[14 July 2004]
Singapore's leaders of tomorrow head to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, USA

Singapore – Two students from the Singapore Management University (SMU) will be making their way to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, USA, on August 4, 2004, as their prize for winning the Microsoft – SMU Business Challenge. The essays from Ms. Zeng Yizhen and Ms. Sarah Seow were selected from amongst 40 submissions. Three other finalists, Mr. Ho Jack Yong, Mr. Tan Say Eng and Mr. Joel Teng Wenzhong were awarded honourable mentions at a celebration luncheon held for Challenge participants last week.

The Microsoft – SMU Business Challenge invited students to identify the biggest problems facing business in Singapore and propose solutions. Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer John Connors launched the challenge during his visit to the SMU campus on May 4, 2004. The student essays for the challenge were judged by Microsoft Singapore Managing Director Mr. Andy Zupsic and Associate Dean of SMU's School of Accountancy, Dr Themin Suwardy.

Mr Zupsic said that he was impressed at the quality of entries from the students. “I read the essays submitted and was impressed by the soundness of the SMU students' thinking and the quality of writing. Some of the solutions proposed were exciting, even radical. Personally, I found that most refreshing! It is no wonder that SMU has such a strong reputation for producing some of Singapore 's finest talent who are innovative and who have great ideas.”

Added Dr Themin Suwardy: “The competition was extremely keen and entries were received from all the four Schools. It was encouraging to note that many of the ideas outlined in the essays were thought-provoking, reflecting the students' mental acuity and creativity. I thank Microsoft for providing this unique avenue for our students, as future Singapore business leaders, to share their thoughts and ideas in this Challenge.”

In Ms. Zeng's essay, she argues that Singapore 's main challenge lies in its people. She writes: “…Our renowned ‘kiasu' (afraid-to-lose) mentality notwithstanding, has complacency ironically become the crippling factor that most threatens our industry today? ... It is about a country seemingly stuck in limbo; anchored to its past and gripped by the uncertainty of its future. And herein lies the true challenge we face – ourselves.

Ms. Seow looked at the need for Singapore to create an environment that fosters independence and creativity if it is to overcome economic challenges from other countries. Ms. Seow writes: “While Singaporeans can generally be considered technologically-savvy, it sadly seems as though Singapore has bred a generation of people who may be knowledgeable, but not knowledge-able, the former having had much facts, figures and concepts pumped into his brain, yet being unable to wield that knowledge effectively. The same applies to the Singaporean's use, or lack thereof, of the vast pool of information at his fingertips – it is either due to an inability to sieve out relevant information for decision-making, or a complacent attitude that fails to recognize the benefits of gathering such information…. Singaporeans can no longer continue as human-robots unable to think for themselves, but must begin putting the nose to the dirt in reconciling the ideal with reality…”

The Microsoft – SMU Business Challenge was open to SMU undergraduate students. Submissions were judged on the originality of ideas presented and on the quality of the writing. The winners were announced at a celebratory luncheon on 8 July 2004 hosted by Microsoft Singapore and SMU.

Soft copy photos of the celebratory luncheon are available upon request.