Intrigued to Innovate

by NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP)

Season 1

From My Classroom to Silicon Valley: How Two of My Students Outgrew University — and Raised US$2.6M to Prove It (feat. Armaan Dhanda & Samyak Baid)

In this episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan invites two of his former students back to the same studio where their journey began — not for a project consultation or to submit a report, but as world-class startup founders. Armaan Dhanda and Samyak Baid first walked into Dr Tan's CDE2301 Value Creation in Innovation course as wide-eyed freshmen. Samyak later served as his teaching assistant. Together, they pursued their CDE3301 Ideas to Proof-of-Concept project under Dr Tan and Dr Elliot Law, building a prototype to convert food waste into an alternative protein for pet nutrition. They called it Pawsible. It was ambitious for two undergraduates. What came next was something else entirely. Today, Armaan and Samyak are the co-founders of Anomaly Bio, a Singapore-based biotech startup that engineers microbes into micro-factories that convert sugar into high-value bio-based ingredients for crop protection, nutrition, and personal care. Their ambition is to build more resilient ingredient supply chains by brewing what the world needs in a tank, rather than relying on fragile conventional supply chains at the mercy of climate, geography, and geopolitics. Anomaly Bio's answer? Programme the right microbe, put it in a tank with sugar and water, and brew what you need. Just like beer, but with far higher stakes. They have already won the 2025 MIT Water, Food & Agriculture Innovation Prize, secured a paid pilot with Mars Petcare, received a hackathon award directly from Singapore's Prime Minister, Mr Lawrence Wong, and raised US$2.6 million in pre-seed funding, led by Pebblebed Ventures — alongside angel investors Akshay Kothari (Notion), Sean Hunt (Solugen), Eben Bayer (Ecovative), and Mithun Sacheti (CaratLane). All before turning 23. Guests: Armaan Dhanda & Samyak Baid, Co-Founders, Anomaly Bio Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E11

May 8, 2026

1:00:31

What Can a Historian Teach Young Innovators? The Secret Sauce That Distinguishes the Great from the Rest (feat. Prof. Jennifer Rudolph)

In this masterclass episode, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Prof. Jennifer Rudolph — a political historian at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) — to explore a question that challenges our assumptions about innovation education: what role do the humanities play in building great innovators? The answer, it turns out, is everything. WPI is no ordinary university. For over 50 years, it has pioneered project-based learning (PBL) — a radical curriculum in which students tackle real-world, open-ended problems with no single correct answer, and in which every undergraduate must complete three major projects before graduating. It is precisely this culture of ambiguity, hands-on inquiry, and interdisciplinary collaboration that makes WPI the ideal home for Jennifer's unconventional mission. When WPI sent its first pilot group of engineering students to Beijing, they returned dissatisfied and disoriented — not for lack of technical skills, but because they lacked the cultural understanding needed to navigate the real world. That moment became the catalyst for Jennifer to reimagine innovation education, embedding Asian history, culture, and humanistic thinking into the PBL curriculum through unexpected entry points: China's mega-infrastructure projects, K-pop, and Asian pop culture. Her driving conviction? That the "wicked problems" of our time — complex, ambiguous, with no single right answer — demand far more than technical expertise. And that the secret sauce most innovators overlook has been hiding in the humanities all along. In this Master Class episode, you'll discover: · Why project-based learning is far more than a pedagogy — and why sitting with ambiguity is the foundational skill every young innovator must develop · Why "wicked problems" have no single correct solutions — and why that very ambiguity is the most powerful wellspring of creative thinking and innovation · How humanistic inquiry trains the very same perspective-taking and empathy skills that every great innovator depends on · Why WPI's radical 7-week sprint terms forced a historian to abandon chronological teaching — and how that constraint became her most liberating teaching breakthrough · How a failed Beijing pilot project exposed the cultural blind spots among technically skilled students — and what Jennifer did to fix them · Why weaving history, culture, and the liberal arts into innovation education isn't a "soft" addition — it's the secret sauce that separates good innovators from truly great ones Whether you're a young innovator just starting out, an educator reimagining your curriculum, or simply someone curious about what it truly takes to solve the world's most complex challenges, this is your invitation to look beyond the formula and discover the human thinking that makes real innovation possible. Guest: Professor Jennifer Rudolph, Professor of Asian History and International and Global Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E10

Apr 17, 2026

52:30

From Campus to Cosmos: How a Freshman Pitched – and Now Leads – a Singapore Government-Backed Space Mission (feat. Tristan Voon Zhi Kai)

In this special NUS Open House 2026 episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Tristan Voon, a student from the NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) leading the Galassia-5 CubeSat payload project. At its core, Galassia-5 is a Singapore government-backed Earth observation mission designed to revolutionise data delivery by cutting latency from hours to just 5 to 10 minutes. Confronted with the critical bottleneck of delayed satellite imagery for applications like piracy surveillance, Tristan and his team are leveraging an onboard AI Neural Processor Unit (NPU) to run edge AI. This enables the satellite to process images in space and transmit only the most vital information directly to users via a downlink. What makes this mission even more remarkable is its origin. Bypassing traditional routes, Tristan reached out cold to industry experts during his very first semester to pitch the mission concept. Today, Galassia-5 holds the unique distinction of being the best-funded Final Year Project (FYP) at NUS, with more than $1 million in external funding. Tasked with delivering on this massive investment, Tristan now leads an interdisciplinary team of 20 people. His journey highlights the gritty reality of navigating unknowns, complex engineering, and the power of lateral innovation. This episode uncovers: · Why latency is the biggest bottleneck in real-time Earth observation and how edge AI solves it. · How a freshman secured over S$1 million in funding to build the best-funded FYP in the school. · The hidden realities of leading an expanded 20-person team and the importance of delegating complex technical tasks. · Why stepping out of your academic comfort zone and embracing knowledge from a variety of fields is essential for true interdisciplinary growth. · Why the NUS iDP offers the ideal ecosystem for students to transform wild ideas into funded, space-bound realities. Whether you're a prospective student attending the NUS Open House, an aspiring engineer, or someone fascinated by space tech, discover how Tristan’s journey exemplifies the ultimate university experience. Guest: Tristan Voon Zhi Kai, Final-Year iDP Student and Team Lead for Galassia-5, National University of Singapore (NUS) Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E9

Mar 9, 2026

52:14

Tired of Green Owls? How EasyConvo Truly Helps You Learn to Speak (feat. A.Guhan S/O Ashok Kumar)

In this candid episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Guhan Ashok Kumar, a recent graduate of the NUS Innovation and Design Program (iDP). Guhan recounts how he turned his childhood challenge with a speech impairment and the mockery he endured into EasyConvo, a startup that offers a space for students to practice speaking daily—an essential step toward achieving fluency. Daily speaking practice is the most effective way to learn a language. However, traditional classrooms and popular apps often keep learners stuck in vocabulary drills, preventing them from truly finding their voice. Guhan notes that while research shows learners need 20 minutes of daily speaking to improve, traditional methods can't meet this demand at scale. What started as a Korean-language chatbot called Chingu went through relentless iterations, team breakups across three continents, and a pivotal moment when a professor's blunt critique led to a complete rethink of its mission. Instead of the common startup goal to replace teachers, Guhan’s team developed a "teacher-led AI" model that amplifies the educator's impact while allowing teachers to retain full pedagogical control. Within a year, Guhan and his co-founder, Kedrian Loh, achieved several milestones: they secured the EDIC Entrepreneur Fellowship, came in 1st Runner-Up at CDE Innovation Day Challenge, and acquired their first revenue-generating clients—all while Guhan was in his final semester. This episode reveals: · The "Green Mascot" Fallacy: Why earning streaks and vocabulary drills fail to improve speaking skills compared with authentic conversation. · The Power of the Pivot: How the team shifted from attempting to replace teachers to developing an AI "twin" that continuously supports students without replacing the human educator. · Interdisciplinary Advantage: How a "data scientist at heart" employed design thinking to create tools that people genuinely need instead of merely "cool code". · Mental Resilience: Managing the "vampire schedule" of a startup founder and the courage needed to demo live features just 10 minutes after coding them during a global pitch. Whether you are a student engineer, language teacher, or aspiring entrepreneur, learn how empathy for learners and respect for teachers can transform a simple project into a groundbreaking innovation. Guest: A.Guhan S/O Ashok Kumar, proud young alumnus of NUS iDP, National University of Singapore (NUS) Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E8

Feb 4, 2026

56:46

From Fear to Fearless: How a Biomedical Engineer Turned Childhood Trauma into a Medical Device Transforming Myopia Care (feat. Lakshmi Sujeesh)

In this deeply personal episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Lakshmi Sujeesh, a recent graduate of the NUS Innovation and Design Program (iDP) who transformed her childhood fear of eye treatments into EyeWonder™, a groundbreaking device that's changing how children experience contact lens insertion for myopia control. What began as a clinical observation of a struggling child at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) became a mission fuelled by empathy, pig eyeballs stored in home freezers, and relentless iteration. Despite contact lenses being 80% effective at slowing myopia progression, only 10% of children adopt them because of overwhelming fear. Lakshmi's solution? An ingenious innovation that hides the lens from view, replacing terror with curiosity and reducing training time from 90 minutes to under 30. Working within the Duke-NUS Health Innovator Program (D-HIP) alongside a medical student and an MBA student, Lakshmi's interdisciplinary team secured a S$50,000 grant, filed a provisional patent, secured news coverage on The Straits Times, and attracted interest from major lens manufacturers - all within 9 months. Their journey reveals how the best healthcare innovations emerge not from pure engineering brilliance but from genuine empathy for the people you're trying to help. This episode reveals: · Why Singapore is the "myopia capital of the world" and why children refuse a highly effective treatment because of psychological barriers, not medical ones · How camping at wet markets for pig eyeballs and countless failed suction attempts led to a breakthrough in her proposed prototype · Why does hiding the lens and using a pinpoint light source create fearless children who confidently use the device themselves · The power of interdisciplinary teams: how a doctor's clinical perspective, an MBA's market insight, and an engineer's prototyping transformed their solution · Why prototyping "ugly" early and testing with real users unlocks insights you'd never discover in the lab Whether you're a student engineer, a healthcare innovator, or anyone curious about turning personal pain into purposeful solutions, discover how one young woman engineer's childhood experience became the compass for a medical device revolution. Guest: Lakshmi Sujeesh, proud young alumnus of NUS iDP, National University of Singapore (NUS) Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E7

Jan 20, 2026

44:09

Tiny but Mighty: Confronting Climate Change with Nature’s Tiniest Engineers (feat. Naadiah Ibrahim, Aaryana Pradhan, and Pahaul Ahluwalia)

In this captivating episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Naadiah Ibrahim, Aaryana Pradhan, and Pahaul Ahluwalia – three newly graduated mechanical engineers who boldly ventured into uncharted territory for their iDP final year project. What began as an ambitious question – " What if nature's tiniest engineers could solve climate change?" – became a year-long journey filled with late-night lab sessions, unexpected breakthroughs, and resilience driven by a true passion. Their project, Growth Optimisation of Cyanobacteria, uses microscopic organisms to develop an effective, efficient, and scalable platform for carbon capture, powered solely by sunlight and water. The true innovation lies not just in the science but in their choice to also extract phycobiliprotein (a valuable pigment), creating a financially viable way to scale from lab to industry. Naadiah, Aaryana, and Pahaul showcase the gritty, humorous, and human side of innovation: the friend who accidentally bumped their head on a CO2 tank, tears during a late-night biomass extraction, struggling through an exhausting Excel spreadsheet packed with hundreds of datasets, and the moment they witnessed a vibrant blue pigment forming in their flasks, proving all the chaos was worth it. In this episode, you'll discover: · Why three mechanical engineers ventured into chemical engineering, and what they learned about their own capabilities · How friendship became the backbone that held the team together through their toughest moments · The untold story of lab setbacks and the emotional toll of working seven days a week · Why their seemingly small optimisation efforts actually make a substantial impact on the scientific community and climate innovation · The surprising moments of joy that sustained them: successful experiments, colour-changing pigments, and breakthroughs in data · How an interdisciplinary approach opened their minds to possibilities they never imagined From doubt to an A+ project, this episode highlights the complex, inspiring journey of young innovators fighting for a sustainable future. Whether you're an engineering student, a sustainability advocate, or just curious about how real and impactful climate solutions are built, this conversation is sure to both motivate and humble you. Guests: Naadiah Ibrahim, Aaryana Pradhan, and Pahaul Ahluwalia, proud young alumni of NUS iDP, National University of Singapore (NUS) Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E6

Jan 6, 2026

42:37

The Question Before the Answer: Why Problem-Setting Beats Problem-Solving (feat. Prof Luca Iandoli and Asst Prof Nadya Shaznay Patel)

In this masterclass episode, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Professor Luca Iandoli, Dean of the Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies at St. John's University and founder of the St. John's University Design Factory, as well as Assistant Professor Nadya Shaznay Patel from the Singapore Institute of Technology's Business, Communication and Design cluster. For decades, Prof Iandoli has connected seemingly opposing fields: complex engineering and computing logic on one side, and interface design, aesthetics, and human experience on the other. His research as a former Fulbright scholar at MIT's Centre for Collective Intelligence has influenced how universities develop vibrant innovation ecosystems. On the other hand, Asst Prof Patel brings over two decades of experience designing futures-oriented toolkits and building intellectual agility in learners through critical design futures thinking, entrepreneurial readiness, and generative AI for creativity. Together, they're co-authoring a new book, "Design Your Business: Transformational Pathways for Future-Ready Entrepreneurship," which reframes entrepreneurship as a twin dance of experimentation and transformation, anchored in a radical insight: the questions we ask matter far more than the speed of our solutions. In this Master Class episode, you'll discover: · Why most innovators are solving the wrong problems-and how to identify what's actually worth fixing · How aesthetics shape human cognition and become a hidden competitive advantage in any venture · The uncomfortable truth about problem-setting: it's a skill that must be learnt, not intuited · Why futures thinking and critical design can stretch your imagination of what's possible · Practical tools, such as question starters, card games, and AI sparring partners, that train your mind to linger longer in inquiry before rushing to solutions · How to cultivate intellectual agility in yourself and others Whether you're an entrepreneur stuck in execution mode, an educator shaping future innovators, or someone prepared to reconsider how you solve problems, this is your invitation to slow down, ask more insightful questions, and create something truly meaningful. --- Guests: Professor Luca Iandoli, Dean of the Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John's University & Assistant Professor Nadya Shaznay Patel, Business, Communication and Design Cluster, Singapore Institute of Technology Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E5

Dec 23, 2025

44:54

From Leaks to Crystal Clear: How Friendship, Fun, and Fortitude Led to the Ultimate Wine Glass Cleaning Machine (feat. James Wang and Chong Jay-En)

In this hilarious yet hard-hitting episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan uncorks the story of Eclat, a fully automated wine glass washer and polisher built by James Wang and Chong Jay-En, the duo behind Crystal Clear and winners of the Best Prototype Award at the 2024 EDIC Project Showcase. What starts as a casual "why not?" project with friends quickly escalates to flooding labs, leaky pipes, disasters with applying silicones, and a dual-stream air nozzle that somehow manages to leave wine glasses spotless in minutes. James and Jay-en reveal their journey from simple cardboard prototypes and overconfidence to building a working machine that cleans, dries, and polishes high-end crystal wine glasses, all of which finally work just two hours before their final presentation. They discuss how friendship, side quests with LEDs, spray paints and gold handles, and a lot of "gwenchana, it'll be okay" helped them persevere when pumps, valves, and other components failed at the worst moments. In this episode, you'll hear: · Why cleaning, drying, and polishing luxury crystal wine glasses is more complicated than you imagine. · How a simple decision to use air led to the development of a dual-stream nozzle that effectively targets water stains that traditional machines overlook. · The hard lessons learned from last-minute leaks, blown sockets, and the mindset of assuming "it'll just work". · The personal takeaways on friendship, burnout, and learning when to stop overthinking and start building the first version. Whether you're an engineering student, a design enthusiast, or simply someone who enjoys witnessing or transforming chaos into brilliance, this episode highlights how messy, humorous, and fundamentally human real innovation truly is. Guests: James Wang and Chong Jay-En, Y3 Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) Students, National University of Singapore Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E4

Dec 10, 2025

47:10

From Trash to Treasure: How Two Women Engineers are Redefining Waste into Sustainable Innovation (feat. Harini Ravichandran and Felicia Tan)

In this engaging episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Harini Ravichandran and Felicia Tan, two NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) students who are turning municipal food waste into a sustainable future. What started as an ambitious plan to address Singapore's increasing food waste problem turned into a practical showcase of resilience, ingenuity, and hands-on problem-solving. Facing challenges like contaminated bacterial batches weeks before their final presentation and daily exposure to food waste fumes, Harini and Felicia's journey highlights the often-overlooked, gritty side of lab-based innovation. This episode captures their remarkable transformation of carbohydrate-rich food waste (trash) into high-value lactic acid (treasure), a key material used in bioplastics. This process not only helps reduce environmental impact but also opens up new economic opportunities. This episode uncovers: · Why Singapore's food waste problem demands urgent, circular solutions · How to turn procurement nightmares and contaminated samples—things that go wrong—into learning opportunities · The power of interdisciplinary collaboration across chemical engineering, materials science, and environmental engineering · Why soft skills—such as time management, stress coping, and strategic pitching—are more important than technical perfection · How focusing on problems you care about sustains you through a year-long innovation challenge Whether you're a student engineer, sustainability advocate, or simply curious about turning environmental challenges into valuable resources, understand why the greatest innovations emerge not from perfect execution, but from embracing every setback as a stepping stone. Guests: Harini Ravichandran and Felicia Tan Mei Ling, Y3 Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) Students, National University of Singapore Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

S1 · E3

Nov 25, 2025

41:11

Razor's Edge: How Two Young Innovators Were on the Edge of Failing—And How They Bounced Back (feat. Lee Seung Jun and Aditya Satish Nalini)

Episode Description In this captivating episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Lee Seung Jun and Aditya Satish Nalini, two NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) students who dared to reimagine men's grooming retail. What began as an ambitious vision to create an AI-powered razor recommendation system nearly ended in complete failure — until a desperate cold email turned out to be their salvation. This episode reveals the messy, unglamorous side of innovation that nobody talks about — dead ends, false starts, and the moment when staying silent becomes more dangerous than asking for help. From ChatGPT failures to AI tools that struggled to distinguish a nose from a blemish, Seung Jun and Aditya's journey exemplifies resourcefulness, resilience, and humility. They learned that groundbreaking innovations are not always created from nothing; often, they stem from strategic collaborations with those who believe in your vision. This episode uncovers: · How dreaming bigger doesn't always lead to better solutions and outcomes · Why building things from scratch and doing everything yourself isn't always the answer, and the importance of strategic collaboration · How recognising when to stop fighting and giving up is a sign of strength, not weakness · How there's always a way forward, in fact, many different ways — and the moment you stop searching for the "right" solution and start looking for any solution is when breakthroughs happen Whether you're an engineer, entrepreneur, or a young innovator pursuing a seemingly impossible dream, this episode reminds you that the way ahead isn't always what you initially plan—and that's where true innovation happens. Guests: Lee Seung Jun and Aditya Satish Nalini, Y3 Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) Students, National University of Singapore Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan Produced by: Low Tse Han & Jovan Tan Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC) Don't miss the EDIC Project Showcase 2025 on 14 November 2025, 5PM at the NUS Engineering Auditorium Atrium, featuring over 40 cutting-edge student projects.

S1 · E2

Nov 11, 2025

49:21

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