Girisha

Girisha Durrel De Silva is in his fifth year of our Computer Science PhD programme. He loves model railroading but has not been able to indulge in his hobby here in Singapore. He also watches cheesy reality shows even though he knows that most of them are scripted. Being from a cricket obsessed nation, like all the other kids, he wanted to be national cricket player, but then he grew up and realized it wasn’t his forte. Like other cyclists we’ve interviewed here, he hopes that our campus could be made more cycle-friendly. Girisha’s ultimate dinner guests would be former Top Gear UK presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. He’s currently planning on a career in the teaching track of academia. 

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Kandy is considered a sacred city and is well known around the world as it is home to the temple of the Tooth Relic which houses the relic of the tooth of Buddha. Kandy is also a popular tourist destination among the foreigners and the locals living in other parts of the island because of the cool climate, thickly forested hills and many historic landmarks. 

During my childhood, my city used to be more laid back in nature. For example, most of the shops would close by 6 pm and most bus services would stop by 7 pm :). So people used to spend more time with their families and enjoy the finer things in life :) I did all my schooling in Kandy and moved to the capital to pursue my degree at the University of Colombo.

Why are you doing a PhD?

I have played around with computers since I was very young and I have always been fascinated about all things related to computing. My eagerness to learn about computing made me pursue a degree in computing. Midway through my degree I got to work on a small scale research project in my university and that experience really made me think that research is what I want to do in future and here I am pursuing a PhD at NUS.

Describe your research and its significance.

Mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous and people are moving from the traditional desktops to mobile devices to carry out their day to day computing tasks. For better performance, limited bandwidth and battery capacity of mobile devices need to be addressed by better power and bandwidth management techniques. 

State-of-the-art mobile devices in the market are equipped with multiple communication interfaces such as cellular, WiFi and bluetooth radio. Each interface has different power, radio and data rate characteristics. In brief, my research concentrates on exploring the diversities provided by these interfaces to improve the performance of a mobile device in terms of power consumption and data rates. 

In few years, almost everything in the world will be connected to the Internet and as a result, networking in general is going to impact our lives even more than today. Therefore, solutions to most of the interesting problems being researched by the networking community today, will be applied by people on a day to day basis in the next decade.

Describe your SoC experience.

[I enjoy] doing research work with professors who are world class in their research fields. The suggestions, criticisms and the guidance they provide help us to improve our work and follow the right direction. [The most challenging part is] coming up with a research problem which is both interesting and practical.

I work closely with two professors, namely: Prof. Chan Mun Choon who is my adviser and also Prof. Wei Tsang Ooi who is my co-adviser. Both professors are very kind and are always willing to help me in my research work through effective guidance. If someone wants a definition for hard work then they should see how my professors work :). Out of the courses I attended I really enjoyed attending Prof. Chang Ee-Chien’s course as he kept us entertained throughout the class with his witty jokes while delivering the lecture content. During my first semester at NUS I attended a course conducted by Prof. Tulika Mitra. I needed to make up for my low scores during mid-term and had to clear a lot of queries related to the first half of the course content. In spite of her busy schedule, she was kind enough to give me an appointment in which she patiently answered all my queries. 

I also used to be a tutor for an introductory networking module for Undergraduate students at SoC. It was a great experience to work with a bunch of very talented students.

What is something most people would be surprised to learn about you?

My grandfather is from Hubei, China. That makes me part Chinese :)

Worst design?

Internet Explorer. LoL.

Favourite sports team?

The Sri Lankan cricket team and the English Rugby Team

Pet peeve?

Seeing unread emails, messages etc. At least take time to mark all of them read :D

Tell us who we should we talk to next. Email tien@nus.edu.sg

Khyathi, literally.

Class of 2014 Information Systems alumna Khyathi Nirmal Kumar hails from Chennai, a city in the South-Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Most people would be surprised to learn that she’s an introvert, and only 22 years old. If there was one thing from an NUS canteen stall that she could eat for the rest of her life, it would be The Terrace’s Western stall’s eggless brownies. She hates piercings of any kind and the incorrect usage of the word ‘literally’ [Ed: I hate to break it to ya Khyathi but they’ve accepted that ‘incorrect’ usage so technically it’s no longer wrong – I know, I know it’s the end of civilisation]. If there was one thing she would change about SoC, it would be to have modules with more emphasis on practical, real-life projects and experiences, especially for less technical courses like IS. When she’s not working and broke, she enjoys sleeping and binge watching TV shows. When she’s not working and flush, she loves travelling. Khyathi’s three ultimate dinner party guests would be Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and one of her own bosses, Prantik Mazumdar. 

Khyathi about to do some adventure parasailing on one of her travels abroad

What do you do now? 

I currently work as a Senior Consultant, Search and Social Media, at a Singapore-based digital agency called Happy Marketer. I handle clients from the Education and Technology verticals. My main responsibilities include client management, strategy and project management. I've always been fascinated with creativity and marketing requires creativity to be used to solve business challenges. I find this mix very interesting and this made me apply to agencies to do internships when I was studying.

Happy Marketer is a digital agency founded by NUS SoC alumni Rachit Dayal, who is also an NOC alumni. We help businesses innovate and grow their business through Digital. Some of our services include Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Paid Advertising and Web Analytics. The company turns seven this June and has grown at an amazing pace since its inception in 2009. It is now one of the leading independent agencies in the region. 

I am currently in the process of transitioning to a new role at Happy Marketer. This role involves managing branding, PR, internal marketing, award submissions, industry research for Happy Marketer as well as charting out the strategy for all our existing clients, pitch planning for new clients and lastly defining processes and benchmarks which we as a company should live up to in-order to stay ahead of competition.

I have loved working at HM since I started interning here 3 years ago. I've been in the company since we were just 4-5 people in a tiny office, and I am here now when we are 30+ people strong. I've been through the entire journey with the team and even though I did not start the company, it feels like my baby!


So, I am really excited and thrilled about this role because it is my one big chance to shape the brand, to shape the work that we deliver and to assist on a strategic level, and really give something back to the company.

Marketing has always been crucial [in business], it’s just the way it's delivered or executed that changes every decade. As boundaries and limitations keep reducing, the amount of clutter around us increases every day. Hence, as marketers, we hope to be able to help brands connect with their customers and stand out of the clutter by being "future ready". 

Describe your SoC experience.

I loved 2 things the most - the diverse classes and the CCAs. I met some of my closest friends in SoC who I still stay in touch with. I loved hanging out with them on campus, camping at SoC, working late nights or even just slacking to take a break. As for the CCAs, I was the Vice Chair of the NUS Student Chapter of the ACM. I've always been passionate about organizing events and running this club for over 2 years was one of the most memorable things for me as a SoC-ian. My team organized multiple events that were useful for techies. One of my favourite events was Developer Weekend which was the largest student-run hackathon at the time. Being a part of this club taught me a lot about leadership, expanded my network as I used to reach out to companies for corporate sponsorships and gave me a lot of experience with marketing. It was like my own little project. Another very interesting initiative by NUS ACM was Code for Cause (CFC). CFC was set-up to help social enterprises or NGOs that need technical help, be it building a website or an app or even something trivial. My team worked with 2-3 enterprises and built products that helped these companies. Sadly, the club is not very functional at the moment from what I hear, but those 2 years got us a lot of recognition in NUS.

Khyathi receiving the Student Achievement Award for Code for Cause

The most challenging thing for me was to balance work and school. I used to intern or work part-time pretty much every semester and it was good fun balancing school, work and my personal life. Even while studying, I was working with Happy Marketer which kept my passion for marketing alive. Studying IS and working in Marketing kinda go well together. I applied things that I learnt at school at work. And work helped me discover my interests, which helped me structure my curriculum in school and not just take modules blindly. 

Of course, this was possible only because of the flexibility that SoC and HM provided me with. And that's another thing I love about SoC. The school not only gives students enough space to discover or pursue their passion, but also supports them whenever possible.

Prof. Anand Ramchand was one of my favourite profs in year 1. I loved his style of teaching, it’s very practical and interesting. There are 2 other profs that I really admire, Prof. Tan Wee Kek and Prof. Tuan Phan. I studied the toughest modules in my curriculum with them and it’s awesome how they support their students. For Prof. Tan's module, he used to stay around on campus, overnight, to help students with their projects. His students were his first priority and he just goes the extra mile to help them. Prof. Tuan was my FYP supervisor. Everyone told me FYP would be tough and it was. But it just became so much more enjoyable with a great supervisor like Prof. Phan. He's always open to suggestions and he doesn't micromanage. He gives students the liberty and support to experiment, fail and re-try. 

[On top of all that,] we did have a lot of fun while we worked overnight on group projects. We'd play card games, share silly stories, take funny/embarrassing pictures of friends while they dozed off, draw on their face etc :P [If there was one thing I would have done differently,] I think I would have liked to try more cross-university or global programmes. Learning and travelling at the same time :)

What do you count as your most significant achievement to date?

Being recognised as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in Asia in the marketing industry (at the 2015 Mumbrella Asia Awards in May). It was my first "big" achievement. I just made sure I continuously add value to the company (Happy Marketer) and its clients, and keep learning every single day - and it paid off! Both my bosses and my clients were kind enough to recommend me and nominate me for this award. My bosses, Rachit & Prantik who've always been my mentors, my friends & family, my clients & colleagues. I just made sure I have fun doing my work :)

Khyathi with her bosses and colleagues at the 2015 Mumbrella Asia Awards

What did you want to be when you were younger? 

I wanted to be an astronaut! Haha! I am still very fascinated with space and stars and extra-terrestrial activities and would definitely like to visit another planet someday (doesn't seem so unreal given all the advancements!).

What are your future plans?

No big plans yet. But 3 things that I want to do, backpack around the world, start a business at some point, help social causes through marketing (as in take up pro-bono marketing projects that can make a difference).

Quick-Fire! Worst fear?

Getting tickled :P. 

On a serious note: losing my freedom

Worst experience with public transportation?

Hate traveling by buses specially double deckers. The constant feeling that you might just be thrown out of the window while moving on the upper deck is scary! :P

Most interesting development in technology this year?

I am very curious about the interesting applications of IoT in store for us!

Tell us who we should we talk to next. Email tien@nus.edu.sg

Celeste

Celeste Ang loves soccer, is an Arsenal fan and thinks it is time NUS gets a new soccer field with artificial turf. If you want to annoy Celeste, use your phone while you talk to her, and say “whatever”, “k” or “anything”. People may not know she’s a klutz - she has dropped her sister’s iPhone into some Bak Kut Teh soup, tripped over a tanning bed while chasing a Frisbee and broke her ceiling light while making her bed. She’s currently in her first year of the Business Analytics programme.

Where did you grow up?

Singapore. I grew up in the Upper Thomson area, back when it was an ulu place with nothing much to do, shop or eat. Right now it’s quite a hip place with lots of nice food like Meng’s Kitchen, Udders, Habitat Coffee, etc. but I have since moved away. I still go there regularly for meals though! Especially after crashing my juniors’ soccer training at RJ. :)

I studied at Nanyang Primary School, followed by RGS and then RI(JC). I’d say my most memorable years were in RGS, because I got so much out of my 4 years there. It was fun because we didn’t have to face the pressure-cooker called O levels (because of the IP programme). Orchard Road was nearby so we could just walk over for meals or to hang out! And I also got the opportunity to represent the school (and Singapore) on a fun-filled trip to the US where we participated in a Community Problem-Solving competition, and participated in a home stay programme!

Describe your SoC experience.

It's been fun and challenging!

It's been awesome getting to know the SoC community during FSC, FOW, RAG (where I was a makeup artist), IFGs and during lessons too. The experiences I've had playing orientation games, bonding with my OGs, battling it out with my IFG teammates, mugging in school, scrambling to finish missions in CS1010S before deadlines, having suppers, steamboat parties .. all these are priceless to me and I'm grateful to have gained some amazing friends along the way.

Studies wise, programming mods have been challenging because I'm new to programming. But I relish a challenge and it's cool and actually quite fun, especially in CS1010S! I’m looking forward to completing CS1020 though, because that means no more programming mods :P

So far, I'm still adapting to life in uni and SoC but I've been enjoying myself! I enjoy spending time with my friends, doing things such as playing foosball, having meals together, being involved in computing activities such as camps, IFGs, ice skating, etc.

A friend recently commented that I seem to enjoy joining a lot of ‘boliao’ stuff and I think she’s probably right!

I like to do things that interest me and make my campus life more interesting, even though that may seem like a waste of time to others. The NUS Soccer team, IFGs, FSC Orientation Committee and Open Day Computing Ambassador – these are just some things I have done/ will be doing because I want to and I’m passionate about them! I feel that whether or not you have time for such stuff is all about balance and effort. If these things are important enough to you, you will put in the effort to make time for it.

[Some of the people here who have made impressions on me are:] Prof Ben Leong, because CS1010S drove me crazy! Haven’t really interacted with him much because I was under the TA Khanh (who also left an impression on me because he was really patient and always willing to help!!) but how often is it that a mod can be so painful and fun at the same time?

As for the seniors, it’s impossible to name them all, but they’ve been really helpful in helping me and the other freshies settle into life in SoC! The OGLs, camp helpers, IFG seniors, BA seniors.. etc. you know who you all are :)

Two seniors I’d like to mention in particular:

Andrew Kzk, who always goes out of his way to help others.

Michelle Tee, who’s really helpful and nice too (do not be fooled by her resting b*tch face! :P) and has helped me out so much and given me so much useful advice

What is something most people would be surprised to learn about you?

When I was younger, my ambition was to be an actress! I watched a lot of TV then. My family bonds by watching Channel 8 dramas while eating fruits after dinner :)

Later on, I wanted to be a forensic scientist because I read a lot of crime novels (e.g. books by James Patterson, Katy Reiches, Stephen King) and watched crimes dramas like Bones, CSI, Sherlock etc.

But I never really pursued those dreams because they’re not realistic (at least in Singapore) and when I discovered my interest in Business, Analytics and Entrepreneurship, I decided that those were more realistic career options!

What do you count as your most significant achievement to date?

Winning RJ Soccer Girls’ first ever Championship title back when I was in J1.

I loved playing in the RJ team because my teammates and coaches were all so passionate and driven. We had two major goals when I first joined, to win the championship and to beat VJC! Reason being, our team had very humble roots. We started just a few years back with hardly any training space and equipment (these resources were largely taken up by the bigger CCAs like rugby and soccer boys), but with the efforts of some amazing alumni and coaches, we got more attention from the school and got more funding and resources. However for years we kept missing out on the title because the favourites VJC kept winning. We wanted the title so badly because we wanted to repay the alumni and coaches for all their efforts.

On 8^th May 2012 (my entire team remembers the date by heart because it meant so much to us, haha!), we beat MJC in the finals at Jalan Besar Stadium to win the title!

We didn’t have to beat VJC (the overwhelming favourites) to get the title because MJC beat them in the semis. This meant that we were the underdogs in the finals. Undaunted, we played a tactical and defensive game, and won by a goal scored during a counterattack in injury time. It was like a dream come true!

[Besides] my teammates and coaches, [we also had] the alumni who came down for trainings to help out sometimes, and came to support us for our matches! RJ Soccer Girls is really a tight-knitted community. Even though I’ve ‘retired’ from the team, and uni life is hectic, I try to make it a point to go back for the occasional training to help out the juniors, keep in contact with the coaches and play football with my batchmates!

According to Ash, you’re a very skilled soccer player and you played soccer and basketball in the IFG 2014/2015. Tell us a bit about your passion for sports.

I wasn’t really an athlete from the start; when I was younger, I was quite fat, and was more ‘artsy’, taking art classes and representing the school in Chinese Calligraphy. But my dad forced me to join Track & Field, because he was disappointed at how his athletic genes didn't really get passed down to his first 2 daughters, haha! I represented the school in hurdles, and that’s when I grew to love sports. I fell in love with soccer after watching it on TV and playing soccer after trainings and during PE lessons, but RGS didn’t have a soccer team, so I picked the next best option – basketball. And when I came to RI(JC), the natural choice for me was, of course, soccer! I love how the game is unpredictable, fun, beautiful and requires both individual skills and teamwork.

I used to run a lot too. I got started when my sister’s friend, who was supposed to run a half marathon with her, pangsehed her. She offered her bib to me for free 2 days before the event, and I thought, why not? That was such a #YOLO moment; it was crazy trying to run a half marathon with NO training at all! But since then, I was hooked! Ran 3 more half marathons, and a participated in a few other running events. However, since my JC running buddy enlisted, I’ve been finding it tough motivating myself to run regularly again :P

IFGs were really fun last sem! It was a hectic first-half of the semester because I was training every day because of IFGs and SuniG (soccer) training, but the experiences I gained and the friends I made, made it worth it :) Wanted to get gold with the soccer girls (both IFG and SuniG), but ended up with silver for both. Well, that’s life. You win some and lose some.

I think the best thing about sports is that you forge amazing friendships with your teammates. You know you can trust and rely on someone when you get through tough training sessions together, and fight alongside one another in competitions. Sports has also built up my character, and made me a better person (I think/hope)!

Celeste and her sister at their older sister's wedding

Quick-Fire! Worst item design?

Don’t know. Sorry I don’t take note of such stuff haha. Oh, do fashion choices count? I don’t like it when people dress in clashing prints, show off way too much skin, or wear ill-fitting clothes. Too loose isn’t that bad but way too tight is just.. ugh. I still remember those days in JC where some guys altered the pants till they were WAY too tight and made their underwear very visible (because the pants were white) – such an eyesore!

Guilty pleasures?

Lying in bed and watching Ellen.

Eating all kinds of desserts and chocolates.

Indulging in good hawker food! It’s strange and funny how many of my friends ask me for food recommendations because they think I know where all the good food is! Among my favourite hawker food are hokkien mee, sambal stingray and fried oysters.

Three ultimate dinner party guests?

Thierry Henry (favourite soccer player), Steve Jobs (genius entrepreneur) and Ryan Gosling (eye candy)!

Tell us who we should we talk to next. Email tien@nus.edu.sg

Happy Marketers

For our very first feature, we talked to two SoC alumni who have delved into the world of digital marketing. Rachit Dayal and one of his business partners, Prantik Mazumdar, both graduated from NUS SoC in 2005. Rachit and Prantik majored in Computer Science and Computer Engineering, respectively, but both undertook minors in Technopreneurship – something they considered instrumental in their career development.

Now they (with a third business partner) run Happy Marketer - Prantik heads the Social, Mobile and Display division and Rachit does his thing as Managing Partner and Co-Founder.

Left to right: Prantik, Rachit and their partner Dave

Tell me a bit about what you do now.

Prantik: I run a digital consulting firm with 2 other business partners (Rachit & Dave) and one that houses about 20 young, energetic people across our offices in Singapore (HQ) and Bangalore. I look after the business development and sales efforts of the organization but what I enjoy doing most is evangelising to clients and partners about the power of digital and then importance of gradually embracing it.

Rachit: Along with my partners, I founded Happy Marketer. And my responsibilities stretch across Business Development, Consulting Services and Financial Management of the Business. The most enjoyable part of my job is finding tough problems that clients face in their marketing, and working with my team to solve them.


Tell me about your time as a student at SoC.

Prantik: Barring the first semester, I don’t think I did any justice to my academics during my time at SOC. I was a school topper from Indonesia and I enrolled myself into SoC given my passion for technology but soon I realized that I wasn't too good or interested in programming. I loved tracking technological shifts and how it impacted businesses and our lives every day but I was not good enough at coding and unfortunately did not take it too seriously. Life at SoC was fun otherwise - I enjoyed quite a few modules, loved hanging out and working at the Computing Club and my favourite moment was to gulp down 10 glasses of Milo each time the truck arrived!

Rachit: SoC was a mix of joy and agony for me! I loved my first two years - finally found a place where computing and programming got the priority I thought they deserved. I thoroughly enjoyed the programming projects, the team modules and enjoyed creating great things. In the last two years though, I got very quickly bored of theoretical depth - and switched tracks to follow two minors in Entrepreneurship. So for most of my final two years, my interests left SoC. All the while, I was involved in Computing Club and proclaiming SoC’s superiority over my Engineering friends!


What did you enjoy most?

Prantik: What I enjoyed most during my times at SoC were modules that focussed on the marketing and commercials of technology. I also loved the fact that NUS allowed us to take multiple courses or "GEMS" across different faculties and that allowed me to expand my horizons and hone my skills in the world of technology marketing.

Rachit: My favourite parts of SoC were the team projects in the first two years.  Tough, frustrating and but very rewarding to create actual working programs of such large scale. I also loved that as a SoC student, when I went into technopreneurship I had a big advantage over students who pursued other majors.


What did you find most challenging, interesting or useful?

Prantik: What was most challenging in NUS/SoC was to play catch-up with one's CAP once one had a bad start. Given that it was a cumulative number, the odds are stacked against you!

What was most interesting and useful was the opportunity to take up the Minor in Technopreneurship. That was a game changer for me in school as not only did it revive my interests in academics mid-way into NUS but also helped me identify my passion and purpose. I learnt quite a bit, did well and realized that this is what I would like to pursue. Eternally grateful for this program!

Rachit: I'd agree with the Minor in Technopreneurship. It was really what intrigued my interest in school again, and I based my career based on that. While not strictly SoC, it was an advantage to be a SoC student in that class.


Did any of the faculty make an impression on you? How?

Prantik: Some names that come to mind are Bimlesh Wadhwa, Martin Henz, Tulika Mitra, Abhik Roychoudhury and Ankush Mittal. I enjoyed the way they delivered their lectures and made it a bit interesting. But my favourite person from SoC has to be our then TA and now Lecturer, Dr. Colin Tan. He was very affable and kind and helped us a lot with one of our killer modules - CS3216! What was impressive is that he would remember all our names without fail :)

Rachit: I was quite a geek and didn't pay much attention to my SoC teachers :-) ... but there was a Prof Lim Kwanghui who ran the TR2202 Technological Innovation module. Completely changed my life, sparked my interest in technology business and set the course for my life!


Is there anything you would have done differently during your time here?

Prantik: I would have taken coding seriously and would have practiced hard and gotten very good at it. I think it’s a skill that everyone must learn, experience and master.

Rachit: I would have taken business courses earlier to supplement my CS courses.


What’s the funniest or craziest thing that you did/happened when you were a student here?

Prantik: Have been part of many pranks and crazy incidents during the Uni days but the funniest has to be our CS3216 project submission where as expected Murphy struck during our final project submission and our software wasn't working as expected and the only way to ensure that the output was correct was to hardcode some lines that would be print out the desired output! It’s a chance we had to take and we were lucky that the TA did not find out ;)

Rachit: For me the craziest time was when I competed for a Computing Club Elections in 2002 as the Marketing Head. It involved middle of the night poster printing, door to door campaigning and trash talking of competition! I felt like a real politician, and it was quite exhilarating :-)


What do you count as your most significant achievements since graduating from SoC?

Prantik: Post SoC I worked with 3 organizations (1 Public Service & 2 young private sector companies) but I think my most significant achievement, both personally and professionally was to exponentially grow my own company with 2 of my business partners, Rachit & David. By the close of this financial year, we would have grown 10X in 3 years and that gives all 3 of us a lot of pride and satisfaction - not just the revenue bit, but also to be able to grow & manage a team of 20 people and ensure that we have some "happy", recurring clients.

Rachit: The day I wrote my last exam, I started my life in business. In the last 8 years, I guess the hardest part has been to stick to my guns about growing this business. There were many years of failures, surviving on Maggi Mee and doubt. But over time, I managed to find the diamonds in the rough - found Partners like Prantik who share the burden of growing the business and our team of about 20 who believe in the mission of revolutionizing marketing. Those partners and that team has gone on to hit huge revenue targets, great delivery satisfaction and defined a great roadmap for the business. And being able to attract like-minded people to Happy Marketer would probably be my most significant achievement.


How did it happen?

Prantik: I think one of the key success factors was an experimentative mind-set with a philosophy of "Fail Fast; Fail Cheap". It took a lot of hard work, aggressive networking and follow-up backed up with a lot of faith in each other

Rachit: Another one of our fundamental mind-sets has been to not accept outside money and influence. Setting bootstrap constraints for the last 8 years has forced us to innovate rapidly, focus on the market and make sure our core offering is amazing. And now we're in a position where our business is well proven, and we can open up to outside investments.

As Prantik said, it's relentless hard work. For me, it's been 8+ years of 80 hour weeks where everything else has taken a backseat. And while initially it seems like the world is ready to dismiss just another set of young entrepreneurs, in reality there are real gems among the people we meet. We've all met each other, our entire team - even our better halves. And managed to build an ecosystem of like-minded people.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

Prantik: Playing or watching Cricket or reading a book on my Kindle

Rachit: I love tech gadgets and news and spend a lot of my time on technology sites. I'm also a huge TV buff, and find (mostly legal) ways to catch up on the newest US TV shows.


OK guys, time for some quick-fire questions: 
Best use of technology/science this year?

Prantik: 3D Printing

Rachit: Tablets that run my PC programs! 2kgs off my shoulders every day


Pet peeves?
Prantik: Pessimists and wet blankets

Rachit: Mediocrity and businesses and people that adopt it.


Singapore’s best kept secret?

Prantik: Raffles Marina Club near Tuas

Rachit: The different reservoirs and parks around Singapore - sunrise at those spots is just gorgeous!


Worst movie you've seen this year?

Prantik: Tron

Rachit: I'd say the new Jobs movie - it seemed like an enactment of his life, rather than an interesting portrayal of his character


Best song to dance to this year?

Prantik: Applause by Lady Gaga

Rachit: Get Lucky by Daft Punk


If you could choose only three items to have with you on a deserted island, from which you had no hope of escaping, what would they be and why?

Prantik: My iPad for entertainment & communication, a poster of my favourite sports star Sachin Tendulkar & a book by Lee Kuan Yew.

Rachit: Does my fiancé count? Apart from her, a set of weights for staying fit, a fat, fat notepad for my ideas and a book on how to escape deserted islands!





Got ideas about questions we should be asking or people we should be chatting with? Don't be shy. Email tien@nus.edu.sg