DIPLOMA IN ENGINEERING WITH BUSINESS (S42, DEB)

Thattaruparambil Manoj Gayathri, alumnus of Tanjong Katong Girls’ School, was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Award, Ciscos System Gold Medal, OCBC Prize and Institution of Engineers Gold Medal in May 2023.

• Lee Kuan Yew Award
• Ciscos System Gold Medal
• OCBC Prize
• Institution of Engineers Gold Medal

While other young girls played with their dolls and cookery sets, Gayathri’s interest in engineering was sparked by her engineer father who brought home intricate components and circuit boards and explained their uses to her. Her interest in entrepreneurship was sparked in secondary school when her friends and her started a small “business,” designing and selling pins to raise money for the financially needy students.

Today, the Diploma in Engineering with Business graduand is a Singapore Polytechnic (SP) Engineering Scholar and an Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) Science Award recipient. Gayathri enjoyed the "Technology to Business" module tremendously, as it combines both her interests - engineering and entrepreneurship.

Considering herself a “green” engineer with a heart and an engaging business communicator, Gayathri competed in numerous competitions. These included the 16th International Standards Olympiad Competition, where she led the team to win the Silver Medal among a total of 17 competitors.  Other competitions were the Channel News Asia (CNA) Green Plan Hackathon 2022 and Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2022, both of which supported the theme of sustainability. Her internship project inspired her to participate in the CNA Green Plan Hackathon, where she pitched an idea to create similar modular and scalable hydroponic racks to enable Singaporeans to grow vegetables in their own homes for a more sustainable life and resilient future. Gayathri and the team also received an internship opportunity with a company interested to pursue a business in sustainability for Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2022.

An action-oriented and energetic person, Gayathri thrived in a spontaneous environment where she could be hands-on to overcome challenges and resolve issues. Responsive and pragmatic towards change, she moved dynamically through problems, improvising along the way to achieve the desired results. During her 22-week internship with Singapore Indoor Farm Pte Ltd, Gayathri was involved in the “Urban Farming Using Embedded Solutions” project. She designed an automated indoor hydroponic rack to remotely monitor the growth of locally grown vegetables. Due to the global shortage of semiconductor chips, she quickly adapted, researched and implemented alternative hardware that was more economical and viable for their rack.  Her adaptable and inventive spirit, and ability to navigate through difficult situations deftly won praise from her supervisors. The team was invited to present their hydroponic rack at the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association Summit 2022, and Gayathri was selected to present it to Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and the Ministry of Trade & Industry.

Gayathri was among the few selected for the SP-NUS Collaboration Programme, a special pathway that allows students to take university modules during their diploma studies. She demonstrated a strong capacity to handle pressure and excel under stress to handle this intensive programme. The modules count towards Gayathri’s graduation requirements in SP and are recognised by NUS when she chooses to pursue a degree with them.

Aside from her academic achievements, Gayathri also participated actively in activities outside the classroom.  She volunteered and served as the EEE Student Ambassador (SA), led in key events such as serving as Chair for the Freshmen Orientation Programme and EEE Annual Awards Ceremony. Her goal-directed personality, eye for practical details, and amiable nature were key to the smooth and timely execution of the events. She promoted open and direct communication and was able to provide clear instructions and expectations to members of the organising committee. A versatile and out-of-the-box problem solver, Gayathri embraced challenges as they arose, spontaneously improvising, and preparing for contingencies, especially as event-planning goes. She was also appointed as the EEE Ambassadors’ Publicity Head, where she set up new Telegram channels for current EEE students to publicise upcoming SP and EEE activities. The Telegram channels increased EEESA's reach to over 400 students in EEE. The EEESA Instagram has also grown to 300 followers. As a senior in the Peer Tutoring committee, she generously and openly shared her experiences with new peer tutors to help them be more effective in their roles. Keen to support her juniors, she volunteered at Teleschope.sg, an initiative to help students make informed decisions on their post-secondary education. To increase outreach, she sent out personalised invites to over 150 schools to spread the word on their events and webinars. She joined as a speaker during webinars and shared her experience of the Early Admissions Exercise with the prospective students, hoping to make a positive impact by guiding them in their decision-making process.

Gayathri strived to excel in all she did with pride and integrity, displaying drive, enthusiasm and good time management in her studies and CCA. She also encouraged her juniors to strive for excellence. Her significant contributions to the EEE Ambassadors and excellent academic results provided a good role model for her juniors to follow.