to inspire me as a student, scholar and practitioner of communication.

As I transition into the role of the Head of the Department of Communications and New Media (CNM), I feel a great deal of pride in our stellar accomplishments in a very short span of time under the thoughtful and inspirational leadership of the amazing Dr. Milagros Rivera. CNM went from starting as an Information and Communications Management programme to becoming the Department of Communications and New Media to being ranked among the top three programmes worldwide for the study and education of Communication and Media Studies by the QS World University Rankings.

Clearly, our accomplishments have been stellar, and I look forward to continue building on these accomplishments to leverage our global status as a change leader and innovator.

One of the unique strengths of CNM is its climate of creativity. This creativity is visible in the innovative course content, the dynamic and flexible curricula, and the cross-cutting breadth of courses that students could choose from. The Department houses some of the most well respected and highly regarded teachers on the NUS campus, and this strength of CNM continues to be reflected in the strong ties that alumni hold to the Department.

Our creativity is also embodied in our strong relationships with the industry, evident in our stellar industry advisory board and in the strong internships and placements that are secured by CNM graduates. Indeed, the strong relevance of a CNM education for the practice of communication is evident in the employer rankings of Communication programmes where CNM leads the charts.

The alumni of CNM are the carriers of the CNM story and I look forward to reaching out to you to learn about your visions, hopes, and dreams for CNM as we continue on the path of building CNM together!

Excellent teaching and industry engagement become the hallmark of a strong Department when married to research. CNM has demonstrated its commitment to scholarly

excellence in the high productivity of its faculty and in the various top paper awards that speak to the strong quality of the work that they do. Most recently at the International Communication Association Annual Meeting held in Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Ganga Sasidharan received the top paper award and the 2012 Bob Heath Top Paper Award from the Public Relations Division for her paper titled “Dialectics in corporate discourse on CSR in India: Key themes and drivers.” Wendy Wong, a Masters research student and teaching assistant with CNM, won a research scholarship to conduct part of her research on the socio-emotional needs of older adults and their uses of new media in South Korea. Associate Professor Lonce Wyse participated in a panel as part of the “Creativity in Singapore” symposium organised by the Singapore Research Nexus (SRN) in February, 2012. In my job as incoming head, I am looking forward to engaging the Department in fostering scholarship that is driven by a commitment to addressing grand social challenges and in leaving a mark on the fundamental ways in which we communicate, understand, interact, make meaning, and perform as humans, collectives and societies.

Whereas exemplary research and teaching make up the basic essentials of a strong Department situated in a strong Faculty and in a strong University, it is ultimately the climate we foster and the commitment we bring to our roles that define the culture of a place. What struck me most when I visited CNM back in 2008 and then again in 2011 was the nurturing culture of harmony and collaboration that exists in the Department! I look forward to continue building this culture so we can support each other and work collaboratively in fostering a collective dream.

Going back to the inspiration from Frost, our journey so far narrates a story of amazing confluence, impact, and synergies. Where we go with this story is intricately tied to the dreams we weave collectively, to the hopes that we nurture for and with each other, and to the positive work that we put in the years to come to position CNM as a global leader that continues to innovate, create, and break boundaries.

In this first academic year, I look forward to listening to you, to engaging your thoughts and to co-creating a vision for the Department of Communications and New Media that emboldens its strong presence as a thought and practice leader in Communication in Asia and Globally. I also look forward to sharing the CNM story with various stakeholders globally.

Please email me at cnmhead@nus.edu.sg with your thoughts, ideas and inspirations!

Sincerely,

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.

CONTENTS

Dr. Mohan Dutta

EDITORIAL TEAM Charlene Wee

Chris OngChua Chong Jin

Daniel TeoFran Nathan

Jodie LuuJoshua WongLynette Lioe

Tracy LohWendy Wong

DESIGNED BY Phua Mei Jing

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Lonce Wyse Phyo Myat Thu

Sun Sun Lim

ISSN 1793-978X

ADDRESSCommunications & New Media

Faculty of Arts & Social SciencesNational University of Singapore

Blk AS6, #03-4111 Computing Drive

Singapore 117416www.fas.nus.edu.sg/cnm

COMPANY REGISTRATION NO.

200604346E18/ Teaching Awards 19/ Tenures 21/ Research

23/ New Colleagues 25/ Farewells 26/ The Extended CNM Family

Staff

13/ CNM Society Collaborates on Competitions

27/ Entrepreneurial Alumni 29/ CNM Couples 30/ Alumni Classifieds

Industry Alumni

2/ iGraduAID Campaign 4/ CNM Classes in UTown 7/ Random Blends 2012 8/ Competitions and Challenges

9/ New Ph.D.’s 11/ ICA Conference 2012 12/ Overseas Stints

GraduateUndergraduate

14/ Thank You Dr. Millie, Welcome Mr Mohan!

Feature!

CONTENTS1 2

First

CampaignLeaves a Legacy

iGraduAID is a fundraising campaign spearheaded by students from NM4217 Advanced

Communication Campaigns to raise funds towards the annual Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) Commencement Class Giving project. The Commencement Class Giving initiative is a fundraising project typically handled by NUS staff members to encourage graduating students to donate so as to help NUS students in need.

Working with NUS Development Office, iGraduAID aimed to increase the existing participation rates of the FASS graduating cohort and raise a minimum of $11,250 to sponsor at least five bursaries, said Liu Xiaoxuan, a final-year student in CNM and business administration, who is the campaign director for iGraduAID.

The campaign, Liu said, kick-started with a flash mob of a song and dance at the FASS canteen on March 6 2012. Approximately 60 students participated in the flash mob, which was recorded

and subsequently went viral on YouTube with more than 5,000 views.

Other highlights of the campaign include a Polaroid photo-taking booth set up during the semester along the FASS AS1 walkway and Final FASStasy, the first graduation party for FASS, which was held at Beer Market, Clarke Quay, on May 8 2012. All proceeds from the graduation party and photo-taking have gone toward the FASS Student Advancement Bursary Fund.

“The idea was to implement creative tactics that appealed to NUS students. We didn’t want to come across as being just another fundraiser, especially with the many other fundraisers and campaigns already implemented in NUS,” Liu said. “We wanted to create buzz and awareness through the iGraduAID campaign and let students know that they are able to help touch another student’s life in tangible ways too.” Both the Polaroid photo-taking booth and the graduation party received favourable responses from NUS students, with a combined participation of close to 500 FASS students for both tactics, Liu said. Apart from innovative and fun tactics, Phua Pei Pei, manager of donor relations for the commencement giving project and staff member of the NUS Development Office, said the aim of the campaign was also to assure students that all donations raised through the new student-led fundraiser will be used only for students in need. To accomplish this, the iGraduAID team used a website and a Facebook page to provide weekly updates on all donations collected, a first for any fundraiser in NUS. In addition to weekly

By Sarah Chiang

iGraduAid campaign members from NM4217 Advanced Communications Campaigns class.

The iGraduAID team with FASS Vice Dean (External Relations and Student Life); Associate Professor T.C. Chang (second from left), iGraduAID project supervisors Dr. Tracy Loh and Dr. Linda Perry (third and fourth from the right respectively) and staff members from the NUS Development Office.

Sheares Band, one of the eight bands that performed during FASStasy singing their hearts out.

UNDERGRADUATE UNDERGRADUATE

progress reports, the criteria for selecting bursary recipients were also disclosed on the website and Facebook page. “Meeting the target of five bursaries at the end will be great, but what’s even more wonderful is that we’ve managed to start a campaign that will be a feature of the commencement giving initiative in the years to come, and hopefully, help build a culture of giving among FASS students in the long run,” Liu said. Donations to the iGraduAID Commencement Class Giving can be made at www.igraduaid.sg.

Meeting the target of five bursaries at the end will be great, but what’s even more wonderful is that we’ve managed to start a campaign that will be a feature of the commencement giving initiative in the years to come, and hopefully, help build a culture of giving among FASS students in the long run.

~ Liu Xiaoxuan

3 4

University Town (UTown), National University of Singapore’s newest and largest expansion, opened its doors in

August 2011. Lecturers and over 400 students from the introductory NM1101E Communications, New Media and Society were one of the first to road test the spanking new teaching and learning facilities. Three other modules, namely Knowledge Management (NM4218), Public Speaking (NM4200), and Special Topics: Playable Worlds (NM4882A) soon followed, with classes held in UTown in early 2012.

Aesthetically pleasing because of the luxuriant greenery that it is situated amidst, Utown is definitely a novel and refreshing experience from the grey buildings that make up much of Kent Ridge campus.

Adjunct lecturer Mr. Kan Siew Ning, who graduated from NUS in 1985, mentioned that his classmates would jokingly call NUS “The Concrete Jungle of Kent Ridge” because of its tightly packed buildings with sparse greenery. Hence, UTown was a welcome change for him.

“It was very refreshing for me to teach NM4218 Knowledge Management at UTown this semester, which to me was less of a “concrete jungle” and has characteristics of overseas university campuses such as Harvard, Stanford and Cambridge - where there are nice, open and conducive spaces for students to hang around and interact.”

Similarly, Dr. Ganga Sasidharan who taught NM4200 Public Speaking, highlighted her pleasure with the new teaching environment saying, “Teaching at UTown this semester was fun! The vast open spaces that greet you at Town Plaza induce a sense of

calm and peace, creating an atmosphere suitable to teaching and learning.”

Built with the aims of enhancing space on campus and ease of use in mind, UTown’s lecture facilities are roomy, well ventilated and come with state-of-the art equipment, ensuring both ease of learning and teaching. Seminar rooms are furnished with comfortable seats, tables with microphones, and automated teaching aids to enhance interactive teaching and pro-active learning.

Lee Kai Ling, a fourth-year CNM major who took NM4218 Knowledge Management, had this to say: “UTown is akin to an oasis in a desert. I really enjoyed my learning here because I feel really comfortable in this spacious environment.”

On top of its excellent teaching facilities, UTown’s Education Resource Centre (ERC) also boasts of computer rooms that remain open 24 hours daily, allowing students and staff to work on projects at their convenience. Discussions can also be carried out in the private rooms equipped with computers. A multimedia hub that is equipped with high definition mobile cameras and lighting systems enables students to work on their projects in a professional setting.

Study clusters dot the ERC which overlooks a large expanse of greenery of which students are already taking full advantage, by having picnics, playing Frisbee and flying kites.

UTown will definitely help create a campus lifestyle that is beyond the traditional and already, it has garnered positive reviews from both our students and faculty alike. We certainly look forward to having more CNM classes conducted there in future!

By Phua Mei Jing

A large green field overlooks UTown’s Education Resource Centre, enabling students to engage in sports, picnics and

other activities amidst their busy schedules.

Students from NM4200 Public Speaking had their weekly seminars in UTown in Semester 2, AY2011/2012.

UTown’s computer rooms are open 24 hours daily, enabling students to work on their assignments and projects with ease.

UTown has a number of study clusters that overlook vast greenery, a refreshing change from NUS’s other venues.

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By Lynette Lioe

RANDOm BLENDSno passive viewers allowed

CNM’s annual multimedia art exhibition broke away from its predecessors

with an emphasis on digital and interactive exhibits this year. Visitors had to actively participate to trigger a reaction from many of the featured works.

One of the more unusual exhibits on display was the walk-up interactive art installation which allowed participants to “erase” clouds and stop falling text via the use of the Microsoft Kinect. Other exhibits included a “Designer Baby” stimulator, board games, digital storybooks and interactive stories.

Organising committee chairperson Ms. Jing Chiang said that the move towards interactive exhibits was due to a revamp of the Media Design modules in CNM.

“There are now more interactive media classes compared to previous years and most of the works at Random Blends are from modules in NUS,” said Jing.

Random Blends 2012 was more than a feature of current undergraduates’ projects. A dedicated alumni section was included, showcasing works by former exhibitors.

Said Lee Wanyu, who contributed two photographs to the alumni section, “Exhibiting this year felt like I was contributing to a collective memory; Having that contrast between older and current batches was definitely interesting.”

Guest-of-Honour Dr. Chitra Rajaram from MediaCorp lauded the move towards using digital channels to showcase works. The Vasantham senior vice president said in her opening speech that it is important for people today to have a good grasp of new media in order to not be left behind.

This is the last year that Random Blends was held at Old School since its first installment in 2009. The site will be demolished for residential development.

(top to bottom) Dr. Millie speaking to visitors at the launch event; Dr. Chitra Rajaram giving a speech about new media usage; a father and son duo looking at an interactive piece; Random Blends 2012 committee members pose with our Guest-of-Honour.

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Virtual Home-Planning Concept Clinches Third at CHI Student Design Competition 2012

Four undergraduates from our NM4210 User Experience Design class beat over 60 entries worldwide to emerge third at the

prestigious Computer Human Interaction (CHI) Student Design Competition 2012. The team comprising Agatha Soh (CNM), Samuel Heng (CNM), Kevin Lim (School of Computing) and Lim Teng Chek (SoC) conceptualised Habitag, a mobile application for home-owners to co-design their home on a virtual floor plan even before a place is built.

Three of the team members had the opportunity to fly to Austin, Texas for the CHI conference in May 2012 with their lecturer Ms. Foong Pin Sym. There, Habitag emerged from the poster presentation round as a top four finalist and progressed to the oral presentation round where they presented their design process and solution to judges and CHI attendees. For coming in third place, Habitag team members received certificates of recognition and a plaque. Congratulations to Ms. Foong and the Habitag team! About the 9th CHI Student Design Competition 2012The CHI Student Design Competition was themed “It’s the Experience” and the annual competition presented students this year with the design problem of “Space, Place, Threshold: Considering the Experience of Home from Within and Without.” Students were invited to design an object, interface, system or service intended to help people to develop and share awareness, understanding or appreciation for our domestic experience as it relates to space, place and threshold.

By Lynette Lioe

Designing the Neighbourhood Police Post of the Future By Lynette Lioe

What should such an unmanned NPP have? This was the challenge posed by Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) Marsiling division to the 11 students of

NM3221 Situated Interaction Design.

Over the semester, SPF provided feedback and guidance regarding the feasibility of preliminary design proposals. Lecturer Ms. Foong Pin Sym said, “We learnt a lot about communities and it has really got us thinking about the idea of security.”

The needs of the community featured clearly in the design proposals – many suggested saferooms and self-help kiosks with facilities for the illiterate and physically-disabled members of the community. Some suggested that the space be shared with organisations such as Family Service Centres. All these concepts were presented by the students to representatives from the Marsiling division who were extremely pleased with the students’ ideas. Said Inspector Julius Lim, “I’m actually very pleased that these ideas came about. Some themes mentioned were about bringing in the community, voluntary welfare organisations and community service centres. We deal with family violence cases so the theme gels with what police centres are about – being a safe place for victims. About 35% of Marsiling’s population are above the age of 65 so the emphasis on family-friendly services is definitely a key point of consideration.”

The jubilant Habitag team at CHI 2012.

(top) A student presents his design proposal.

(bottom) Members of SPF's Marsiling division listening intently.

7 8

Multi-DisciplinaryApproach to Ph.D.’sBy Joshua Wong

One of the hallmarks of CNM has always been its multidisciplinary approach, with a wide variety of different research areas and methodologies. This was again made obvious with the most recent batch of Ph.D. graduate students: Carol Soon, Margaret Tan and Alex Mitchell.

While undergoing the common journey towards that coveted degree scroll, each pursued a very different path in getting there.

For Carol, who did social science research on how civil society organisations in Singapore made use of Internet technologies to galvanise and recruit supporters, one of the most memorable moments of her Ph.D. was the interviews she conducted among blogger-

activists. She was especially touched by their passion and determination in advancing their cause. Carol recently won the Australian Government’s Endeavour Research Fellowship Award, and plans to go for a short fellowship of between 4 and 6 months in Perth to do comparative research among civil society organisations. Some of the lessons that she has learned throughout the Ph.D. process include having strong self-belief and a very clear idea of what you want to research on. She also acknowledges the importance of support from family and supervisors.

CAROLSOON

Margaret, on the other hand, pursued a more humanities-based approach, doing a discourse analysis of the iN2015, Singapore’s latest ten year IT masterplan. She examined the issue of pervasive computing technologies promoted by the plan and its implications for the Singapore Armed Forces as they move into a new

generation of information warfare. For her, it was a more solitary journey. The struggle to overcome obstacles posed by an unfamiliar academic discipline as well as personal issues made her cite perseverance as one of the most important qualities to have while undertaking a Ph.D. She was also thankful for getting along well with both her supervisors, and cites the desire to make them proud as one of the reasons why she kept on going. Now, having finally achieved the Ph.D. she’s worked so hard for, she looks forward to her life as a Research Fellow in the Asian Research Institute and in Tembusu College.

MARGARET

TAN

Along a less-beaten path, Alex found a way to combine his interest in computer science with his interest in English literature by focusing his Ph.D. research on how people re-read interactive stories. For him, one of the major challenges he faced was to find a topic that was both personally meaningful and achievable, as well

as something that could sustain his interest throughout the entire length of the Ph.D. process. For new Ph.D. candidates, he advised them to think carefully about their topic, as it would need to sustain their interest for the next 3 to 4 years. They also need to realise that the Ph.D. research will not be the sum of their entire life. There are opportunities to do research in other areas later as well as covering parts of the topic they did not cover in their Ph.D. dissertation. Alex himself now intends to pursue research into the areas of interactive storytelling that he could not include in his Ph.D.

ALEXMITCHELL

GRADUATE GRADUATE

Carol (center) with Dr. Cho Hichang (left) and Dr. Millie (right).

9 10

CNM Rocked at ICA Conference 2012

The 40 degrees Celsius desert heat failed to dampen the enthusiasm of communication scholars from around the world at the

International Communication Association Conference 2012 in Phoenix.

This year CNM had a strong showing at the conference with seven faculty members and five graduate students. Commenting on how CNM has contributed to the ICA conference annually, A/P Sun Sun Lim, CNM’s Deputy Head, said “CNM’s performance at ICA is going from strength to strength every year! This year saw two faculty members win top paper awards and one graduate student winning a travel grant. We had papers accepted in multiple divisions and pre-conferences, in all the areas that CNM as a department is actively building its expertise in. We’re going to build up our momentum for London next year!”

Top paper awards were presented to Dr. Ganga Sasidharan for her paper titled “Dialectics in corporate discourse on CSR in India: Key themes and drivers” (top paper in public relations) and Mohamed Elmie Bin Nekmat for his paper titled “Disclosure in online word-of-mouth communication: What does it mean for public relations?” (top student paper in public relations). Dr. Ganga was given another pleasant surprise when she was also presented with the 2012 Bob Heath Top Paper Award for the top of the top papers! “For this achievement I must thank my supervisor Millie Rivera and my dissertation committee

members, Mohan Dutta and Linda Perry who gave me the intellectual space and freedom to develop as a scholar in my own right. I believe that this freedom enabled me to make a distinctive contribution to the body of knowledge,” said Dr. Ganga, who is thrilled by the awards, after having been conferred her Ph.D. just last year. Ph.D. candidate Cheryll Soriano, who won the ICA travel grant, had some sage advice: “I would strongly encourage graduate students to participate in ICA pre-conferences. Here, papers and discussions converge towards a specific theme and there are opportunities to think about the theme across a variety of theoretical lenses, methodological approaches and geographical contexts, leading to greater ease in future collaborations!”

Congratulations to Ganga, Elmie and Cheryll on your wonderful achievements!

The CNM team at the ICA Conference 2012.

Dr. Ganga and her pleasant surprise – the Bob Heath Top Paper Award.

By Jodie Luu

GRADUATE

My First Snow

Seoul Calling!

By Daniel Teo

By Wendy Wong

The first time I experienced snow was on November 30, 2011. At the time, I was four months into my stint at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. I had been invited to spend fall semester at the Brian Lamb

School of Communication, attending graduate courses and even teaching a couple of undergraduate classes.

I was in my apartment just finishing up lunch when the snow started falling. Outside my window, delicate white specks floated down from above. It looked every bit as enchanting as I had imagined.

I stood at my window for a good fifteen minutes before realising that I had a class to teach in a couple of hours. Driving in the snow to campus was quite an experience, to say the least. Forty minutes later, I parked my car in the university’s student lot. Only then did I release my death grip on the steering wheel.

So that was my first encounter with snow. I suppose first times are always like that – the sense of wonderment before crashing back to reality, sometimes literally. When I first arrived in Indiana, I was excited at the prospect of living in a foreign country for the first time in my life. Lafayette is a small city home to less than 60,000. Beyond the city limits, there were corn fields as far as the eye could see. Everything was just so fascinating to me.

But soon I realised I had to grapple with the realities living and working in the U.S. Would my teachers, classmates and students understand me? Thankfully, being understood was not a problem because Purdue has the second largest international student community in the U.S. and everyone was used to various accents.

Then there was the homesickness. This was my first time being away for an extended period of time, and I missed my family and friends from time to time. Fortunately, there was email, Facebook, Skype and a whole host of other media channels to keep me up-to-date with what was going on in Singapore.

They say slow and steady wins the race. In the end, when times get hard, it helps just to keep plugging on. Eventually, despite almost crashing, you will reach your destination. And you can be proud that you did not give up halfway.

Elated to have won the ASEAN University Network and Republic of Korea Academic Exchange Fellowship Programme 2012, I spent two months in Seoul during the semester break to conduct part of my field work for

my masters thesis. Through the assistance of Dr. June Song, a Director with the Korean Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (KISEAS), I worked with Ms. Julie Cho, Research Assistant (KISEAS) for my field work. We conducted focus groups with six Korean participants who are above 60 years old, on their perception and use of information communication technology like the Internet and smartphones, and also to gain an insight into their socioemotional needs.

I was very privileged to have had the opportunity to speak with Associate Professor Keong-Suk Park from the Department of Sociology in Seoul National University, who has numerous publications on the elderly in South Korea as well as comparative studies with the elderly in other North Asian countries.

It was a fascinating experience being swirled in the raw vibrance of Seoul. At the same time, I was moved by the stories of some of the older Koreans feeling left behind in the unrelenting rush of technology and new media – worse, to be left behind by society at large.

Wendy (centre) with Dr. June Song (left) from the Korean Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and research assistant Ms. Julie Cho (right).

Daniel (third from left) with his Narrative Theory class.

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printBLU 11By Lynette Lioe

By Lynette Lioe

In early 2012, the CNM Society got busy with Gosh! Advertising for Ideate!, a marketing case competition for which participants were challenged to create a marketing campaign for SUBWAY®.

Interactive mentoring sessions provided by media professionals and industry experts simulated a real working environment, providing a good opportunity for students to learn and sharpen their ideas before their final presentations to the judges.

Congratulations to our students Agatha Soh, Jesmine Tay and Wong Yong Shen of the winning team, WhatSub. Well done to the first and second runners-up, One Monkey and Fireflies, and all other participants of Ideate! Reynold Kwok from CNM and Tammy Fransli from the NUS Business School were also named the most valuable presenters.

All students received certificates of participation while winners received additional team certificates and cash prizes of $500, $300 and $200.

Our friends from the CNM Society worked with Blugrapes, a leading social media consultancy, to bring us BLUprint ’11. The competition

saw undergraduates design a three-month long social media marketing campaign for sponsor Kao Liese, a hair colourant brand from Japan.

Ryan Lim, business director of Blugrapes, said this was an opportunity for students to connect theory to practice. BLUprint presented a great experience for students to get involved in a real life brand and learn to harness social media purposefully. Congratulations to Ong Xin Er, Raymond Yang and Serene Chua of the winning team! The first prize included $1,200 and an internship opportunity with Blugrapes where students may get to work with Fortune 500 companies to develop social media strategies. The first and second runners-up were awarded with $600 and $300 respectively. The competition ran from August 31 to October 27, 2011.

‘

WhatSub at Ideate! 12

‘

INDUSTRY

BluPrint 2011 saw students designing a 3-month social media marketing campaign for Kao Liese.

Mr. Toh Ee Ming (left), chairman of Subway Singapore franchisee committee, presents tokens to the winning team WhatSub.

PASSINGTHE TORCH

By Daniel Teo

THE CNM EXPERIMENT FLOURISHES

University departments can be battlefields of conflicting beliefs and values, where long-drawn wars are waged between

factions who relentlessly demean each other’s work. This was not what Associate Professor Millie Rivera wanted for CNM when she took over the reins in July 2004. Her vision was for a truly interdisciplinary department.

“Respect is key,” Millie said in her rich Portuguese accent. “I wanted to develop a department that feels like a family, and that that feeling trickles down to our students.”

Now, at the end of her term as department head, she spoke candidly about what it took to transform her vision into reality.

In the beginning, Millie had to bring in people from across many different academic backgrounds, countries and cultures. She recalled affectionately the daring experiment that became CNM: “My idea was – let’s throw them all in a pot, stir them and see what comes out! And what came

out was a fun group of people who like and respect each other.”

By starting from scratch, Millie had the freedom to push boundaries in designing the nascent programme. The result was a unique curriculum comprising courses in

communication management, media design and media

studies. In addition, it was very important to Millie that students were not confined to a predetermined set of courses like in conventional communication

curricula. “The students decide what

they want. They have choice,” she said. “We don’t

try to impose on them what we think ought to be the way

they combine their courses.”

This flexibility was a major reason for the exponential growth in student numbers. CNM now boasts one of the highest enrolments in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, with the number of single majors

FEATURE

My idea was – let’s throw them all in a pot, stir them and see what comes out! And what came out was a fun group of people who like and respect each other.

~Dr. Millie Rivera

13 14

leapfrogging from 139 in 2005 to 583 in 2012.While Millie was quick to admit that there were few major challenges in crafting CNM, the journey was not always smooth-sailing. The new and different are often met with resistance and scepticism: “My biggest problem was convincing the university that the things we were doing here would not make the whole university implode!”

The novel curriculum often had Millie explaining how everything fit together. In addition, she also proposed radical things like hiring teaching staff without Ph.D.’s but had valuable industry experience and skills, as well as hiring on a part-time basis.

“It was not easy at the beginning because it was like hitting a wall, but once a breach was there, then it was much easier,” she said about her many meetings with the university authorities. “It was not difficult; it just required that constant effort to educate our colleagues and peers.”

Under Millie’s headship, CNM has flourished. Among her many achievements for the department, she has spearheaded the formation of initiatives such as the CNM student society, the undergraduate internship programme, and the Industry Advisory Council that allows industry players and students

to interact. And to top it all off, CNM was recently placed third best out of 100 top universities for communication by QS World University Rankings. Said CNM's deputy head A/P Sun Sun Lim: "Building up a new academic department from scratch - staffing it with the best people, attracting

bright students, developing a robut curriculum - is no easy endeavour. And although we

in CNM were all equally committed to building up our department,

our efforts and impact were magnified with A/P

Milagros Rivera's energetic, passionate and strong leadership. As we now turn our efforts towards further raising CNM's international profile, Professor Mohan Dutta's

global standing as a top health communications

scholar makes him the ideal person for leading CNM into its

next phase of growth."

As she passes the torch on to her successor Professor Mohan Dutta, Millie already has plans for her return to “civilian” status. For one thing, the five-time award winner for teaching excellence is looking forward to spending more time with her students. However, Millie’s main focus will be working on her multiple on-going research projects.

Millie also foresees CNM growing even more. Her hopes for the department are for the expansion of the

graduate programme and international recognition for the department’s research work and innovative curriculum. “It’s a natural progression,” she said.

With the change in leadership and the bright future ahead for the department, there is one important thing that Millie hopes will be constant in her little CNM experiment: “I wish for the department to continue being the family that it has always been.”

NEW HEAD DRAWN BY CNM’S CULTURE For Dr. Mohan Dutta, who has made it his life’s mission to study culture, it was inevitable that culture would come up during the interview. “I love the culture of this place,” he said about joining CNM as its new head. “If there was one thing that drew me here, it was how I understood the culture. I really love the feel that this place has.”

Just a month ago, Mohan was Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education at Purdue University’s College of Liberal Arts. On top of teaching at the Brian Lamb School of Communication and conducting research in health communication and activism, he also served as a fellow at the university’s Entrepreneurial Leadership

Academy, and ran the Centre for Poverty and Health Disparities as its director. In addition to all these duties, he also served as senior editor for the academic journal Health Communication.

Now, Mohan is 10,000 miles away from his old life. Surely there had to be

more than CNM’s winning culture that brought him here? “I wanted to be closer to India where my parents

are,” he said wistfully. “It’s about marrying your career with your

family and with your personal choices.”

This yearning to be closer to home was also evident as the conversation steered to the recent spate of heavy rain in Singapore: “I love

the monsoons. I grew up in a very tropical climate, so

come March, we used to have torrential rains.”

Of course, this was not Mohan’s first brush with our regular downpours. In 2010,

he had spent six months in Singapore with his wife Debalina while on a sabbatical at CNM. “We were living on the 17th floor and we'd just open up all the windows when it rained,” he said. It was also during this sabbatical that CNM made a lasting impact on him. “When I left CNM in 2010, I had a lot of positive memories and thoughts about this place,” he said. “So when Millie reached out to

Building up a new academic department from scratch - staffing it with the best people, attracting bright students, developing a robust curriculum - is no easy endeavour. And although we in CNM were all equally committed to building up our department, our efforts and impact were magnified with A/P Milagros Rivera’s energetic, passionate and strong leadership. As we now turn our efforts towards further raising CNM’s international profile, Professor Mohan Dutta’s global standing as a top health communications scholar makes him the ideal person for leading CNM into its next phase of growth.

FEATURE FEATURE

When I left CNM in 2010, I had a lot of positive memories

and thoughts about this place. So when Millie reached

out to me to be head of CNM, it just felt right.

~Dr. Mohan Dutta

CNM was recently placed third best out

of 100 top universities for communication by QS World University

Rankings.

~A/P Sun Sun Lim

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Teaching Staff Win Encore Awards

CNM had a bumper crop of teaching accolades over the past academic

year as five teaching staff were acknowledged for their contributions to teaching. Four of them were repeat winners of teaching awards.

Teaching Assistants Anuradha Rao, Cheryll Ruth Soriano and Christopher Ong received the FASS Graduate Students’ Teaching Award (GSTA), while Assistant Professor Ingrid Hoofd and Instructor Gui Kai Chong received the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (FTEA). Dr. Ingrid scored a hat trick with this FTEA win, for she has received the award twice previously in 2007 and 2009. She has also won the university level Annual Teaching Excellence Award (ATEA).

Even though Dr. Ingrid is no stranger to awards, the exhilaration of clinching one is not lost on her. “Though the university emphasises research, it’s nice that they stress teaching too and we get recognised for it. I’m still very excited every time I get an award. It is especially good for younger faculty staff because it boosts their resume,” she said.

For Kai Chong, the FTEA has been awarded to him for a second year running. Likewise, Anuradha and Cheryll have also received the GSTA previously, in 2010 and 2011 respectively. A third win of the same award would see recipients enter the Honour Roll, unofficially known as ‘The Hall of Fame”, and they are not eligible to receive the award again.

A first time recipient of the FASS Graduate Students’ Teaching Award this year was Christopher Ong, who received the good news via e-mail.

“Getting the award was a pleasant surprise – it’s nice to know that your teaching is appreciated,” he said.

A hearty congratulations to all our award winners!

Anuradha Rao

Cheryll Ruth Soriano

Christopher Ong

Mr. Gui Kai Chong & Dr. Ingrid Hoofd

me [to be head of CNM], it just felt right.” Other things about living in a city like Singapore feel right to Mohan as well: “There are so many things to do here, restaurants to eat at. Debalina and I love to eat all kinds of food.”

“But I’m going to miss the backyard, the lawn and the big open spaces to play in,” he said about moving from a U.S. suburb to a high-rise apartment in Singapore.

While the move to Singapore was a gamble both career-wise and personally, Mohan still saw the odds in his favour in heading CNM. “I see a lot of potential here. Having a solid base, a good culture – these are the things which are often not so easy to find,” he said. “And then the opportunity to take that to another level in terms of scholarship or productivity or research profiles, those are the things that are very exciting.”

Being the most published scholar in the field of health communication, Mohan certainly has the goods to take CNM to greater heights. In fact, he hopes for the department to become a global leader in innovative research and scholarship, while retaining its unique Asian perspective.

Despite these lofty aspirations, his early plans for his headship are to lead less and understand more. “There is a lot of learning I need to do,” he said. “I’m a process-oriented person, so I’m looking to spending time just meeting with people, understanding what their dreams and visions are, and trying to crystallise my dreams in

FEATURE STAFF

conversations with them.” The interview then touched on the recent news of CNM clinching third place in an international ranking for communication in universities. “It doesn’t surprise me,” Mohan said. “I see CNM as a cutting-edge, innovative, creative space which falls out of the traditional line of how communication work is done. It’s very encouraging in terms of what the department has been able to do under Millie’s leadership.”

“I feel fortunate to follow in the footsteps of someone who’s done such a wonderful job nurturing this place, marrying organisational culture with excellence,” Mohan said elaborating on his predecessor’s success. “I feel good about taking the baton at this point and moving it forward because my leadership experiences would add value to what she has done so far.”

“We have room to improve, to become even better,” Dr. Dutta said. “I’m hoping we’ll become number one in the next round!”

I see CNM as a cutting-edge, innovative, creative space which falls out of the traditional line of how communication work is done.

~Dr. Mohan Dutta

By Lynette Lioe

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Visitors to the CNM office are surprised to see a huge poster of a man in a pink Hello Kitty graduation gown surrounded by grinning faculty

members. Previously, they were amused by a poster of the faculty gathered round a medieval knight. Just who are these peculiar men being celebrated on CNM’s walls? They are none other than Associate Professors Lonce Wyse and Cho Hichang, who both received tenure in the past academic year 2011/2012! Congratulations to Dr. Cho and Dr. Wyse on being our third and fourth CNM professors to achieve this milestone. The first and second faculty members to attain tenure were the former Head of Department Dr. Milagros Rivera and Deputy Head Dr. Sun Sun Lim. Most “research track” professors are required to obtain tenure within six years of joining NUS. In a process that takes about a year, tenure candidates are reviewed by undisclosed international scholars in the chosen field of work and by the NUS Tenure Committee. Successful applicants are granted longer-term job security.Since the inaugural queen’s coronation of Dr. Lim for her

tenure celebrations in 2010, it has become a tradition to celebrate our newly-tenured professors in fun and creative ways as they continue to forge ahead in their careers as part of the CNM family. When Dr. Cho received news of his tenureship back in June 2011, he suspected a surprise party in store for him

CNM CelebratesTwo More Tenured FacultyBy Lynette Lioe

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at a department meeting despite assurances from Dr. Millie that there was not enough time to prepare one.

“I was asked to do a presentation on the grading curve but I ended up wearing a golden crown and a medieval gown with a staff. I was made to pose and take pictures but I refused to allow the evidence to go on YouTube,” recalled Dr. Cho. What had started out as an innocuous staff meeting turned out to be a “knighting” ceremony presided over by Dr. Millie who conferred a golden crown that read “Tenured Prof ”. Dr. Cho’s medieval outfit also came complete with belt and gauntlets. Reflecting on his tenure application, Dr. Cho said, “It was a stressful, fearful time but overall a good experience because while a lot of time is spent collecting information about yourself, you get to see your strengths and weaknesses. You also stop to look forward and back.” The following year in 2012, Dr. Wyse received the outcome of his tenure application and instantly knew that embarrassing things were in store for him.

After a department lunch in March, Dr. Wyse was presented with a pink satin Hello Kitty-themed convocation gown and mortarboard that had been hand-carried from the United States by Dr. Mohan Dutta. Dr. Wyse even took care to delicately balance the Hello Kitty plushie on his mortarboard as he gamely posed for pictures with his tenure scroll. He recalled his apprehension about his tenure application. “I’m not the typical Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences person. I could never convince myself 100% that tenure would be given – never sure if someone like me with a more technical background would be seen as a good fit in the faculty,” he said.

“It is such a relief to pass the tenure milestone. You really work hard for it over the first part of a career.” When asked about his future plans, Dr Wyse said, “Of course, there are always thoughts of going back to one’s home country (the United States) but I have no particular plan or strategy to leave. This is such a dynamic, exciting place to be.”

(left) Dr. Wyse posing gamely in his Hello Kitty graduation gown; (right) Dr. Cho with his wife, Dr. Chung Siyoung.

It is such a relief to pass the tenure milestone. You really work hard for it over the first part of a career.

~A/P Lonce Wyse

It was a stressful, fearful time but overall a good experience because while a lot of time is spent collecting information about yourself, you get to see your strengths and weaknesses.

~A/P Cho HichangCNM teaching staff celebrate the tenureship of Dr. Lonce Wyse.

Dr. Cho Hichang was knight for the day when he received tenure.

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Five international artists have been selected to showcase projects that fuse the disciplines of art and science as part of the Art/Science Residency Programme 2012.

The programme, which aims to promote public interest and community engagement in art, was initiated by Associate Professor Lonce Wyse.

“Engaging with the arts is a vital component of education for this generation, who need to constantly draw on creativity and innovation to survive in our world today,” said A/P Wyse, who concurrent to his position in the CNM department, is also Director of the NUS Interactive & Digital Media Institute’s (IDMI) Arts and Creativity Lab.

In March, the Art/Science Residency Programme welcomed its first artist, Ms. Grit Ruhland. In conjunction with the Centre for Quantum Technologies, she created a “Cabinet of Curiosities” containing artefacts that related to quantum technology research.

Later this September, Ms. Cathrine Kramer and Mr. Zackery Denfeld will work with the Asian Biopoleis on “Utopian Cuisine in the Anthropocene: Four Food Futures for Singapore” to connect Singapore’s culinary habits to the nation’s larger ecological, economic and political systems.

That same month at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Mr. Shintaro Miyazaki will conduct a rhythm-analysis of Singapore, its infrastructure and technologies in a project entitled “Listening to Singaporean Infospheres.”

Artist-engineer Marc Böhlen will be hosted by the Singapore-Delft Water Alliance in November. He will present “Water Bar”, an installation which re-mineralises water in a public water-well.

During their month-long residencies, the artists will also engage with the NUS community as well as the public through sessions at Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum.

Fusing Art&Science FROM SMS TO SMARTPHONES – IDEAS APLENTY IN CNM

Feb. 13-14, 2012 saw a burst of intellectual energy in CNM’s seminar room when scholars of international

repute converged in Singapore to discuss the impact of a ubiquitous handheld device which many of us can no longer live without. Organised by Associate Professor Sun Sun Lim, the workshop entitled “From SMS to Smartphones – Tracing the Impact and Developmental Trajectory of the Mobile Phone in Asia”, considered the social, political, economic and cultural impact of the mobile phone in this thriving part of the globe.

The two-day workshop sponsored by the Singapore Ministry of Education’s Academic Research Fund attracted scholars whose work covers multiple interdisciplinary areas and an expansive geographical range, while

identifying key emerging issues that are of growing academic and social import. Workshop papers provided broad macro-reviews of mobile phone adoption trends across developed and developing Asia, while the themed panels provided thought-provoking discussions of salient issues such as mobile phone use by transnational migrant workers, mobile phone use by juvenile delinquents, the representation of mobile phones in advertising, mobile phone gaming and implications of the rise in location-based tracking services.

The workshop closed with a positive view towards future collaborations and themed workshops, as well as a critical look at how research on mobile phones in Asia can be buttressed and invigorated.

Participants at the workshop ranged from faculty and

graduate students from overseas universities and CNM.Our guests – young and old – even got to explore the colourful sights of Clarke Quay.

Research Accomplishments

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(top) Ms. Grit Ruhland engaging with A/P Wyse during the residency programme. (bottom) Ms. Grit and A/P Wyse’s meeting with the media.

Photograph by Phyo Myat Thu

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W E L C O M EBy Lynette Lioe

CNM’s New Colleagues

( from left to right) Ms. Gayathri D., Ms. Yvonne Tan, Ms. Joethy E.K., and Mr. Alsred Kwek.

Gayathri is CNM’s Executive who provides support to faculty members with research matters, assists the Head of Department and staff with human resource matters and also co-ordinates department events.

GAYATHRI D.Do take note of Joethy if you are an undergraduate. This Management Assistant Officer’s core responsibilities include timetabling, Centralised Online Registration System (CORS) appeals and internships.

JOETHY E.K.

Yvonne joined CNM in May 2012 as a Management Assistant Officer and mainly handles finance matters. So look no further than Yvonne for claims, invoicing and billing.

YVONNE TANAs a Technical Support Staff, Alsred provides his CNM colleagues with technical support for computer systems. He also assists students at the AS6 teaching lab.

ALSRED KWEK

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Debalina recently defended her doctoral dissertation at Purdue University. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of science communication, gender and science/engineering, organisation communication in engineering organisations, and the role of culture in public understanding of science. At NUS, she will be teaching

Communication Management, Research Methods and University Scholars Programme modules.

DR. DEBALINA DUTTA

Tong Jee’s love for teaching led her to give up an NUS Research Scholarship in 2011 to be a full-time Teaching Assistant in CNM’s Communication Management unit. An avid runner, it is no surprise that Tong Jee’s masters research focuses on “health feminism” – how health

magazines impact women’s need to care for their bodies.

GOH TONG JEE

Tracy taught at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy before joining CNM in 2011 as a Visiting Fellow, lecturing various Communication Management modules. A Ph.D. holder from Cornell University, Tracy’s research interests lie in the social psychology of online communication,

health communications and risk crisis management.

DR. TRACY LOH

Cheryll recently submitted her Ph.D. thesis that has been four years in the making here at CNM and is awaiting her Ph.D. defence. Cheryll is now a full-time Teaching Assistant. The aspiring rights activist hopes that her work can help minority groups harness technology to break

down cultural barriers.

CHERYLL SORIANO

Newer students would probably recognise Wendy from NM1101E, where she is the tutor co-ordinator and covers five classes. Formerly a secondary school teacher, Wendy joined us as a Teaching Assistant and for her part-time masters in 2011. Her research explores how older

adults use new media to fulfil social emotional needs.

WENDY WONG

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By Lynette Lioe

This May, we bade farewell to Dr. Linda Perry as she retires to Gainesville, Florida after seven years with CNM. Back home, she will care for her twin grandchildren, just born in February and observe for signs of cryptophasia or the secret language of twins. Dr. Perry also has plans to complete a novel and take up writing and design projects on the side.

Dr. Lee Seow Ting now heads the Communication Management unit and Dr. Perry believes that Dr. Lee’s research and teaching experience will take the unit to the next level of development.

Besides missing Singapore’s know-it-all taxi-drivers, Dr. Perry will miss the work ethic of students here, whom she describes as extremely hardworking. She will also miss the camaraderie of faculty members, their lack of ego and student-centric attitude.

We thank Dr. Perry for her invaluable contributions to the CNM department and wish her a happy retirement!

F A R E W E L L

Dr. Linda Perry and Dr. Chung Siyoung

After seven and a half years with our department, Dr. Chung has accepted a place at Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Business School as an Associate Professor in the Corporate Communications Group.

Dr. Chung is a familiar face to CNM students, having taught the core modules like NM1101E Communications, New Media and Society, NM2102 Research Methods in CNM and NM4101 Advanced Research Methods in CNM.

While at CNM, her research on online privacy and risks won her a top four faculty paper award at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and another collaborative study on the Singapore 2011 general elections was quoted in several local dailies.

Dr. Chung believes that it is a good opportunity for her professionally as a researcher and teacher since the position is a good fit with her interest area in business organisations. We wish her success in all her endeavours!

Dr. Linda Perry Dr. Chung Siyoung

Dr. Linda Perry (left) at her farewell party

with Dr. Millie.Dr. Chung Siyoung has been a familiar face

to many batches of students.

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Baby Diary By Charlene Wee

Keeping in Touch By Charlene Wee

Lucky Josiah has three older sisters doting on him! In fact, he really relishes playing and interacting with them. Having four close-knit children brings great joy to parents Jhee and Gladys.

Seasoned father and graduate student Mr. Jiow Hee Jhee has this advice: “Invest time in children - they grow up pretty fast.”

Josiah (right) with Genevieve (6 years), daddy Jhee, Gabriella (8 years), Gayle (4 years) and mummy Gladys.

Despite her tender age, Aanya has travelled far. She was delivered in Nepal and is now happily acclimatising to Singapore’s heat, loving the colourful tees she gets to wear.

“Aanya is my little researcher in the making. She loves to observe, to explore, and is inquisitive about everything around her.” – Mummy Dr. Iccha Basnyat Aanya goes exploring

with her walker.

While teaching in NM1101E, our former Teaching Assistant Pratichi Joshi’s sunshine smile comforted many nervous first-year students. These

days, the owner of that smile is based in South Sudan as a cluster leader for water, sanitation and hygiene at French humanitarian organisation, Solidarités International, interfacing with UNICEF.

South Sudan is the world’s newest state having received its independence just last year, but it still faces civil unrest and poor humanitarian conditions.

Apart from the personal and intellectual challenges, this role is doubly rewarding for Pratichi as it is her first humanitarian position since her marriage last October to Jordan Couturier, who is also involved in philanthropic work in South Sudan.

Says Pratichi, “My time at CNM really helped me prepare for working in a multicultural environment. I also owe a lot to my first job as teaching coordinator to learn the basics of coordination. Dr. Millie is an excellent role model as a team leader who taught me that leadership is not demanded but commanded.” 

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Entrepreneurial Spirit in CNM Graduates

Entrepreneurial Alumni

MICHAEL CHEN AND LEE JUN LIN - MINITHEORY

Two CNM graduates from the class of 2012 have founded Minitheory, a user experience and interface design consultancy. Registered in March 2012, the two-

person establishment is run by Michael Chen and Lee Jun Lin. Minitheory has clients in San Francisco, Singapore and is in talks to reach out to China.

Minitheory believes that user experience and interface design have become the most important trends in the industry. Expansion plans are in the pipeline and Minitheory is looking to branch out into making applications on top of client work.

Both Michael and Jun Lin credit Ms. Foong Pin Sym’s NM4210 User Experience Design class for giving them the idea to go into this business. In fact, Jun Lin was in the pioneer batch of NM4210 and encouraged Michael to take the module in the next semester.

“I have been playing with Photoshop since I was 13 and thought it was just a hobby. I thought I would be a journalist or work in Public Relations or Advertising, though I was always interested in technology. I was feeling quite lost until I took Ms. Foong’s class; what I read in NM4210 clicked with me,” said Michael.

Michael and Jun Lin are both alumni of the NUS-Media Development Authority SHAPE programme. Their three-month overseas internship stints in Silicon Valley and Pittsburgh immersed them in a culture of entrepreneurship and gave them the confidence to start their own company.

At the finance software start-up inDinero in Silicon Valley where Michael interned, the founders were not even 21 years of age and younger than he was. Said Michael, “They were not even legal! If they can, why can’t I?”

“Starting a company is actually much easier than what people think. You just have to figure out exactly what you need to do before jumping in. I’ve worked in companies that don’t value designers and treat them as workhorses. There’s actually a lot of value in design work,” said Jun Lin who interned at Schell Games in Pittsburgh where he created interfaces for games.

Minitheory has just moved into a new office this July and the team is raring to go.

LIYANA SULAIMAN – RELAY ROOM, BURPPLE, GIRLS IN TECH SINGAPORE

Can a person wear three hats at once? Of course, if she has the energy and passion of Liyana Sulaiman. The CNM graduate from the class of 2012 lends herself

to three technology-related companies: Relay Room, Burrple and Girls in Tech (Singapore).

Liyana’s keen interest in technology began when her parents bought her a computer desktop from Creative Technologies for her ninth birthday.

“I had burning questions like ‘How do they make and sell such cool computers?’ Stemming from this curiosity, the interest and drive to learn more about the emerging world of technology awakened in me,” said Liyana.

Majoring in CNM was a natural choice and Liyana believes that the wide assortment of modules that she read at CNM is giving her the competitive edge in what she does today. The modules shaping her career path now were indeed new media related like Aesthetics of New Media, User Experience Design, Interactive Media Design and ICT & Development, alongside a couple of modules from the Technopreneurship Minor programme.

In 2010, Liyana was part of the NUS Overseas College (NOC) programme and worked as a Social Media Strategist

at Qik, Inc., a mobile video start-up based in the Silicon Valley that has since been acquired by Skype. “The start-up experience is not for the faint-hearted because it takes a lot of self-initiative. You need to conquer your fears, be versatile across roles, and sustain an unwavering interest in the A to Z of your company operations. It has redefined my comfort zones as an individual; it prepared me for what’s to come next,” said Liyana.

At Relay Room, a typography-led branding and design studio founded by fellow FASS graduate, Sarah Cheng-De Winne, Liyana leads sales, marketing, public relations and brand community management in her role as Marketing Strategist. Relay Room has recently received mention in the local newspapers.

At Burrple, Liyana is an Evangelist and Community Advisor. This mobile Social Food Journal app start-up is listed among the ‘Top Lifestyle & What’s Hot’ apps to download from Singapore’s Apple app store. The mobile application allows people to remember, organise and explore food moments with friends.

At Girls in Tech Singapore, Liyana is known as the Chapter Operations Manager. Girls in Tech Singapore is the local chapter of a global organisation focusing on technology to empower professional women through information, education and networking.

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Liyana with fellow Girls in Tech Singapore members. Liyana experienced working in Silicon Valley under Qik, Inc.

By Lynette Lioe

Founders Lee Jun Lin (left) and Michael Chen (right).

User experience design for inDinero. For this project, Minitheory worked with a multinational team from the United States, Vietnam and South Africa.

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JOYCE HUANG (Class of 2011) a-johua@microsoft.com Audience Marketing for Developer and Platform Evangelism Group, Microsoft Singapore Also started a technology special interest group called Singapore Geek Girls “My best memory is doing design thinking with my team mates for our User Experience Design class in the middle of arts canteen at 10 p.m. But our efforts were rewarded when we won!”

EUNICE NG (Class of 2011) abcdeunice@gmail.com

Designer at Ogilvy

“My best memory of CNM is staying many nights in the playroom WITH NO AIRCON working on NM3208 videos!”

BRYANT NEO (Class of 2010) bryantneo@hotmail.com facebook.com/bryantneo twitter: bryanttttt

Marketing Executive at Standard Chartered Bank “My best memory of CNM is the the interesting slew of modules taught by fun lecturers who are themselves updated and modern in their thinking and approach to new media. Plus the many close friendships forged through project groups!”

BENJAMIN CHEW (class of 2009) skye.sg@gmail.com Project Manager at WebPuppies

“My best memory of CNM is Honours year with everyone in the playroom doing “things” that the CNM staff should not know!”

REUBEN YONG (class of 2010) reubenyongwm@gmail.com http://sg.linkedin.com/in/reubenyong

Business Development Manager at Monster Worldwide Inc.

“My best memory of CNM was having Dr. Millie as my thesis supervisor. Under her supervision, I understood the need to be meticulous, to exercise critical thinking and put in hard work. She showed me a lot of encouragement and kindness, even with all the red marks I saw in my draft. Despite her busy schedule as the head of CNM, she made time for me. It goes to show her passion towards work and allowing students to grow and mature.”

CLASSIFIEDSNews to share? Send us your personal or professional updates to cnmalumni@nus.edu.sg! Or better yet, help us build a strong CNM network by joining our Communications & New Media @ NUS LinkedIn group!

Love Blossoms in CNM By Lynette Lioe

JOEL & ESTHER

Esther thought Joel was stupid and Joel thought Esther was fierce. And so the family friends developed a mutual distaste for one another throughout their growing-up years, and were only distant friends at the beginning of university.

Esther’s eager sister seized many opportunities to get them to spend time together after a group trip to Taiwan in 2006 but “neither of us budged, although the impression we had of each other began to change gradually for the better,” said Joel. It was in working together over late nights spent on NM2208, NM3208 and NM4208 projects that the couple bonded. Joel and Esther both remember arguing frequently as a result of their varied approaches to the projects, but over the two to three years of studying together, they learnt how to compromise and focus on each other’s strengths.

Joel is a visionary with big ideas and grand plans, while Esther is more meticulous and detailed. That was also how they planned their wedding, with Joel conceptualising the grand scheme of things and Esther working out the details, resulting in a beautiful celebration.

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is wing’d Cupid painted blind,”~William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

STEPHEN & TERESA

Stephen fondly remembers Teresa always having an ample supply of titbits to get through classes while Teresa remarked that Stephen was always the goody-two-shoes, paying great attention in class and telling her to keep quiet when she got too noisy.

The couple met as groupmates in 2004 at the Freshmen Orientation Camp and majored in CNM, spending a great deal of time in common modules and group projects. It was only a year later that Stephen asked Teresa out on a date on Valentine’s Day on the pretext that it was an orientation group outing that no one else was free to join.

“I kept telling her that no one could make it. I couldn’t reach them so it’s just you and me,” said Stephen with a laugh. The rest, as they say, is history, and the couple got married last year.

Said Stephen, “Being married has given us a deeper appreciation of how blessed we are, of how much we love and are loved by each other. Although life together isn’t always perfect, we know it will always be beautiful because we have each other .”

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