Meet our start-up founder

From a disinterested student to an SMU Magna Cum Laude - Journey of an SOI’s Valedictorian

“RP SOI has allowed me to dive deeper into the world of IT and mobile technology. Considering how technology has been part of the world’s progression, this course has clearly given us a competitive advantage over others in the future.” – Asher Chua 

Asher Chua works in Business Development at Impact. He graduated as a Valedictorian from RP with a Diploma in Mobile Software Development (DMSD) (now known as the Diploma in Digital Design & Development) in 2015, and SMU Magna Cum Laude in 2020.  

As a teenager, Asher described himself as disinterested in school and went through a rebellious phase, which led to him to drop out at the age of 15. Without an O-Level certificate, he struggled to find a stable job and worked various part-time jobs, until he decided to take his O-Levels as a private candidate. 

He saw a turning point in his journey when his 24-point O-Level result earned him a place in RP Diploma in Mobile Software Development. He was exposed to coding - a lot - and this kickstarted his passion for technology.  

Asher’s unconventional journey, fuelled by his passion for technology, gaming and software development, brought him to a massive success of graduating with Bachelor of Science (Information Systems), Magna Cum Laude, SMU.  

Looking and waiting for a turning point in your journey to your dream career? Have yet to discover your passion? Find out more in the Diploma in Digital Design & Development.

Journey of an unmotivated student to a high achieving graduate

“Don't compare yourself to others because there will always be others who are better than you. If you try, but fall short, it is not the end of the world. There are always opportunities for you to grow," – Chan Wei Zhang 

In his journey to becoming a software engineer, Chan Wei Zhang demonstrated how an unmotivated student with 109 in his PSLE result slip could be an achiever.  

As a child, Wei Zhang preferred computer games over studying. His education path outlines EM3 (a track for academically weaker pupils that was later scrapped in 2000), Normal (Technical) stream in secondary school, and ITE.  

“When I was in ITE, my only goal was to get into a polytechnic, and then enter the workforce. I never imagined myself going to university,” he shared. 

Wei Zhang pursued a Diploma in Information Technology (DIT) at RP, where he saw a dramatic improvement in his academic result. This progress inspired him to work even harder until he received his results.  

RP served as Wei Zhang’s launching pad towards earning a degree in Information Security at NUS Computing. He is currently works as a software engineer at one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment for test and measurement, as well as secure communications. 

Fancy an amazing journey like Wei Zhang? Learn more at the Diploma in Information Technology.

Golden opportunities drove her to entrepreneurship

“Make the best out of what you have and don’t dwell on what can’t be undone. Nobody can grow you if you refuse to grow yourself. Trust the process and do your best.” – Tay Yi Lin

Yi Lin is currently in her first year of undergraduate studies at Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computing Science (joint degree between SIT and University of Glasgow, UK). She is also a recipient of the prestigious SIT Scholarship, and has been selected to join the SkillsFuture Work-Study Degree programme with Accenture.

She joined the C200 Special Project track in her second year in RP – a project that gave her a lot of opportunities to dabble in different technologies which were not covered in the usual IT classes. This enabled her and her teammates to participate in competitions such as the SCS Splash Award, SP Group Ideator Challenge, to name a few. This brushed up her public speaking and project management skills, which are vital soft skills needed for an industry-ready graduate to succeed in today’s competitive landscape.

For her final semester, she decided to embark on the Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme (EIP) where she had the opportunity to establish her own start up business – Repave Tech LLP which provides RPA solution consultation and solutions to clients. Within a span of 20 weeks, she worked on proposals for RP’s internal departments and even managed to secure a fee-paying client who adopted her proposal!

All these golden opportunities provided Yi Lin the hunger and drive in the fields of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. Although she had secured a place with another polytechnic via the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) after secondary school, a twist of events led her to choose RP and discover the potential of IT in her learning journey. Yi Lin is grateful of all the assistance and guidance by her lecturers and project supervisors, who nurtured her passion for technology.