A first-of-its-kind S$3 million “Create4Good Challenge” for SUTD and SMU students to develop innovative solutions for a more sustainable and caring nation

Singapore, 20 May 2016 – In 2015, Mr Kwek Leng Joo, the late Deputy Chairman of City Developments Limited and a strong corporate social responsibility advocate and philanthropist, made a personal donation of S$3 million to the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and the Singapore Management University (SMU) to set up the Create4Good Challenge – the first of its kind in Singapore.

The Challenge, which is open to the undergraduates of SUTD and SMU, brings students from the two universities together and integrates their technological and entrepreneurial expertise to create real innovative solutions for a smart and sustainable nation.

Mr Kwek Eik Sheng, son of the late Mr Kwek Leng Joo and also Chief Strategy Officer and Head, Asset Management, City Developments Limited, said: “Through the process of collaboration and creation, it is my late father’s hope that our young talents will develop broader perspectives on how they can help realise Singapore’s vision of becoming not just a smart and sustainable nation, but also a caring society. My father firmly believed in empowering youths to lead change and innovation for a better future, and I am sure that he would have been very proud to see the many innovative solutions arising from this inaugural Challenge.”

Today at the inaugural Create4Good Challenge Prize Presentation Ceremony at SUTD, Team Homage was announced winner of the Challenge after five months of hard work. Their idea – an online platform to deliver certified care professionals to meet the demand for in-house non-medical care services for the elderly – beat 22 other teams and won over the judges. With Singapore’s ageing population, the judges felt that their idea was very apt and revolutionary, an innovation that could shake up the elderly care industry. Team Homage received the prize money of S$50,000 to form a start-up to commercialise their solution. Mentorship from industry and business executives will be provided along the way.

The Challenge will run annually for five years and requires students from both universities to work together in teams of up to seven members. The teams will propose solutions that leverage SUTD’s brand and culture of research innovations that are multidisciplinary and technically grounded, while drawing on SMU’s business expertise and out-of-the-box thinking, to create a positive impact on people and society.  Areas of focus may include, but are not limited to, accessibility for the elderly or physically disabled, education, palliative care and environmental sustainability. With the stipulated timeframe and funds provided, shortlisted teams are expected to push their ideas through from concept to fruition.

SUTD President Professor Thomas Magnanti said: “We are grateful to Mr Kwek Leng Joo for his vision and desire to nurture our youths. His legacy will help spur the development of ideas and innovations for a smarter, more caring society, while his generosity will provide support for young entrepreneurs to take their ideas to market, filling an important gap in today’s start-up ecosystem. By blending SUTD’s focus on technology and design with SMU’s business and management expertise, the two universities’ student teams will be unusually well-positioned to develop creative solutions to pressing problems and issues.”

SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer said, “In an increasingly complex world, problems are often multi-faceted, requiring multidisciplinary expertise and approaches to address. This Challenge, created through the generosity and foresight of Mr Kwek Leng Joo, provides a valuable platform for the students of SMU and SUTD to combine their different skillsets and knowledge to develop useful and innovative solutions for society.”

[Photo caption: (from right) SMU President Prof Arnoud De Meyer, Acting Minister Ong Ye Kung, SUTD President Prof Thomas Magnanti with members of Team Homage, winner of the inaugural Create4Good Challenge.]