Timothy Chai Weijie
My Journey
Little did I know, the day I decided to try out robotics would help shape my interests and aspirations. Since the first day of robotics onwards, I have gained immense experience in programming early on and grew my foundations and interests in programming since primary school.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Now)
Now, I am learning and have learnt even more skills in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, such as basic design principles, data visualisation, Object-Oriented Programming, front-end and back-end development, mobile app development, and more. Furthermore, I have also improved my soft skills such as presentation, networking and teamwork. I am also in Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Diploma Plus Programme to obtain a Certificate in Advanced Computing Mathematics to keep my options open if I decide to pursue a degree in a University. Throughout my time in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, I have done numerous team and individual projects such as building websites, and participated in several workshops by NP Overflow (a special-interest group which I am a member of) to gain new knowledge. In 2024, I also got the opportunity to participate in the OCBC Ignite Innovation Challenge and meet new people. My team and I also presented our solution for the given problem statement and won 2nd place overall. It was a very enriching experience to participate in such an event and I look forward to similar events in the future.
I studied 'O' Level Computing. I was also in the Bits and Atoms club (Robotics club) in secondary school. During Robotics club CCA, I had the opportunity to learn Lego Mindstorms and Python coding. I enjoyed the CCA very much and always looked forward to the CCA. I am also an Upper Secondary executive committee member of the school robotics club, where I helped to manage and plan the activities during robotics CCA.
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I also had the opportunity to participate in the following programmes and competitions:
1) Completed Swift Accelerator Program (launched by IMDA and Apple) with Certificate of Achievement in 2019. I learnt to code in Swift, and apply design thinking principles to develop an iOS app over a period of about 8 months.
2) National (Singapore Green Building Council) Design Thinking Challenge 2019. I was a team member representing the secondary school in the National competition. Our team achieved a Certificate of Merit.
3) 3D Tronics Digital Making National Infocomm Competition 2019. Our team achieved a Certificate of Participation.
4) First Lego League Singapore 2019/2020. Our team is the winner for the Innovative Solution Awards. This involved problem-solving and coding (using LEGO Mindstorms), to build and program a robot to achieve an objective.
5) National Toy Design Competition (Mars Exploration Vehicle) 2019. Our team achieved a Certificate of Participation.
6) First Lego League Singapore 2020/2021. Our team achieved 3rd Place for Core Value Award. This involves problem-solving and coding (using LEGO Mindstorms), to build and program a robot to achieve an objective.
7) Microsoft Imagine Cup Junior 2021, where my team and I had to think of how to use AI for good and impact the world positively and solve a real-world problem.
8) Team effort to provide possible solutions using Python to handle large databases and develop a simple database to calculate the risks of cardiovascular events like heart attack in large numbers of patients efficiently for a research study led by Dr. Koo from Department of Cardiology, National University Heart Centre (NUHC).
9) Participated in the 3 days Applied Learning Modules at Ngee Ann Polytechnic -- ‘Game On with Virtual Reality!’ in Jun 2022. I learnt about the process, technology and tools used for developing Virtual Reality experiences, as well as made my first VR projects.
10) Participated in NOI 2022, although I did not manage to qualify.
Secondary School
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Primary School
I had a keen interest in Robotics during primary school. I took the robotics programme in The Brainery school which offered the robotics programme (Lego Mindstorms), and also the Python coder programme. I took both courses and completed the Advanced Senior Robotics Level 3 and Python coder Intermediate 2. I enjoyed both courses very much, where I can build Lego structures and write programs to overcome and accomplish tasks, and also write Python programs to solve problems. I also had the opportunity to take part in the 2017 National Robotics Competition, and the 2017 and 2018 RoboCup National Competition. I was part of a team to analyze the problem, brainstorm solutions, and implement the solution to overcome the problem. My team was awarded with certificate of participation for these 3 competitions. Overall, the experience gained from working in teams to tackle problems is invaluable.
I started to enjoy programming and was curious to dive deeper into the world of computing. Now, I am an experienced programmer, having embarked on many projects such as full stack web development or mobile app development projects. I believe that all of these experiences are invaluable to me, as I these experiences helped to grow and shape me, not just as a programmer but as a person.
Conclusion
