Technology and World Change: student feedback

Student feedback is important. It’s important to me that my students achieve their course objectives at the end of each course I teach. Therefore, at the end of each of my course, I will ask for feedback to find out what they learned.

What do I do with the feedback? Based on the suggestions, I modify the contents, adjust the students’ workload and update the case studies.

After all, it is really not what I teach, but what the students learn that count. My job is to ensure I did not waste their time.

I did not edit the feedbacks nor simply quote a line or two from their feedback. Except if the student ask that I take out confidential information. You are seeing all the bad comments together with the good.

I’d rather be candid.

Click here to submit your journals.

Technology and World Change Classes

Technology and World Change – August 2006
Technology and World Change – January 2007
Technology and World Change – August 2007
Technology and World Change – January 2008
Technology and World Change – May 2008
Technology and World Change – August 2008
Technology and World Change – January 2010

Technical Entrepreneurship Classes

Technical Entrepreneurship – August 2008
Technical Entrepreneurship – May 2009
Technical Entrepreneurship – August 2009
Technical Entrepreneurship – January 2010

Other Classes

Masters in Technopreneurship (SIM) – May 2008

What do I do with the feedback? Based on the suggestions, I modify the contents, adjust the students’ workload and update the case studies.

After all, it is really not what I teach, but what the students learn that count. My job is to ensure I did not waste their time.

I’d rather be candid.

Click here to submit your journals.

Technology and World Change Classes

Technical Entrepreneurship Classes

Technical Entrepreneurship – August 2008
Technical Entrepreneurship – May 2009
Technical Entrepreneurship – August 2009
Technical Entrepreneurship – January 2010

Other Classes

Masters in Technopreneurship (SIM) – May 2008

Technology and World Change
July 2008

GUO LIXUAN
Recalling the first lesson and journal, I remember that I was very keen to learn about innovations that did not immediately pop into one’s head and that were more unconventional than not, such as the invention of the barcode and liquid paper. I feel that the in-class presentations really added value in that aspect, because I was able to have an enriching learning experience with such a range of innovations covered and the various technologies applied. I also believe that since the weeks have passed, not only have I been able to discover and better understand impressive innovations (the most impactful being Google and their unorthodox working environment which in turn cultivates creativity) and how they have come about, but I was also able to discover the different aspects of technology we have embraced in order to get to where we are today.

I had the aim to find out more about how innovations remained sustainable in the world today, and through learning about the various technological theories, I now have a better grasp of how technology evolves and how in changing times entrepreneurs, be it individuals or companies as whole, can adapt by tapping onto the opportunities at hand, allowing their innovations to stay marketable and to further evolve and grow from there. I also believe I was able to take away from the class valuable knowledge from working with my teammates on the in-class presentations, as well as the group presentations because of the different backgrounds we came from, and the different anecdotes we could share with each other, which served to enhance our learning experience.

I came into this class, not really having a good grasp about technology and its impact, at least not at the level I have come to study in the following weeks. However, I believe I was able to reach certain goals I had set during the first lesson, most important of which was to be less myopic about the concepts of technology and entrepreneurship and recognize that there is an endless amount of information to learn regarding this subject. I strongly believe though, that this class benefited me the most in the sense that it was not the conventional course with lessons purely taught out of a textbook. I feel that this course is in fact positively different and a step above that, because of the vast first-hand experience that was shared with the class, and a good relationship developed between the professor and her students, which I feel is the best way of learning.

ZHOU SIMING
Yes I think after today’s lesson, I have achieved my original learning objective in my first journal, that is, to learn how technology affects businesses as well as the society. I think that today’s lesson was particularly apt given that that after 13 weeks on learning about the evolution of different ground-breaking technologies and its benefits, we learnt about the side-effects of technology and its impacts on our society. I figured that today was a good reminder that despite how technology brings ‘progress’ to our society, no technology is really perfect. Additionally, I think an important takeaway was really about the increasing ‘commoditization’ of our products and services which was a good reminder again to me about the importance of adopting ethical values in business.

Nevertheless, I have enjoyed myself thoroughly throughout this course and I do hope I will have the opportunity to learn more about how to invest wisely in the follow-on course. Some suggested pointers to cover in the course could be the following:

a) As investors, how do we distinguish a good & viable business plan vs. one that is just a ‘black hole’ for investments’;

b) Do I need to have in-depth knowledge on technology related disciplines (e.g. programming, engineering) in order to be a wise investor’;

c) As an investor, is it apt to intervene into the operations of my investments’; E.g. like how private equity partners often provide management expertise and networking to improve their investments’;

d) How do I stay being an ‘ethical’ investor yet street-smart to survive being ‘eaten up’ by the sharks’;

Once again thanks Prof for all the useful insights in class!

SM

TAN YAN-LIN JACQUELINE
In my first journal, I acknowledged that I did not know much about technology, and aimed to maximize my takeaway from this class to complement my studies in the social sciences. In this respect, I think that I have achieved my objectives, because through this module I have found myself learning concepts, theories and examples that I would not otherwise have heard of or thought about. Technology is very pervasive in our society, and affects all aspects of our world, whether we like it or not. Therefore, learning such concepts and examples was a very enlightening experience, because it helped me to better understand why certain things in our society turn out the way they do. It was fascinating how the theories we learnt in class fit so well into many other examples in our everyday lives. A better understanding of how the work works (e.g. in the commercialization and development of new products) is always a very significant and valuable takeaway which I can put to good use. My general knowledge has also increased tenfold as a result of this module.

Another important thing that struck me when I was taking this module was that technology is merely a tool to accomplish the objectives of its inventor/innovator, and the impact that the technology has on society, good or bad, is ultimately dependent on the inventor’s/innovator’s original motives. Sometimes, the desire for increased profit can lead to unethical practices, which can have an adverse effect on society. Everyone has their own agenda, and I find the motives behind different technologies very interesting as a social science student, because it highly relates to topics in psychology. During the module, I found myself unconsciously drawing links between the two subjects, and this helped me to apply my knowledge of one to complement the other, and vice versa. My overall aim in week 1 was to take what I learnt in TWC class beyond just the theories, and apply it practically. Therefore, by relating the concepts to psychology, I think I have definitely accomplished this. I feel quite satisfied in the sense that I think I have put quite a lot of effort into this module, and most importantly, I had fun doing it. TWC has been an enriching experience overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking it.

ONG WEIWEI ELVIN
Reviewing my expectation of the course:
1. Sharpen my presentation, research and group discussion skills 4/5
2. Entrepreneurial mind set: to understand how an entrepreneur thinks 4/5
3. The thinking process: solving problems and seeing opportunity 3/5
4. Technology, innovation and how it affects society 3/5
5. Real world experience 5/5

Essentially, what I really want out of this course is to deepen my knowledge of entrepreneurship.

On the point 1, there were ample opportunities for each and every individual to present, research and have a constructive group discussions. Through researching and sharing of my ideas, I am able to learn and absorb more. I tested out the idea that through sharing of ideas, an individual tends to remember ideas more. Amazingly enough, I am indeed able to remember more things from this course than from any other courses taken in SMU. This also helped in understanding point 4.

Point 2 was an on-going learning process for me and I learnt various things from this course as I wanted to understand an entrepreneurial mindset thoroughly. One of the things I can still remember very clearly was from the speaker, Mr Chandroo. He said that it is important to dream. Without a dream, there would be nothing to strive for and that is the reason why people stay stagnant and lifeless.

My main take is to develop a deeper understanding of the real world experience surrounding an entrepreneur (Point 5). The lesson on intellectual property was an eye opener for me. Although most of us would not have been through the stage of owning a piece of intellectual property, it is evident that these are important assets to any company, especially in the current information age. Having staff lacking knowledge in this aspect could mean a serious liability to a company. As a safety precaution, companies should prepare enough capital to sue people in an event that someone else violates your intellectual property rights.

Another issue on point 5 would be the lessons that are important in the path of an entrepreneur. Explicitly, the lesson on venture capitalist as a deadly avenue for sourcing capital in a startup can be the very reason for its downfall in its later stage. I have always thought of venture capitalist as â€˜nice’ men trying to help new startups, but I was utterly wrong. Another important lesson learnt is that in business, it was to each for his own and people only care about their own interest, venture capitalists included.

On a personal note, this is one of the most enjoyable lessons I had in SMU. In particular, I enjoyed the sharing of real life experience and this is the very reason why I chose TWC under your guidance, and you delivered it fantastically. My dream is to be an entrepreneur some day, and someday in the future, I will attribute my success to the many lessons taught by you. All in all, I am truly thankful for the experience you gave me.

NONIS KRYSTLE EVA
I started out this course hoping to build on my presentation skills and learn about how the technology that infiltrates so many aspects of my life is affecting me and the people around me.

To be honest, I learnt more than expected. This course put a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship, which is something I feel most university courses lack – the element of instilling a desire in future entrepreneurs! My interest in starting my own company was also reinforced with the interesting Guest Seminar on Modern Montessori.

Similarly, I have never thought about technology-related issues at such a great depth. Today’s lesson really ended on a high note and I felt learning about how this wonderful thing we call technology can harm us is essential in today’s world.

Without a doubt, I have grown mor econfident in presenting. So to conclude, yes – I have indeed what I set out to achieve for this course TWC!

KOOI MINJIAN KENNETH
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, I feel that it would be best to cover the nature of technopreneurship, which this module has touched on, but has not been able to go beyond the suface of. Technopreneurship extends far beyond the limited scope of a technology and world change class to teach within 12 weeks due to the increased focus of the class on the nature of technology and I personally feel that not enough has been devoted to the nature of exploiting those advances in technology which is the focus of the field of technopreneurship.

Though this course has attempted to delve into the nature of technopreneurship and necessitated a closer look at the way in which technopreneurs have conducted their operations, beyond the shallow scope of the lives of these people, we cannot truly understand the difficulties they face or the obstacles they have had to surmount except on a very clinical level. This, in particular is why this module has interested me strongly in taking a closer look, and I feel that a follow up module would address this.

LIM JUNHAO EDWARD
Do you think you have achieved your objectives set up in the first lesson/journal’;
I believe my objective was to make more effort in following world trends in technology, and the opportunities for this presented itself as I was following the politics and election in the United States.
Much talk has been made about how the Internet helped President-elect Obama achieve what he has today, but we must admit that the technology was available even back in 2000 when then-Vice President Al Gore was running. I believe it boils down to the harnessing of technology. The rumour circulating around was that Senator McCain did not know how to use the computer, partly because of his war injuries.
Along the way this term, I was also excited about the release of the so-called Google phone, known as the HTC Dream, because Google had a hand in developing the Android operating system which the phones run on.
I’ve become more aware of the impact technology has brought to our lives, especially in altering the marketplace. I made my first purchase on Amazon.com at the beginning of the semester, because a textbook I was looking at cost a few cents cheaper than getting one at the Japanese Kinokuniya bookstore, after including shipping costs. I was impressed by the efficiency and the packaging my purchase came in.
Somehow, the course has convinced me that the world is being divided into groups of people who can effectively harness the use of technology, and in a separate group, the people who are technology-illiterate. It is rather convenient for us to list out the positive attributes of technology, and we often forget that we still live in a world where the Internet is not accessible in many poor areas, and that there is room for existing technology to enter and improve the livelihoods of people.

LIM WEI ZHONG
13 hectic school weeks passed very quickly. In about two weeks time, I would have finished another academic term. One of the modules I am doing now is Technology and World Change (TWC), and this course is a refreshing change from my other Economics modules that focus heavily on Math.

At the beginning of the course when I was doing my first journal, I posed a question for myself and sought to find an answer to. â€˜Does improvement in technology solve problems which were initially created by technology’;’

This question had a clearer answer to it from today’s lesson, when we had to present on the ills caused by technology. Even though throughout the course, there were times when discussion with regards to the above question was sparked off, it does not really answers the question to its entirety. But at least, the prior discussions were a gradual build-up to the culmination of the final class. I knew technology can be harmful if mismanaged, but I was shocked by the extent of the damage. Today, for the first time, I heard and learnt what global dimming is all about.

This is also one of the beauties of this course.

In this class, there is a constant need to do self-learning every week during the breakout sessions. Through â€˜googling’ the Internet for relevant information, and analyzing them before sharing with the class, the amount and duration of information retained is probably more than the conventional style of learning through lectures.

From the method of teaching adopted by Prof Pamela, I met another of my objective: To craft a better understanding of technology through by own learning. This rote of learning allows me and my group to learn as much as we want (or maybe as little as we want), and this requires a certain level of discipline from us. I must say, my group members are pretty well disciplined, and I had learnt a lot from each one of them, in addition to the data found online. In SMU, very few genuine friendships are forged through project groups. I am lucky that I have developed a genuine friendship with at least two of my TWC group members.

Unfortunately, I did not meet one of my objectives to interact and talk to Prof more with regards to certain interesting topics that were discussed in class but not given enough â€˜airtime’. However, I learnt a lot when Prof shared her â€˜life stories’ with the class. Her anecdotes were interesting yet enriching, especially those that involve her children and â€˜home farm’. Prof Pamela has an abundant wealth of knowledge and experience that young undergraduates can tap on, especially those aspiring technopreneurs. Also, Prof Pamela is surprisingly humble, given her accolades and achievements. From her, I learnt more than what is required from the syllabus and course outline, and this is another objective met that I have met.

Finally, to give a short answer to the second question; there should be a continuity after TWC. I believe students will be interested to find out and learn more about venture capitalists, technopreneurs and other stakeholders involved in this field. SMU is ultimately a business-centric school. This second course should join both elements, technology and business, together. I look forward and wish Prof Pamela success to her course on Technopreneurship. But I hope that the course will be continued for the next few semesters at least, as I will be away for exchange next term. Cheers!

QUEK SOO TENG
I think that since the first week till the end of the module, I have a very different perspective of the course as compared to my initial understanding for the course. I think that the way the class have been conducted have really helped in allowing students to work on the spot and learn the concept through teaching one another. I think that i have achieved the objectives that i have mentioned in the first journal and in fact i feel that i have learnt more than what i expected to learn. These include the concepts and the reality. this is because of the examples that have been shared in class by students as well as professor. I feel that the module was rather dry in the beginning as the topics and concept discussed in class were rather alien to me, however, from the second part of the semester, I feel that classes have been more interesting because it is more applicable in reality as well as inspiring. This is because from the readings of concept and applying them to the chosen entrepreneur, we not only get to apply the concepts that are learnt but also get to know about the entrepreneur life story and how they overcome the challenges that were brought to them in different phase of time. In addition, these entrepreneurs are really inspiring because they are proven success and with perseverance and determination one can achieve their success and dreams. After taking this module, I feel that when there is a follow on course from TWC, I would like to focus on investing in technology based company. The reason being that i am not a person who is so into IT and thus the chances of becoming a technopreneur would be lower. From a business students perspective, I think it would be good to know more about investing in technology-based company because studying business there is somewhere within that people would want to set up their own business. Both the topics are beneficial to students but I feel that it appeals to different group of student. For the first, I feel that it would appeal more to the students with more IT knowledge with the intention to start their business. Hence it would be more of a specialization module as compared to the latter. However, for the latter, I feel that it would appeal to more students as SMU being a business school, there will definitely be more student interested as investment is one of the options that people will look out for to earn more money. Furthermore, I feel that investing is a very useful and essential skill to acquire. This is because i have ever read a book by Robert T. Kiyosaki where it talked about the cash flow quadrant. The cash flow quadrant is about people who wants to jump from the employee and self-employed to the other side of the quadrant being businessman and Investment. This is because that is the way that people warn money. Hence, with more knowledge on how to invest it would be a big step to accomplishing this goal. In addition to the skills on investment, the place to invest in is also very important. In this world, where technology have dominate the world as well as the constant improvement in technology. There is a much more potential in this field. It also provides investors with more choices due to the current financial crisis. Although the financial crisis have impacted many, I feel that technology have integrated to become part and parcel of human life and thus it would be ‘recession-proof’ to a certain extent. Thus I feel that, it is where the potential of technology-based company are. Hence, i would like to focus on investing in Technology-based company as a follow on course.

WONG TECK CHING
Throughout the whole 13 weeks of this course, I have truly improved my knowledge of the concepts and applications of technology and how it has affected the world and more closely, my life. More importantly, I have managed to learn many useful life lessons and values from Prof, which are going to be particularly useful even as I finish this course and step on the next phase of my life. The insights mentioned during today’s class about making full use of my time and stopping procrastination really made me realize that my lack of rest and procrastination was adversely affecting my efficiency. As such I should change my bad habits in order to move forward.

Looking back at the objectives set in my first learning journal, I have indeed learnt more in depth about how technology and world change go hand in hand. The last in class discussion topics left a deep impression on me with regards to the bane of technology and how it was actually ruining our very Earth and our health despite the positive change which technology has seemingly brought about. This course has also enabled me to realize my over-reliance on technology which has to an extent made me take certain things for granted. This is an issue which I will relook and try to change.

I also discussed in my first journal that I wish to develop my soft skills and confidence through this course. I am happy that I have managed to achieve this. This was made possible through constant discussions with my group mates and the many presentation opportunities available. I have managed to present more fluently now without holding a script. This was unlike the past when I would tend to stutter during presentations.

I have also made the effort to read up on the textbook readings before class as stated in my first journal and this has actually helped me to understand not only the lessons better, but also what my friends are presenting on. I have also increased my frequency of reading the Tech and Science section of the Straits Times online and this has helped me to improve my understanding and general knowledge of global technology issues.

Listening was another area which I sought to improve from the first journal. Listening is an important form of communication and luckily the many break-out discussions and peer presentations have given me the chance to practice this. I realized that paying attention while others speak really improved my grasp of the issues discussed and helped to enhance the flow of interaction.

The guest speaker series also allowed me to increase my real world perspective of entrepreneurship and made me learn the importance of having perseverance and proper values in attaining one’s goals. Lastly, I am glad to have formed good camaraderie with my group mates. We were strangers before this course and we all needed to practice certain soft skills before eventually becoming good friends.

In conclusion, 13 weeks is a short time, but it was really fulfilling considering that I have managed to attain most if not all the objectives which I set out to achieve. I understand that I will have to continue applying what I have learnt in the future for me to fully benefit from what I have taken away from this course.

WANG LIJUN
In the beginning of the course, I have set a few objectives that I hope to achieve through this course.

First and foremost is to be more aware and updated on technology related information. I am glad to say that I have achieved that. This course has indeed stirred up my interests towards technology. From reading technology related news mainly to allow myself to better participate in class, it has slowly evolved to be an interests to really know about what is happening in the technology world. My ability to point at a MAC and recognize it as the latest model and even quote the selling price in US dollars has impressed many of my friends. I have to admit that Prof has made this class really interesting and practical; there was never a moment that I felt bored in TWC lesson. It is through such a fun learning environment that allowed to develop the interests for technology and to have the motivation to read about technology related news even after this course.

My second objective is to understand how with the rising power of technology, it is able to shoulder greater responsibility in solving the problems that the world is facing today.
From this course, I have found some really interesting answers for this question. Most of the problems that world is facing today, be is environmental issue, such as global warming, be it political issue, like nuclear weapons. These problems are all in the first place created by technology. Mankind has been in this vicious cycle of trying to use technology to solve for problems created by technology. The only way to break this vicious cycle is when we learn to use technology responsibility. However, due to man’s greed for greater profit, it seems to be a difficult task to achieve.

Lastly, the greatest take away for this course which I didn’t include in my objectives is to always put our heads on our shoulders. Technology has allowed us to gain instant access to all kinds of information. Thus, it becomes vitally important for us to think through all the information we receive and not to blindly believe whatever we read. The best example is Alibaba Corporation, my remaining hope after the fall of dairy giants, Meng Niu and Yili. Though truth hurts, truth has also allowed me to understand that to see China corporations going onto the world stage is never to blindly support them but to first be critical with them. Maybe it needs to take our generation to fulfill Ma Yun’s dream.

ONG SU MINN CHERYL
I would enjoy to study a course that focuses on technopreneurship. I particularly enjoy learning about how start up firm operate and endeavor to start my own company in the future. I achieve success, it takes more than a brilliant idea or a innotive technology, its after creating that innovation that would eventually decide if you would actually be able to realise the returns you have invested or would someone be taking your hardwork away from you. I particularly enjoyed the snippets of real world experiences discussed in class about how venture capitalist can sometimes be more of a liability in the long run despite its short run advantages. Sometimes we maybe naive to believe that past methods employed by successful people are always the safest routes to adopt hence walking into ready traps set up. Therefore reiterating the point of how experience to build that gut feel is of paramount importance. I feel to be a successful technopreneurship, being shrewd is of paramount importance because everyone around you would be eyeing for a piece of that cash cow you have or would be creating and as such it is all the more important to safeguard what you have. Therefore i feel that a course with the basic technoprenuership know-hows coupled with a lot of real world examples,experiences and caveats raised of the possibile looming dangers out there, would be an exciting and interesting course to take in the future.

EIO WEILONG MARK
If there is a follow-on course to TWC, I would want it to focus on the technological aspects of specific industries and Technopreneurship within the industry (ie. How to set up a company in that industry). I believe such a course is extremely useful as so far for TWC, we have been taught about all aspects of technology and innovation on a broad based aspect. The examples and case studies have jumped from one industry to another. This has allowed me to better understand how technological innovations have played an important part in transforming the world, technology strategy, funding etc. I believe the next logical learning step for most people is how to use all this information that we have learnt from TWC and feasibly apply it.

Therefore, to apply it, we must first look at specific industries in which we can explore the opportunities in each. The benefit of looking at specific industry is that students can have a in-dept understanding and have a choice if we so decide to start a business in that specific market. The â€˜industry analysis’ should include things we learnt in TWC applied to the specific industry like strategy, funding, IP etc.

After analysing the industry, I would hope the follow-on course will be also teaching me the step by step route to starting a business in that industry. This could cover a more specific aspect of funding for businesses as I would think funding is the number one problem I would have if I were to start a business. The current TWC syllabus does not go thoroughly enough in-dept to explain all the possible financing option. Thus, it is essential that the course would go more in debt into funding and at the same time, incorporate a through lesson on how to have a sustainable business model for the business.

As expressed in my last journal, while I admittedly will not be starting a business anytime soon, it would be extremely beneficial to understand specific industries and better know how to start my own business as it is possible that in the future, I would start a business. If not, it would be beneficial as it would provide a better understanding for myself to invest or fund these sort of businesses if the opportunity arises.

All in all, TWC has been a real eye opener to me in terms of the prospect of starting my own business and becoming a entrepreneur or in this case a technopreneur. I feel that it has made me more aware of how to do it and while I once never taught I would start my own business, now it can be a real possibility in the future. Therefore, the course I suggested would be a perfect follow-up to what we have learnt and further better my understanding and possibly even encourage me further to become a technopreneur in the near future.

SHEENA LENORE SY LEE VILLANUEVA
Through this course, my many unanswered questions were answered. I have many queries regarding technology and how it affects the society. I wondered, having so many different types of technologies apparent nowadays, if innovations still existed. During the individual assignment, whenever I though about a possible â€œnewly proposed technologyâ€�, I would find that it was already existent. I said to myself after my frustration that there’s nothing more to think of. Everything that could possibly be done with the current technology are already present and existing. However, from the talk the guest speakers had just recently, I came to find my belief to be erroneous. There are still a lot of technologies that could be thought of, and no matter how much we have today, there will always be room for new innovations.

Aside from my many questions, TWC helped opened my eyes to things that I would normally disregard. In the case studies facilitated by the groups, you can see the progress and the challenges faced by the companies. Although we may assume that most successful companies do not face any trials along the way, we can see that there are still similarities of what they encountered/ encountering to what we may face in the future. It shows us that there will always be ways to resolve the problems that we will meet. Therefore, we should not be dejected if we are not successful on our first try.

Apart from my objective to seek the answers to the questions, I also wanted to actively participate in discussions. I admit that I did not meet this objective. Although the class discussions were engaging, it was hard to speak up. TWC has helped me though in speaking in front of the class through the presentations. At the end of it all, I may not have actively participated, but I still tried my best to participate, either in presentations, meetings among our group and discussions in class.

If there is a follow-on course for TWC, I would like to focus on Technopreneurship. I believe that it is important not only to be learned about technology, as to have technological innovations, but also to have entrepreneur skills. I believe that technology and entrepreneurial skills go hand in hand such that whenever an innovation is proposed to be set out in the market, there should be an analysis of the organization and risk management of the proposal. In this way, there will be less risk in facing failure.

TAY KAI ZHEN
Twelve weeks have passed since the first lesson was attended and the first journal was written. Coming into SMU and this module, knowing nothing about technology and world change, the objectives set up in the first lesson/journal would enable me to learn more about TWC and equip me with the knowledge of entrepreneurship.

Objectives set up included the likes of reading up more extensively and keeping myself updated with the development of technology and how it has impacted mankind. I also stated that participating in discussions more actively will help me in understanding and learning more about the topics discussed. However, after going through several weeks of lesson, I realized that entrepreneurship is also focused on. Hence, in addition to the mentioned objectives, I also intended to learn more about the strategies that entrepreneurs adopt so that I could be equipped with these knowledge and pick up skills so that it will benefit me in the future if I should be interested in starting up an enterprise or be an innovator.

After twelve weeks of being involved and focusing on technology and how it has changed the world, I would say that I have achieved my objectives set up in the first journal. Firstly, I read more than I did before I studied TWC. I did not merely confine the readings to magazines and newspapers, but also the web, where many different kinds of information can be obtained. Of course, I included Wikipedia minimally as I am aware that the information in Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, with biased opinions and without substantial evidence. I kept myself loaded with information about existing technology and those that may surface in the future, while keeping myself updated with the development of technology simultaneously. However, due to the amount of work that I have on hand, with the different modules apart from TWC, the amount that I am reading now is still insufficient. Knowledge is abundant and there is so much more information out there for me to obtain and be equipped with. Moreover, technology is constantly changing and thus, information on technology advancement and such will regularly increase.

Furthermore, I found myself applying whatever information I obtained during discussions in break out time and whenever there is a presentation to be done. I realized that a regular exchange of information allows me and my team members to learn much more than when it’s a one-sided affair. However, there are times when I am unfamiliar with the information needed for the break out questions. These were the times which reminded me that I have to constantly read up and that there are so many things out there that I do not know.

Regarding the strategies that entrepreneurs adopt, I’ve learnt much about entrepreneurship from the guest speakers during the seminar. They highlighted the challenges they faced, the strategies to adopt, and the things to look out for in the process of starting up an enterprise or innovating. Hence, I would say that I have achieved the objective of learning about the strategies of entrepreneurship.

However, I am fully aware that reading up and learning about technology and entrepreneurship is completely different from knowing how to apply them when opportunities emerge. Hence, even after this module is over, there is much to do regarding technology and this changing world. Few of the objectives I set up have to be followed consistently. This includes reading up about technology, keeping myself updated with the latest developments about technology and adopting the strategies of entrepreneurship. These objectives will remain even so, especially after learning about technology, and realizing how technology is affecting us and the extent to which it is capable of impacting us and our daily lives.

Where technology is concerned, despite its advantages which have indeed impacted our lives and brought us the lifestyle we are leading today, we should be aware of the ill effects of technology and not be controlled by them. At the end of the day, this is the bottom-line of the module and should not be defeated.

GOH ZHI LIN JESLIN
(Anwer for Q1: ‘Do you thing…’)
In my first journal, the objectives which I have set up to achieve were: to be well-equipped with the knowledge with regard to technology; to learn how innovators manage their business and keep it running; the strategies used in the business world; how businessmen foresee an opportunity; the various intellectual property rights. Moreover, I also planned to facilitate my learning by preparing for class beforehand, participating in class discussions, learning from personal experience of the guest speaker, and keeping myself abreast with the current developments in the Asia-Pacific region by reading the newspaper and other relevant sources.

Basically, I will say that I have achieved my objectives to a great extent. This is due to the following reasons:

Firstly, with the numerous in-class researches in place, it allows me to be enriched with a variety of information that I will not have known before my group perform a research on it, or before the various groups present their research finding. This in-class research allows me to achieve the objective of learning the knowledge related with technology, given the fact that the researches are all related to technology in one way or another.

Next, from the readings provided in the textbook, I am able to gain a basic foundation of what intellectual property rights are, and the various strategies available for use in setting up or managing a business; in short, I have acquired the basic knowledge on innovations. Another important thing to note is that I find the in-class research very useful. This is because it allows students to show the application of the knowledge that they have learnt from the textbook into a situation. This makes my learning more enriching as compared to solely memorizing theories. Thus, I will say that I have achieved my objective of learning the IPR and the business strategies.

Also, I find the guest seminar session very motivating and informative. The guest seminar allows me to get in touch with innovators who can share their valuable experience and even inside information that has not been revealed to the public. After attending the guest seminar session, I was very inspired. It gives me the drive to â€œdare to dreamâ€� and to be determine in ones’ dream. Most importantly, it allows me to achieve my objective of understanding how businessmen foresee an opportunity and how they react to it. From here, I realize the importance of timing. One must make full use of the situation in the economy, and react fast to it. I am also fascinated by the fact that a man â€“ Mr. Steve Wah – near my age has already ventured out, and is currently a CEO. Although I get to hear news of people succeeding at a young age, the real life experience (of engaging that person) is more motivating.

Furthermore, I am also near in reaching a goal I have set up within myself: to be able to present to the class (strangers) with confident. In fact, I felt improvement in my courage to present in front of a group of people. Initially, when I first presented during my TWC group presentation, I actually shivered due to the fear of presenting to the masses. Nevertheless, after numerous in-class presentation, I find myself more comfortable presenting to the class â€“ although there is still rooms for improvements. Hence, I am very appreciative of my professor, for her teaching methodology has really made significance in me.

SOH WEI REN
I feel that I have achieved my objectives and maybe even more than what I had set out initially. Besides knowing more about technology, I know how entrepreneurs start their own businesses and how technopreneurs make use of technology to strategize their future business plans. In fact, it gave me better insights of how technology can be linked to entrepreneurship. Before TWC started in week 1 of this semester, I have this impression that TWC is just a module where we are suppose to just discuss about new technologies every week. But after this semester, I feel that I learn more than that.

Besides learning about all those mention above, I also learn how to work efficiently within a short period of time (break out session) and having the chance to listen to life stories of Prof and my fellow class mates. I believe these life stories are essential life lessons that books can never teach. Honestly, I don’t really like reading textbooks. Although they do provide us a foundation to learning more things in the future, I always believe in learning things through doing. That’s why I always try to get involved in school and CCA events. I enjoy attending TWC lessons as Prof always try to minimize the reliance on textbooks as a teaching material which makes the class less mundane and makes me feel that time during TWC classes fly really fast!!

In fact, I would be attending the TWC follow up course, Technological Entrepreneurship: Opportunity Identification for next semester. I would like to learn more about investing in technology-based company. Being a business student, I think that is where my interest lies. I guess I would like to strike out as an investopreneur!!
Last but not least, I would like to thank prof for her guidance and teachings; and the TA for all the help rendered!!

NANN THI THI TUN
I believe that I have achieved the goals and expectations that I look forward to achieve or set up in my first journal. I have turned out to be rather more outspoken. The very thing that I appreciate my class is that it is very participative, and individuals are supposed to learn from their peers. Moreover, I have been exposed to a lot of technological fields and given chances to explore more about both new and existing companies through case studies and presentations. I am very thankful to my professor. Her teaching styles have really widened my eyes. Break out session in every week has made us more productive in terms of researching and consolidating data. It has also increased our self-confidence and improved our presentation skills. At first, our group had to struggle a lot because of time limitation. However, we were kind of got used to the system at a later time. As soon as we got the questions, we had built up a tentative outline and then we chose our parts and focused on our research. Moreover, we have also been trained to manage well working under stress. As the time for break out sessions was limited, we really had to focus and work together as a team. The other thing that I favorite about our break out session is that we have been given chance to explore different businesses from diverse areas. Because of break out sessions, I have learnt to be more focus on task, and also achieve the ability to hand in works in time. I used to think TWC course might be very boring as it will teach me how people invent new things and technologies. My opinion over the course has changed since the end of my first TWC class. The course actually is very interesting as it covers about how an entrepreneur starts and maintains his business. Moreover, the guest seminar program and class discussions have really motivated my interests in technology field. After all, â€œI dare to dream of establishing a business and becoming an entrepreneurâ€� after taking this course.

TAN QING WEN JEREMY
At the beginning of this semester, I set out for myself the objective of learning as much knowledge and skills as possible from this course so as to benefit me in the future when I enter into the working world and start a business. I feel now after having taken this course that I’ve met my objectives to a certain extent; however I still believe there is still so much more to learn in entrepreneurship and innovation and learning I feel is a lifelong process and should never stop.

Some of the important learning lessons that I’ve taken away from this course include the acquirement and development of a sense of what it means to be a creative innovator and how important this skill will be in the future when I enter the working environment.

I’ve also learnt from this course the importance of commercialising an idea and finding ways to exploit and make it pervasive to the business market. The skills of creating innovations and diffusing and marketing them to the masses I feel is a necessary skill for all entrepreneurs to have and will definitely come in useful should I ever run a company in the future.

In addition, through the speakers’ forum and presentations, I’ve come to see some of the difficulties and challenges entrepreneurs face and the skills and attitudes needed to overcome them. Such skills include being ready to take on challenges wholeheartedly, finding the best approach to overcoming difficulties and following through on them by effectively and efficiently resolving the problem.

I’ve also learnt that there many sources and methods out there in terms of funding, support and protection that entrepreneurs can tap on to grow and push the business to greater success. Most importantly I think what I’ll take away from this course is the importance of keeping things simple and using creative and innovative means to produce more growth and productivity in a business.

The lessons learnt, memories and skills that I’ve acquired over these past 3 months have been hugely beneficial and I believe they will come in very useful when I start working after graduation.

Should there be a follow on course from TWC that I would be very interested in taking, it would have to be a course that focuses on teaching and imparting the skills, knowledge and problem-solving ideas that entrepreneurs can tap on through technology to overcome their challenges and create successful business models and companies.

CHEUNG HING MAN
In my first journal, I stated that I wish to enhance my knowledge and broaden my perspectives. Also, I would like to understand more on how technology evolves.

Throughout these 13 weeks, I really learn a lot from my classmates especially from my team mates. We also had so much fun and joy working together as a team. I dare to say this is one of my best teams in so many projects. I really like Prof Lim’s personal sharings and they always inspire me to work towards being a great mother and a career woman in the future. (It is really amazing how you can juggle your work and children!!)

Personally, I feel that I have achieved my objectives set up in the first journal. As TWC is an university core, the curriculum did not dwell too deep into the technical aspects but rather the macro view which I was not able to know more as an IS major.

Moreover, besides enhancing my academic knowledge, I made firm friends whom I would keep in contact even after the term ends. 🙂

CHAN SU-YING ADELINE
Technology and World Change has been an interesting journey and I have learnt much from this course, one of my objectives from day one. From class, we see real life examples of the theories in the textbook that make these theories more relatable. I am able to see the theories in textbook more clearly.

I am also able to learn of many other examples as well, by learning from different groups in class and this has pointed out things our own group has missed out, thus enhancing our learning.

TWC has also broadened my perspective of the world, another one of my objectives, through examples from around the world, rather than limited scope in textbook that mainly highlights theories from the Western countries’ point of view.

I have to admit that I have not been faithful to my plan in journal 1, due mainly to two reasons: first of all I have a low affinity for technology, thus keeping up with my original plan is not at the fore-front of my mind; secondly it is easy to overlook original plans as you get caught up in schoolwork.
However, through the weekly in-class breakout sessions and the research we carry out, I still inadvertently get to achieve my goals of learning more about technology and how a scientific concept that forms the foundation of technology can be related back to us human beings and our micro- society and global community. I still got to learn about how technology drives the world, and am amazed at how diverse individuals can be connected through technology. Prof. Pamela Lim also constantly interjects with real-life anecdotes that provide food-for-thought and insight from a technopreneur’s point of view.

All in all, I feel like I have achieved most of my objectives, though due to constrains, not that ideally.

MUHAMMAD HAFIZ BIN MOHAMMAD AFFANDI
Truthfully, I have only a rough idea of what I wrote in the first journal. But having said that, I’d like to reflect upon my progress in respect to the course over the term.

Being one of the first mods that I was to take after a two-year hiatus from studying proved to be a challenge. From having to struggle through lengthy readings, or spending hours ‘researching’ for the various presentations to having to rush through preparations so as to present within half an hour.

All these things serve as a wake up call to me. University is not going to be a breeze. It’s more like a whirlwind or a tornado, threatening to sweep you off your feet.

I think I’ve made respectable progress as a person and as a student. I’ve become more confident of myself (after having to present nearly every lesson). I’ve pushed myself harder to meet deadlines. I’ve honed my research skills. Most importantly, I’ve learnt that life will always present you with challenges and it’s how you rise to meet it that determines whether you’ll succeed or fail.

It wasn’t smooth sailing in TWC. My group didn’t particular have very good dynamism. There were times when opinions get shot down very quickly, petty arguments that ensue each time we disagree. There was little room for compromise in the early days of the course.

However, we do learn from those mistakes. For our case study, we were able to work much more cohesively as a unit. We were more open with each other’s ideas. We used our differences as tool to make our project more interesting and diverse.

Exams are only two weeks away, and the journey is coming to a close. Despite the setbacks that I’ve faced with my group, I feel that I’ve more or less achieved what I’d sought to do. The course was interesting and enlightening. I’d learnt that the only obstacle to success is yourself. If ever an opportunity arises to start my own business, I would cause I have gained much from the insights that you’d given us throughout the course.

UE YING EN PEARLY
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, I would like to focus on the topic of technopreneurship.

I have since realised the importance of technology as the driving force for innovations leading tp successful businesses throughout the course of study. A follow up on technopreneurship would therefore serve to enhance this learning journey and add value to my existing knowledge.

This course could cover on ways students could analyse market conditions, delve more into possible funding sources, and to make it more interesting, perhaps a real life situation can be stimulated. The class of students could perhaps be attached to technological firms in Singapore and see the way things are done, such as that of Steve Wah.

TAN BING HONG
During the first week of the course, I have stated two objectives that I hope to achieve through this course. First, I wanted to gain an insight on how technological advancements have led to changes in the lifestyles of people around the world. Secondly, I also wanted to read the course with a diversified perspective on issues, by the active participation of course-mates during in-class discussions. After thirteen weeks into the course, I am proud to say that both the objectives that I’ve set out earlier have been achieved, and have learnt things that I did not expect. The reasons will be discussed below.

Firstly, I have gained insights on how technological breakthroughs have led to changes in lifestyles of people. Through the extensive readings of the materials prescribed, as well as the well-written textbook that was done in the context of the world, I have come learn of many innovations that changed the lives of people significantly. One fine example would be the innovation in float glass procedure. Without this process innovation put forth, large quantities of building projects could never have been materialised. By clearing the bottleneck for the requirement of such big sheets of glass, more building projects can be undertaken, and thus clearly impacting the economy and changing lifestyles of people in a positive manner.

Another objective, which I have achieved, was to read the course with a diversified perspective on issues. Topics raised in classes related to the relevant chapters often elicit spontaneous responses from the ground. On top of the numerous discussions engaged in class, the activity was value added when both the instructor and the students brought in real life examples that are very recent. This is because I believe strongly that only with practical and recent examples can textbook concepts be put into perspective. The seminar with guest speakers was also an event that further helped me achieve this aim, with the speakers giving speeches from their experiences in life and the real world.

Apart from these objectives being met, I have also learnt things that I didn’t really expect from this course. Going by the course title â€˜Technology and World Change’, I’ve expected that the course would mainly focus on the benefits of technology, and how it has changed the world in a positive manner. However, during week 13, I was exposed to the evils of technology. I was exposed to how technology was exploited, and also the possible repercussions of having technology being implemented in our daily lives. This was indeed refreshing and further allowed me to see things in ways more than one.

One particularly useful thing that I’ve learnt during this course is the protection of intellectual property rights. Even though it was only one lesson on intellectual property rights, I have learnt valuable lessons on how to go about protecting what I have come up with, if I should come out with an innovation one day. I have also learnt that protecting intellectual properties was not as simple as what the textbooks have said to be, referring to the case of Trek and the thumb drive.

All in all, I believe that I have benefitted a great deal from this course. Not only it developed me as a person in whole, it has also given me valuable knowledge that I trust to be important in the future.

REBECCA NG CHYI YANN
Back in Week 1, when we were asked what we wanted to learn from TWC, I stated that I was interested in learning from Professor Lim’s experience and insights, as well as to better hone my presentation skills and to work in a team.

Throughout this course, we were given many opportunities to work with our group mates, in both weekly in-class presentations and group projects/case studies. As such, I feel that I have achieved this objective, or at the very least, given the chance to get to know more people and to learn from them.

I also feel that I have learned much from the discussions held in class, as we were subjected to the views and opinions of not just the Professor, but of my fellow-classmates as well.

Also, although not a big fan of textbook-heavy classes, I feel that the lectures and textbook used in this TWC class was very relevant and gave me useful information about technology, entrepreneurship, the challenges faced and sources of funding. I therefore feel that all in all, my goals and expectations of the course were met.

KOH ZI YI
Attending the course TWC has been an eye opening experience, not only did I get to experience the wonders of an entrepreneur, it allowed me to also realize that entrepreneurs are indeed not super humans. They are just mere humans with the passion to succeed and the resilient to survive all the setbacks.
As mentioned in all my journals, at the start of the course, I have always been very skeptical when the topic is entrepreneurship. During my polytechnic days, I attended a course â€œStarting a Businessâ€�, which I did not do well in of course because I was hardly interested and was not convince by what the lecturer’s pedagogy. At that time, what was presented to us was just the ways to start a business and nothing about innovation or even about theories of innovation. After coming to SMU, I decided to be more active in participation and allow myself to be open to various opportunities there is to learn and absorb. My objective for TWC at the first lesson was to overcome my skepticism and to allow myself to see the benefits of what this course has to provide that is to learn about innovation and how the technology have shaped the world into what is it today.
Being in tertiary education, one can no longer just sit around and expect the things to fall into place. One has to actively seek for the things that he/she desire to know about and learn. Therefore, one has to be an active citizen of the society at this age and time where globalization is so pervasive and is part of everyone’s life. Everyone has to actively react to the changes of the world and be prepared for the next change as the saying goes, now â€œchange is the only constantâ€� at the moment and therefore this course will prepare me for what I am about the face at this phase of life and beyond.
After attending 13 weeks of TWC, I must say that I was totally convince the entrepreneurship is now possible for everyone and anyone, all I need is the mind and strength to do it. Having learn all the theoretical knowledge allows me to better understand why are things happening the way they are like why people companies spend so much money on R&D and also about how these companies always strive to hit the market where it does best with their marketing strategies. With the presentation on various technopreneurs also allowed me as an IS student to be more hopeful about my prospects and also what I can do with the knowledge I gain in SMU and also the soft skills that I attained from the people around me.
Finally I must say that TWC opened up my eyes and gave me the knowledge and understanding I never knew before. My objectives in TWC were achieved through my active participation in and out of class and desire for more knowledge.

TAN BANGYAO
In the real world, there is no such thing as constant. The only constant is change. After 13 weeks of classes, upon reflection of my first journal, where I sought to learn the course materials and its relevance, building my confidence and improving on my presentation skills, I believe I have achieved part of my goals as there are always room for improvements. Effective learning is never a constant.

During the course, I have seen a change. I have grown to become a more positive person (feedback from my friends were encouraging). In addition, the influence is tremendous from both Professor and my peers. I have absorbed several key points and have even put some learnt skills to use for presentations like LTB. The mini-presentations, the time limit for the course- all these constraints have forced me to learn to work under pressure.

Through this journey, I have gradually come to love the course. Learning can be an interactive and stimulating process! This is indeed one of my favourite courses. I picked up alot honestly. I am now more open and learn that innovation is all around us, often keeping a watchful eye for innovative products and ideas.

Another point to note during this course is how it reminded us and reinforced certain principles- being determined, persistent, daring to dream and logical (one example would be the guest speakers case study). However, in the process too, we should not fail to forget that ethnics are equally important and that we also have to be mindful of the ill-effects of technology.

Last of all, the extra thing I took away was the taking up of another challenge which was the least expected and most significant- embarking on the idea of Recycle Bank with Alex. I truly wish to gain, learn from this and hopefully to be able to make it a success.

DAVE GOH PEI RUI
Yes, I think I have achieved the objectives set up in the first lesson. This course has exceeded my expectations. My personal beliefs and ideas have been reaffirmed by this course. Prof Pamela Lim has asked highly pertinent and philosophical questions, in a way which has challenged the class’s conventional thinking and therefore makes the class think deeper. The realistic and straightforward manner in which Prof Pamela Lim teaches is a very effective way to help us understand how things really work in real life and therefore be better prepared for the working environment.

We have learnt that the real world out there is a profit-driven market place, where much of human interaction has been reduced to market interactions. Everyone is a market player, his objective to maximize his bottom line.

We have learnt that technology is a double-edged sword, and therefore in our future endeavours, we must always be mindful of the possible ill effects of any technology innovation that we create or use. Should we become technical entrepreneurs in the future, we should not be driven solely by profits but must look at the picture as a whole and ask if we have indeed use technology to make the world a better place.

LIM QIULING
My initial lack of interest in â€˜technology’ was because I had assumed that it is all about technicality. Much to my astonishment, it is not true. In fact, I realised that not all incumbent technical entrepreneurs have a technical background prior to their venture. This stimulated my interest in venturing into technology-related businesses.

In addition, as I had thought Technology and World Change (TWC) would be covering the technical part of technology, one of my learning objectives was to relate technicality to business by myself based on class discussions and group researches. Nonetheless, I found that it was unnecessary as the coverage of TWC is mainly on the business applications of technology. It is noteworthy that the second series of group presentations were especially eye-opening, in particular the RecycleBank. It is like a business opportunity staring right at us.

Professor Lim has been very helpful in igniting my interest in technology. She demonstrated that technology is not as complex as it seems by explaining theories using layman’s terms and logic. Furthermore, as a technical entrepreneur who â€˜have it all’, she serves as a role model for me.

Weeks after weeks of intensive in-class researches, as well as the group projects, have developed my research skills significantly, in both effectiveness and efficiency. For this, I would like to accredit it to my teammates, especially Berton, who are generous in sharing research sources and processes. Eventually, with the improvement in online research, I was able to reciprocate their assistance in the same way. Nonetheless, my only regret is my lack of time and effort in approaching the school’s research librarian on online e-journal and database search.

Yes, I have fulfilled all but one of the objectives set up in the first class/lesson. My greatest takeaway from the module is that business opportunities are seldom chance upon. They are usually discovered through comprehensive researches. For example, I was exposed to green technology and cloud computing which may potentially be the technologies of the next Kondratiev cycle. All in all, my learning journey in TWC has been fulfilling, in particular my openness to technological knowledge and experiences.

YAN MINRU
If there is a follow-on class from TWC, my choice would definitely be technopreneurship.

From my case study on technopreneur Mr. Sim Wong Hoo, I learnt a few things. Most fundamentally of which is the sheer vastness of the potential of technology as a means of qualitative improvement to society. Simultaneously, technology is possibly the greatest means for wealth accumulation. However, there is an immense need fo a determined spirit before any success can be tasted.

What this course should aim to achieve, is a change in the attitudes of students towards technopreneurship. Frankly speaking, the only known successful technopreneurs in Singapore are Mr. Sim and Ms. Olivia Lum. This is despite the known achievements of Singapore in education, seeing that Singaporean students are known to be better at Math than American students.

Also, attitudes towards entrepreneurship should be taught. Most people have heard sufficiently of the success stories of entrepreneurs and how they are possibly the wealthiest people in Singapore. Seldom do people hear about the stories behind these success and the attitudes that were adopted that maked their stories success.

In addition, failures that were met by these technopreneurs are seldom mentioned. By using these as case studies, students can enjoy the benefit of learning from the mistakes of others rather than having to make such costly errors themselves.

CHRISTIANA STEPHANIE MANDRAWA
In the first journal, I mentioned that I hope to learn about the technologies and gadgets which are prevalent in our societies today and how their innovators make these products popular in the market. After 13 weeks of lessons, I feel that I have achieved this objective to a very large extent and learnt even beyond of what I have expected of the course. I have become aware about the problem of people showing disrespect to intellectual property (ie. piracy) becoming more rampant and the reason to this phenomenon as well as the ill effects of technology, something that I failed to realise as the society has become too dependent on technology. We refuse to see the harmful sides of technology, as subconsciously we know that not depending on it would bring great inconvenience to our lives. On the whole, I have learnt how innovators get their ideas to innovate, the process of innovation as well as their sources of funding.

LIM HUI MIEN
I feel that I have achieved my objectives that I have set. Through the course, I have learnt more about how technology has evolved from the past till present and the various impacts that it has caused. Through the group presentation and the case study, I get to know more about how organization innovates in order to distinguish themselves from the other competitors. Through group discussions I am able to get different viewpoints from other group mates and able to analyze various issues better. The different theories learnt throughout the course can be applied on certain issues whenever necessary. It makes certain things easier to understand. There is always a flow or cycle on how things occur. With the evolvement of technology, there is no doubt that we can no longer live in a world without technology. It is good to keep up with the latest trends of technology. After this course, I would definitely pay more attention to it.
The guest speaker sessions allowed me to gained insight to know an entrepreneur start from scratch. It is a very good session as it motivates me to work hard and never to give up so easily. Although it can be hard at times, nothing is impossible. This course has also made me understood that being an entrepreneur/technopreneur is not easy. The issue that they need to face is enormous. For example factors like funding issues. In the past I do not know the various source of funding. After this course, I get to know more regarding this.
Overall, I have benefitted tremendously in this course. The method and style of teaching makes the lesson enjoyable.

YONG LI
I have learnt that there are no special principles that make technopreneurship unique from entrepreneurship.Both regard innovation critical in remaining competitive in the marketplace. Both also regard management being important to staying in control and view profitability as an important constraint that must always be satisfied lest the firm disappear into oblivion.

The parameters of both technopreneurship and entrepreneurship are the same and the way I see it is that â€œtechnopreneurshipâ€� is unnecessary if not misleading I feel some people tend to only see the â€œtechnologyâ€� part and forget about the â€œentrepreneurshipâ€� part when the word technopreneurship is used. If we need to increase the students’ knowledge of technopreneurial know-how, what it needs to do first and foremost is learn and master the principles of entrepreneurship.

Since I have been taught the concepts of venture capitalist,fundings,business angels and others,I feel that concepts of technopreneurship and an entrepreneurship project should be implemented as a follow on course from TWC. From the topic, an entrepreneurship project can be part of a component of the student’s TWC grade. Sub topics that could be covered could be the ability to create and assess business ideas, develop creative problem-solving skills required in entrepreneurial businesses, ability to create a business plan and to analyze market opportunities,developing a business model and strategy.

The project can be executed in two options. Either the students create a business plan of a business that they will like to establish or students could set up small businesses in bazaars. I believe as a student I would learn the ropes of technopreneurship while learning â€œentrepreneurshipâ€� altogether.

LOKE XING WEI WILSON
â€œTechnology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology.â€� This quote particularly strikes a chord with me having gone through TWC. At the start of the course I had hoped to expand my knowledge of the world especially in the field of technology and innovation. To this end I have to say that I have succeeded. TWC has indeed helped me widen my horizons, allowing me access to far more than I’d have imagined possible. It has helped me grow in several aspects, in terms of conducting quick impromptu presentations, taught me skills in working with others as well as given me the many other valuable tools to aid in the long journey known as life. At the end of the day, the journey is as important as the results and I do sincerely hope that I do not fall short on both counts.

LOH SHU YI
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, the topic I would like to focus on would be Technopreneurship. This is due to the interest that I have in this scope of technology whereby I am inspired by the many famous names in the world (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc) to want to try to venture on my own.

Although to be a technopreneur would face a lot of challenges especially when starting up, it might be better that I start to learn the basics of what serves to become a technoprenuer. Thus, with a platform in school that teaches the basic ropes of becoming a technopreneur would prove to be useful in the near future when one decides to become a technopreneur.

What I would really want to learn from technopreneurship would be how different it is from being an entrepreneur, the ways and forms that a company can be started, for example, it can be as easy as having a virtual office or as complex as building it into an organization. Moreover, it would be beneficial if the basic aspects of how to try to write out a proposal to acquire funding from various sources like government, venture capitalists and etc. In TWC, it covers the broad categories of where funding can be from, however, in order to be a technopreneur, it definitely would serve a greater purpose when one knows exactly what to do for the proposal in order to get funding.

Furthermore, it would be interesting to understand the requirements of being a technopreneur. Anyone can strive to become a technopreneur but the number of people that actually make the cut and become successful is another issue. Many of us have a lot of ideas that can be put into place and actually become a technopreneur, however, it would be based on whether the ideas is feasible to allow one to achieve the status of being a technopreneur. Therefore, through understanding of the technopreneur would allow more space of development of ideas and enable it to become successful.

All in all, I have enjoyed my term in TWC and learnt a whole lot more things other than from the textbook. It had been an enriching and enjoyable lessons for my first term in SMU. What lies ahead in the technology world might amaze us in the near future and so, let anticipation fill us from within.

NG SHI-HUI SAMANTHA
In my first journal entry of the term, my main objective to achieve at the end of the entire TWC module was to better understand the interdependency between technology and business. Now, after 13 weeks of lessons, 9 in-class presentations, 2 group projects and 1 mid-term assessment, I’ve learnt to appreciate technology, as a focal point of business and an important contribution to society.

Technology and its changes can have implications on innovations, affecting the types of innovation, theories of innovation, sources of innovation and even the process of innovation. Technology can also affect the way we manage innovations via various strategies. Through interactions with guest speakers during the course of the module, I’ve realized that technology is necessary for entrepreneurs and technopreneurs alike. For example, technology aids communication as well as product development. It is also important to recognize that technology can act as a double-edged sword, following the management or mismanagement of this vital asset. Just as technology aids communication through computers for example, obsessive usage of computers can lead to the degradation of relationships and moral values.

So, as can be seen, technology has the power to bring about world change as it affects businesses and society at large. TWC as a module has not only allowed me to gain a better insight on the topic, but also equipped me with more knowledge about the world in general. Through weekly in-class presentations, I learnt to be inquisitive about how businesses develop and function. I also made it a point to read up on articles relating to technology as well as research on areas of the topic I was less familiar with. As a member of the group to invite a guest speaker to the seminar, I had the opportunity of getting first-hand opinions from a technopreneur, on what technology meant to him as well as how technology has benefitted his business. Fortunately for me, I also had co-operative group mates, who helped each other clarify doubts regarding the topic. Last but not least, I am also thankful for an active class, where almost everyone often contributed their thoughts. In this way, I was able to learn from others; which as mentioned at the very beginning, is the best way of attaining knowledge.

TEO MEI SZE TERRI-ANNE
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, which topic would you like it to focus on’; E.g. Technopreneurship, Investing in Technology-based company

Ans: I think I would like it to be on Investing in a technology-based company. This has a relation to what I have garnered from TWC classes, in that technology and business are inextricably linked that having knowledge in technology-based investments would be of good use for a future that will only become more and more dependent on corporate technology. Already, the most innovative companies are the most successful ones, and it is no secret that they are primarily technology-based companies, such as Google, Ebay and so on.

I would also want the focus to be on future technology-based companies, as technology progresses so rapidly that we need to be forward-looking or we could be caught when a certain technology bubble bursts. This ‘new’ technology could be biotechnology for instance, since medical technology is now on the rise.

It would also be interesting to have a balanced education on investments and where the difference lies when investing in a technology-based company as compared to non-technology based ones. Although this may be a foray into less explored frontiers for me, personally, I think that it is a subject that has profitable promise should I be knowledgeable enough to venture into.

Finally I think that this would be a good follow-on course from TWC as the latter has already geared our mindsets to a certain path, and set the basis for more complex theories in the exploration of technology. This would also make technology easier to relate to since SMU is after all, a business-centered school, and little has to be said of the world that has become one that is very much driven by profit and advancement for survival.

XING YONGZHI
In my first journal of this TWC Course, I set myself the goal of learning and challenging myself to structure my thought process when analyzing innovation. I intended to achieve this aim through active participation in class discussions, research and preparation for case studies and presentations, engaging with guest speakers as well as by updating myself regularly with current affairs on technology.

I feel that I have achieved my objectives to the best of my ability.

I have benefited from the interaction with my fellow classmates, who have helped me to revise and understand the concepts taught, both through group discussion during in-class assignments as well as through analysis and application through the case study presentation. I have also learnt through following the examples given of innovators and entrepreneurs covered in other presentations, and observing the guest speakers as they talked passionately about their involvements, attitudes and their experiences on the practice of innovation. I believe that this theory has given me a good basis on which I can always refer to should I be in the position to create, identify, promote, improve on, and support new innovation in the future.

Perhaps one of the more pertinent attitude changes I have adopted through this course is the fact that the line between invention and innovation is real but often it doesn’t take a radical step to cross it, only a fundamental one. This can, I feel, very aptly be coined â€œThe Tipping Pointâ€� as I have read about in Malcolm Gladwell’s book of the same name.

Lastly, in so far as understanding innovation and technology is about understanding the process of invention, commercialization and diffusion, as well as theories, sources, and IP issues, it is also about a certain amount of risk taking, conviction and success-driven series of actions which give the innovation its most powerful thrust â€“ the human factor.

As Albert Einstein said, â€œInnovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.â€� I think that with this logical structure, I am in a good position to achieve success and results in innovation with some creative thinking, resilience and a spot of luck to spark it off.

CHIAM HUI ZHU
Recalling on the objectives that I have set during the first TWC class, I mentioned that I want to understand technologies double edge sword, establish good team work, read before class and listen and contribute during class.

Throughout the course of the module, we have looked at technology from many different aspects and seen how technology benefits us and becomes pervasive in our everyday life. I especially learn the most during what I would like to call â€œreality checkâ€� which Professor gives; asking us not too look at things just at its surface level and think a little deeper. I sometimes end up feeling disturbed seeing this selfish profit generating real world.

I also met my objective of also reading the textbook before most classes and found it easy to listen and contribute during class as I found the lessons very interesting. It was great to be able to relate my other readings and experiences to class related topics and share them with the class. I also found the views of the other students and professor very thought provoking.

A random teaming system allowed me to work with a diverse team. It was fun to work with the team even though there were some disagreements during our discussion but we never let it affect the friendship we developed during this semester.

I had a wonderful journey with TWC this semester, I often feel motivated seeing the determination that many of the technopreneur we discuss about in class and inspire to be like them as well. Therefore, I feel that the follow up of the class would provide better insights on this career path. Unfortunately, I would be embarking on an exchange next semester, hence I hope to see this course available 2 semesters later!

CHONG ZHI RONG DENNIS
I think I have met at least part of the objectives set out in the first journal, which was to examine the traits that sets apart an innovator from an inventor. Through the last 13 weeks, I have seen how various characteristics have helped in the success of prominent innovators: openness, persistence, creativity, willingness to take hardship among others. The seminar where present day innovators were invited to share their experiences also proved to be an eye opener, in terms of giving a real and in-your-face evaluation of how much one needs to persevere to become successful. I believe this does not just apply to entrepreneurship, but also to most aspects of life. However, that said, there were also words of encouragement for potential entrepreneurs and sharing of some of the difficulties and obstacles faced, so that future innovators will know how to handle them. All in all, this course has been interesting, insightful and enjoyable.

LEONG JIA WEI XANDER
My initial conception of technology was that it was a thing that can effect change â€“ on societies, on economies and on the world in general. Only till TWC, did I really got a better understanding and grasp on the massiveness and intricacies of technology. I had no notions on the differentiation between technology, innovation and science, let alone about the numerous theories involved in innovation. But TWC has changed all that.

My sole aim, as set in week 1 was to learn life skills and lessons through the course; particularly I wanted to develop my critical thinking skills. On hindsight, that objective has definitely been achieved and even surpassed. Through the much-refreshing teaching methodology which involves weekly challenging research and presentation on unconventional and sometimes obscure topics (global dimming etc.), it has made me think harder, deeper and simpler at the same time. I’ve learnt to analyze problems, identify the root source and essentially break down complex issues into simple, digestible components which can be easily explained to the class. I’ve had the opportunity to hone my presentation skills weekly as well. This enabled me to thinking quickly and efficiently and often on the spot itself. I believed these had developed my critical thinking skills significantly.

Further, this unconventional teaching method forces me to work with a given time constraints. It allowed me to know myself better and redefined my limits. I’ve surprised myself in surpassing what I thought I could accomplish before the course. It emulated the constraints in the working world as well, but gave me a dose of reality check. In a way, the course had primed me to expect what it’s really like out there and I felt more prepared to face reality than before.

The group projects forced us to work together, to complement each others’ strengths and supplement our weakness. Through the weeks, our group dynamics improved and fast friends were made in the process.

Ultimately I’ve not only achieved and received what I expected out of this course but gain much much more intangibly.

LIM ANN QI ANGELA
Looking back on what I’d set out to achieve from week 1, I can safely say that I’ve definitely learnt and benefitted from the course a lot more than I’d expected. I found myself warming up particularly to the idea of weekly presentations because of the topics being presented on. Most of the information presented was useful and practical and it was truly a joy both to be an audience and a presenter. I’d definitely recommend such learning methods to be more widely used in other courses within the university. On top of in-class learning, the exposure to real-life entrepreneurs gave the course a whole other dimension and allowed us to relate better to the windows of opportunity technology provides in business. I felt that the last lesson was an apt way to end the course beause we discussed the ill-effects of technology and I learnt a very important lesson about technology despite its many triumphs; that the problems culminating from the spread of technology are often circumvented by yet another form of technology which also comes with its own new set of problems which need to be solved my even newer technology. I agree and have come to learn that as much as we rely on technology to improve our lives, we should always be careful and discerning of how we make use of these constantly emerging innovations.

Lastly, I want to thank you, Prof, for an excellent course and a very enriching 13 weeks.

TAN JIMING RUSSELL
I believe that I have achieved my initial objectives of obtaining a more thorough understanding of what technology and innovation entails, especially in the areas of technology strategies as well as the different sources of funding that technopreneurs can seek to propel their ventures.

While the key learning media for technology strategies came from the class reading as well as the in-class learning, I was also able to further expound on my learning on the funding of innovation via the case study that my group did on Amazon’s funding issues.

My idea of getting a holistic picture of how technology impacts different aspects of my life was given a practical boost by the seminar session that was held in Week 11. This was because I actually got to hear from actual technopreneurs who were gracious enough to take some time off their busy schedules to share with us their various experiences and insights.

If there were to be a follow-on-course, I would definitely like it to focus on how one can evaluate a technology-based company or start-up so as to be able to make informed investment decisions pertaining to these companies.

GWA WEI LING AMANDA
Looking back over the past 13 weeks of TWC lessons, I have indeed achieved the objectives that I’ve set up during my first journal entry. I wanted to learn how various innovations have become successful, and also learn more about the impact technology has had in our World today.

Regarding the 1st objective, I learnt through in class discussions, and presentations, as well as the sharing from Prof Lim on successful innovations such as the iPod, stealth technology, Nintendo, and how various technology theories can be applied to innovations. Such as the technology S-curve, patents, funding, and the various sources of innovation. I have learnt that for an innovation to become successful, many factors have to be taken into consideration. For example, funding, support received, the novelty of the technology used/product, as well as opportunity.

Secondly, I wanted to learn more about the impact technology has today. I feel that the last lesson was very apt in allowing me to gain a deeper insight on the ill effects of technology. I agree that technology has brought us much benefit, however I feel that we should also take into consideration its costs. For example the computer, it has caused us to be more disengaged with our social lives, and a majority of us nowadays interact with a laptop screen. Another harmful effect is that we sacrifice our health in the pursuit of better technology. E.g. Genetically modified food; in the hope to having better and bigger crops, we modify the natural process of how food is made, and this may harm one’s health.

Though there are disadvantages, we have to admit that without technology, humans would not have progressed, and the vaccines for many illnesses would not have been found. We would not have efficient transportation, effective communication, and first hand news from all around the world.

Thus I feel that it is important to use technology wisely and not abuse it. To end, the words of Carly Fiorina, â€œMany people see technology as the problem behind the so-called digital divide. Others see it as the solution. Technology is neither. It must operate in conjunction with business, economic, political and social system.â€�

LEE CHONG HAN
As I start on this journal, I began to reflect across the past weeks of Technology and World Change (TWC) lessons. Good times really flies; nonetheless, I have learn a lot through the course. TWC lessons, being enjoyable as they are, made learning and absorbing materials an easier task.

Beyond that, I have also noted in the first journal that contents from the books may lack depth and necessary exploration, so I would set out with an aim to challenge concepts and ideas put forth in the class. One of the recent lessons, one f the groups presented on Ma Yun and his business venture â€“ Alibaba.com. The group presented on various positive aspects of his business and what they meant for the people of China. Indeed, he is an inspiring man for the China population and deserves credit where national pride is concern. However, having used Alibaba.com before, I have concerns for his business, particularly how Alibaba.com, a B2B sales listing site is managed. I challenged the thought that his business is all well and benefitting to users on the basis that, my past experience with the company’s sites proved to be a bad one, with bogus and outdated listings. I remember it was seconded by Professor Pamela Lim’s experience, she noted that after been deceived by scammers, Alibaba.com took little effort to address the issue.

This is a case where challenging ideas make the learning collective, by highlighting the missing cognitive parts. Where the objective is concerned, I have met what I have set out to do. This is important to me because being able to set aside good ventures, innovations and opportunities from the average ones, eventually propagates success; and â€˜questioning’ is the main skill required here.

I have gained an insight to identifying innovation and business activities associated with innovation, the idea that there are worldly concerns behind these innovation and technology progress. One instance that struck me is a simple matter of whether we should take synthetic vitamin pills. We have conveniently used the pills to replace fresh fruits, however there maybe adverse effects in the years to come. This is similar to the case of tobacco smoking, where people only recognised the dangers after decades; when the adverse effects became vivid in forms of terminal illnesses. Yet, there are many new innovations, including synthetic vitamins that are ignoring these possible effects, focusing on generating consumer demands. While it can be disappointing that society have chosen to ignore the downside for progress, the means to generate demand and subsequent investment into a project or innovation is an area of interests that requires reading and exploration.

This brings me to the topic of a possible follow up course. I will really like to read on Technopreneurship and business. Akin to how Black & Decker only took up the bench mate after having seen the demand, I want to learn possible means to create or drive up consumer demand for innovations. In another words, the content would largely be focused on the start up, funding and driving demand for success. If possible, this will formulate interesting content for a Technopreneurship course. It will be even better if hand-on project is included.

KOK JIANCONG JONATHAN
1. Do you think you have achieved your objectives set up in the first lesson/journal’;

Charles Darwin once said, â€œIt is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.â€� Advances in technology can’t ever be slowed down. Their transforming power which has lead to widespread change is going to happen whether we like it or not.

Adapting to change can only happen with sufficient insight of what is occurring and exactly how the shift is developing. I believe that this module has aided me by providing me with this to emerge standing among the rest of fallen competition.

Relevant case study research breakouts through the course of the module has also assisted our understanding of the theories immensely and added a different dimension to issues that we would otherwise accept without hesitation. In-class presentations not only taught us the essence of concise research but also imbued in us the confidence to present ideas that we were relatively unfamiliar with.

However, one of the main objectives which I set up in the first lesson that was clearly achieved was the development of the analytical skills through consistent and repeated usage. Although I previously questioned the truth with regards to more dubious information, often I would just accept everything else without much consideration for the motives of the authors. With constant prodding by professor, I have learnt not to take things at face value and adopt different perspectives to every issue.

Equipped with this newfound knowledge, I believe it will empower me to not be deemed obsolete in this rapidly changing world.

TAN YI CAI JAIMES
Technopreneurship,I feel that in this world and age ,technology has become an increasing integral part of our society and life. As I am interested in setting up a business in the future,I think it would be a good area to look at due to the huge influx of new technology companies in the world. However in Singapore itself there seems to be a lack of successful technology based companies as compared to the USA. You could focus on the entire process of being a successful entrepreneur, from the start up to being listed. What are the areas or expertise we would need and where can we go to learn the expertise. What are the current and possible future market trends for technology, for example the reason Google is so successful is that they managed to identify the lack of feasible search engines and advertising at that time. Those could be useful case studies for us to maybe think creatively and identify certain uses of technology that may be lacking now. Also the possible consumer trend and fashions that will help to make a techno-based company successful as only by identifying the consumer trend and use the technology to help fulfill that trend ,only then can a company be successful. On top of that, the potential pitfalls and obstacles that we may experience and the possible solutions to this problems. Also what are the differences between a technopreneur or normal entrepreneur ,and is it any easier to set up a techno-based company in Singapore. Also what are the start up costs, and what exactly are investors looking for in a techno-based company. Lastly perhaps as one of the projects we could actually have is to set up a techno-based company on our own. This is due to the lack of practical experience I feel that is evident in the lectures or seminars now. Also I think it would be interesting to add in your own wealth of experience as it’s rare to talk to someone who actually set up a successful company much less a techno-based one in Singapore.

CHOY PEI YUN NATASHA
I think I have achieved most of the objectives I laid out for myself for this course at the beginning of the term. There were also new objectives that I came up with throughout the course and some others that I realized, will probably need more than fifteen weeks to achieve.

My interest in this subject has definitely grown as I began to discover (to my naivety) how limited my perspective was of the role of technology in innovation and generally in society. I realized that my other objective which was actually to learn more from the application of theories, that was precisely what made me more interested in this subject. Because I began to see their relevance with examples close to our hearts which made me more eager to want to understand and make sense of this entire subject.

I was exposed to the examples through another aim for myself that was to participate actively in class discussions and during group assigned tasks. As we did our research, what really fascinated me was that as you find and analyze the data, you discover interesting bits of information from the past and present on other related topics as well. And I found it really fulfilling yet addictive â€“ to be able to see what you have learnt being linked to so many other things and you just cannot stop yourself from wanting to know more. I think this has definitely helped me greatly in terms of my general knowledge and understanding of technology and innovation.

The structure of the course that first introduced what innovation was, all the factors associated with it and lastly the methods which we use to manage innovation also greatly facilitated my understanding of the role of technology and innovation in the corporate aspect, which was another one of my objectives. My understanding of innovation and technology before this course was limited to changing of ideas to differentiate one self from the others and I mostly saw technology from the consumers’ point of view. Thus the corporate aspect that we had learnt was a really refreshing perspective and I now feel empowered in a way, knowing how to be a smart consumer yet an opportunist from the business’s view. At the same time, this is one objective I would say I have not truly met. This course did introduce to me some basics to the business sense of technology and innovation but I would need to take up more courses to get a deeper understanding.

Perhaps another important point to note is that as I began learning more throughout the course, I started setting new objectives for myself from the soft skills such as mastering how to work effectively, efficiently, to do a up a presentation quickly (when we have break out in-class presentations) and to the hard skills like taking up other courses to further my knowledge in areas I’ve picked out as I pursued this course.

Overall, I am glad that I have achieved most of what I had wanted to. TWC is a broad yet concise course from which I have learnt a lot of fundamentals that prepares one for life after graduation. It was also really an ongoing learning experience for me and something I truly value.

LOW BENG HWEE DICKSON
I felt that I have attained a greater understanding of technology and that alone is quite a success in achieving my objectives. I have made friends during the course and I greatly appreciate their company. I have learnt that technical advances are not necessarily beneficial to mankind.

In answering the 2nd question, I would be more interested in technopreneurship as it covers key issues of funding, product development, marketing, and even decision making and strategy. Whereas investing in technology-based company is more of balancing the profitability of a company only and covers a less in-depth scope on technology based company. Therefore to understand technology based companies, a course in technopreneurship that reflects a in-depth study and casestudies of technopreneurs allows a better understanding of the circumstances faced by a technology based company.

LIU FANGZHOU
TWC has been an enlightening experience, many theories and concepts have been introduced, and many real-life examples have been studied indepth, provoking insightful discussion and analysis.
Since TWC has been so asymmetrically valuable, I would like to give a brief suggestion of a follow-on course from TWC.
A follow-on course from TWC would be beneficial, since the world is constantly changing, concepts and theories may become obsolete or disproved, new paradigms or schools of thoughts may emerge, and companies or corporations now successful may crash then, and these are more often than not pegged to the economic situation and the market conditions then and there. Hence, I would suggest a follow-on courses from TWC that flexes accordingly to suit the market changes, and which includes hypothetical case studies of companies.
A course being pegged not to the macroscopic change of the technology and the world in the past few centuries or decades but one that is focused on the microscopic changes of technology, companies dealing with technology, technopreneurship and market opportunities in the recent few years and even months helps to keep students intimately in touch with the world and facilitates entrepreneurship in general as different market opportunities are being explored. Hypothetical situations or even real-life practical work if the proposals are meticulously and feasibly drafted in all aspects, in my opinion, can be very helpful in motivating students to become technopreneurs by pushing them into the situation with the help of experienced professors, or at least, to give students a real taste of what technopreneurship (or entrepreneurship) is like. Solid hard-work as first-hand experience is definitely more fruitful than mere theoretical paperwork, which are usually research done through the internet or reading and regurgitating of texbook without full apprehension and appreciation of the content. We tend to learn more through facing, analysing and overcoming challenges step-by-step.
However, this spells a big project which requires large amount of resources – financial, human and time – and needs to be maintained even after the course, making it very likely to be exclusive only to a small proportion of all the TWC students who are keen in starting their own business. Therefore, this suggestion is limited by the willingness and ability of the school to invest so heftily to promote entrepreneurship / technopreneurship.

HO EN EN RACHEL
1. Do you think you have achieved your objectives set up in the first lesson/journal’;

After 13 weeks, I have more than achieved my objectives set up in the first lesson.

Summary of key objectives:
â€¢ Increase awareness of social content & implications of technology
â€¢ Adopt a critical attitude towards technology
â€¢ Independent learning
â€¢ Link technical concepts to real-world situations
â€¢ Incorporate what I have learnt to the other disciplines (especially the Social Sciences)

Through the various examples of innovations, I became more aware of how technology can shape our society and us. Often innovators may not foresee the widespread implications of their own inventions or discoveries; they come up with the invention, only to realize their impact on humanity, some time later. For example, the creators of the atomic bomb did not expect their lethal invention to be that fatal, to the extent that it destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki for decades. Similarly, applying to a more current case, though the discovery of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was in 1928, scientists only recognized the importance of this discovery recently; the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded only this year, 80 years after its discovery. Clearly, innovations can lead to disastrous or positive consequences. However, since some inventions have unknown consequences, the crux here is for the user of technology to exercise prudence and ethics in its usage. While it is very tempting to blame the innovator who created the â€˜bad’ inventions, we should instead look at ways in which we can use the technology more positively.

Also, technology always promises the good, initially. Yet, more critically, I feel that the promises of technology seldom materialize. Instead, we have come to a point where technology is led by a greater need for more technology; we pursue technology for its sake (technology determinism). As such, we end up pushing the frontiers of technology, to the extent that we may, unknowingly, step into dangerous ground. Gene therapies are a classic example, where we keep stretching the possibilities of new technology, that we lose sight of our initial goal.

Moreover, through the many in-class presentations, one of the key skills I have picked up is the ability to put up a decent presentation, from scratch, all in a short span of 45mins. In the real world, we do not have the luxury of time to plan, sit down and discuss, then put the slides together. Thus, this course provided me one of the very first opportunities for me to learn to put up an effective presentation, quickly. While left on our own as a group, it not only promotes independent learning, but also initiative as a team because we dictate our scope, determine the line of discussion, and shape our own presentation. Therefore, these breakout sessions are very fruitful as we learn through a two-pronged approach, one through the team, and the other via the class.

In addition, the guest speakers shared with us their experiences, which highlighted the relevant concepts taught in class (e.g. technopreneurship, funding etc). Besides those, what struck me most was Mr. T Chandroo’s emphasis on good corporate governance and Mr. Steve Wah’s inspirational quote: â€œIt is not about how many times you fail, but how many times you fail, and move one step ahead.â€� Through them, I learnt valuable life lessons. Ultimately, it all boils down to what you want to achieve in life. Do you want to be successful by being unscrupulous, or to gain accomplishment by holding on to your principles and beliefs’; I believe the choice is clearâ€¦

Regrettably, many organizations today have been impersonalized insofar as humans are being manipulated and presented as relegated figures in the company’s annual report. Mr. Steve Wah’s reminder of having an A team with a B business plan, being more important than a B team and A business plan, couldn’t more aptly stress the importance of teamwork and human social capital.

Lastly, I would like to end with a quote:
â€œHuman beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their livesâ€� (William James, 1842- 1910)
Pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, William James, made a poignant statement above. Only if we alter our mindset, can we truly change our behavior. His quote deeply appealed to me because it served as a yardstick to gauge my degree of transformation; in my view, no reflection (or learning journal) is complete without any self-assessment.
Initially, I rather dread the course TWC because of my preconceived notion that it is all about technology. For one, I am not a very tech-savvy person, and to the extent of being â€œtechnophobicâ€� (e.g. refusing to use MSN, have Facebook, Friendster etc). However, I started to realize that TWC is not just another 13 week crash course on â€œAll you need to know about technologyâ€�. At the end, instead of only learning about one technological concept after the other, I picked up valuable life skills and moral lessons through the experiences shared by our Professor and course mates. It was only then did I start to appreciate this course because I started to see it from another vantage point: one of personal relevance to me.

CHOO TIAN SHENG
For the second course I would like it to focus on the Technopreneurship. Meaning how to set up a business as a technopreneur, how to press the advantage of the technology aspect and how to draw or obtain the necessary resources to fund and start the business.
Since I am also looking to set up a web-based/ media related company, I am concern on how to get things started. Of which importantly, how do I set up a business while protecting myself from unnecessary liabilities, prevent stealing of ideas, and how to negotiate with potential partners or other firms who are probably in a better position to push the bargain. Besides that, information on the law and regulations involved in setting up the business will also be helpful as all this are potential minefields for potential entrepreneurs. Moreover, costs to draft legal documents are relatively high, will be good if there are information to get reliable yet cheap administration for the business.
As use of technology such as internet can come cheaply, there are also other costs, such as server maintenance, administrators and procurement of equipments, which can be costly. Although it was mentioned in TWC that all this can be done cheaply, I am hoping for more detailed information in these areas.
There are other areas of doubts in entrepreneurship example drafting contracts to employ staff, employment policies, how and when to set up specific departments as the company grows and such. Although there are no hard and fast rule in setting up a business, covering the mentioned topics will help us be more confident of the direction to approach technopreneurship.

TAY CHOON NGEE DEAN
On the first week of TWC, I hope to know how technology benefits our life and most of all, which type of technology contribute to the world change presently. Now, after going through the 13 weeks of TWC course, it has indeed gave me an idea of how technology benefits our life, the technology that I have used or currently using which contribute to the world change presently.

From this course, I found out that the world now is heavily dependent on technology. From giving birth to burial of a person, technology is involved in every stage, every process or even every activity a person does. Without technology, these things will not be able to process accordingly and everyone will not be able to move on as they do not know what steps to take.

Other than the importance of technology, this course also gave me an overview on how to be an entrepreneur, the things we need to overcome when one wants to be an entrepreneur. On top of that, I also learn the different approach that I can take in order to become an entrepreneur. In conclusion, this course gives me a great insight on how technology changes my life and what I can do to make full use of technology.

TNG HWEE LING
The objectives that I have set at the beginning of the course are as follows:

1. Learn about technology in the real world instead of how it is defined in textbooks
2. To be exposed to more real life examples which I can relate to
3. Have a decent understanding of technology
4. Not squirm when this topic of technology is brought up during conversations

The first objective is definitely met as the theories taught from the textbook are actually very relevant in the new world. This is very different from my usual economics or finance modules where textbooks and practice are two different things. The case studies shown on the textbook also clearly show how each chapter is application practically.

In spite of the relevance of the case studies shown on textbook, I cannot relate closely to some of them as origins of most of the cases are from the United States and not Singapore. However, my professor has managed to help me achieve my second objective from bringing in her own life experiences. Also, in-class presentations by some my peers have also provided me with a lot of relatable real life examples.

Needless to say, after such an intensive course on technology, I now have a much better understanding of technology. Hence, the third objective is also met. On top of a decent understanding, I can say that I am quite an expert in this topic. I no longer see an innovation as just any other new product or service; instead, I can see more to it. For instance, I will wonder about the type of innovation it is, when the next innovation is going to override the current one, the structure of the organization that gave birth to such an innovation and so on. In short, I now understand the beauty of technology.

There are two parts to the last objective. Firstly, I squirm because of my lack of understanding in the topic-technology. Secondly, it is also due to my lack of proficiency in handling high tech innovations like complicated online system, softwares and I can go on forever. I have definitely overcome the first part of the problem but I still need to work on the second part, to overcome my own resistance. Frankly, I feel that this is not an easy task for me as I naturally prefer to handle things that are real and solid instead of doing everything via a LCD screen. However, today’s technology just does not allow me to stick to my own preference anymore.

On the whole, most of my objectives are met for this course. In fact, all that could be met have been met. This is not a course which will impact me only until exam but, it is a course which has given me timeless knowledge which will is useful to me for a long time. Lastly, I would like to take this chance to thank my professor for taking the extra mile in making this course a memorable and enjoyable one for the students.

LO RULI JULIE
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, I will want to take a module on technopreneurship. I have always been interested in entrepreneurship. Technopreneurship, in a way, is similar but it includes a newer and more advanced field. Seeing how people are overly reliant on technology now also shows us that technological field is a very promising market to tap in. This makes technopreuneurship seems like an even better topic to learn. After seeing the many presentations on successful online businesses like ebay and google, I also started being very inspired. The dot com bubble also showed me that an online business can be very dangerous and involves many risks but the payoffs are also very high, with many companies reaping huge profits. Thus, although starting an online business can be very challenging, I believe that a module on technopreneurship will be able to teach me on how to deal with such risks and I will be able to gain more insights in the technological field. Being in a new age world, I believe that such information on technology is essential. Learning about technopreneurship can also help to build on my interest of entrepreneurship.

CHIA SEE SHANG
My objective set in my first journal was to learn more stuffs from the seniors and i did learnt a lot from them. They have been very nice and willing to share.

Second objective was to read up more before lessons, to be honest, the first half of the semesters i had been readings the papers before class but as more assignment kicked in, i kind of stop that habit. So it wasn’t really achieved.

Third objective was to equip myself with knowledges to prepare myself better for the market and my dream of being an entrepreneur. I’m pretty happy with what i had learnt from this course. It had taught me a lots of stuffs. The ways to funds innovations or ideas etc, the lessons learnt from the speakers in our TWC guest seminar, the discussions in the class are all informations i valued.

If there is a follow buy-on course from TWC,i would love to focus on Technopreneurship over Investing in Technology-based company. As for now,technopreneurship will sound more viable to me, reason because i’m still a student and will not have much money to invest even if i know how.

To become an entrepreneur is always been my dream since young.
A quote by Dr Chandroo – â€œ You must have a dream and when you have
a dream, you go all out for it.â€�

This is my dream and in order to pursuit it, i should learn more regarding that and technopreneurship can be the choice.

Technopreneurship is, by a large part, still entrepreneurship. The difference is that technopreneurship is either involved in delivering an innovative hi-tech product (e.g. Intel) or makes use of hi-tech in an innovative way to deliver its product to the consumer (e.g. eBay), or both (e.g. most pharmaceutical companies).

Recently i had come across this idea, about payment from handphone, i do not think it is workable but just want to share with you about it.

Nowadays when technology is getting more advance, a handphone will have more and more functions and now they even have ez-link implemented in handphone. They can pay for their food using their handphone in restaurant like Macdonald and this is getting more and more common nowadays but they have to topup their value in the ez-link card just like how you topup your normal ez-link so my idea will be is to bill your purchase from the ez-link to your monthly subscriptions. Instead of topping up each time. It will act like a â€œCredit Cardâ€� in this way. People will be using their handphone to pay for food. In time of recession, this might be vaild.

Ideas like this comes and go but i do know which are the workable ideas and how can i turn ideas into actions. So taking a technopreneurship course can help a lot. I would love to take that for next semester but was not allow to bid for that as i’m supposed to complete the year 1 modules.

VARUN PONNURU
A wonderful follow up on this course would definitely be a course focusing on investing in technology-based companies – for example learning how to be an effective venture capitalist with a specialty in tech firms.

Given, the current level of interest in finance and financial instruments, I believe there is enough potential within SMU to impart to students, effective methods of raising money. What is lacking though is the means to teach students the tools to assess what to invest in once that money has been earned.

I honestly consider technology companies as the heart of innovation. Innovations in technology have impacts that reach farther than any other field. A good idea can be greatly enhanced by technology and also be spread to a larger population of users by exploiting technology. This makes technology companies a great but complicated sector to invest in.

It is difficult to determine which innovation will really be beneficial to the end user and hence be profitable. The ability to do this must be a result of knowing how to accurately value the current technological landscape and then postulate where the new technology will fit in. With the right kind of training, it is possible to create a great team of people who can rightly recognize useful technological ideas and fund them appropriately.

I’ve always wanted to help people out as much as I could in life. To me that’s the greatest reward. I hope that I will eventually be able to learn how to help budding technopreneurs realize their dreams without the need to worry about capital and consequently help the wealthy fund meaningful ventures.

I believe, a course like this will teach people with intentions like mine how exactly to bridge that gap between the people with the idea and the people with the money to turn that idea into reality. I hope and look forward to it being introduced in SMU!

NG ZHI YANG ALAN
In my first journal, I mentioned that one of my objectives in life is to start my own business, or rather, not working for someone. Although this course did not and was not intended to, teach students how to start a business, it did provide me with a stepping stone, ideas and thoughts which I would need if I were really keen on starting a business. The following paragraphs elaborate some of my thoughts

I had always thought that for a business to be successful, the product or service it offers has to something totally new, an invention. However, to be successful, a product/service needs to encompass much more than jus invention, but innovation and more importantly to be able to sell it to the masses. Moreover, from our case presentation on the Tesla Roadster, I realised that one need not necessarily possess industry knowledge to be able to excel in that particular industry.

This course also gave me an insight into how a business may source for funding. Through the breakout session and project presentations, I was able to know some organisations that provided funding to local businesses. For example, Spring Singapore and EnterpriseOne and also the criterias that are needed before they are willing to fund a business. (Although I also realised that these organisations are sometimes hesitant in providing funds to unestablished startups)

One of the many lessons I learnt was the protection of one’s intellectual property. This was not only emphasized through presentations which showcased how companies were crippled by not protecting their intellectual property properly (the fire exit video) but it was also emphasized by the professor and also the guest speakers during week 12! Hence, if I were to innovate a new product/service, I’d be more aware of protecting my intellectual property!

Last but not least, this class has also taught me that technology has to be used wisely. It has indeed changed the world by simplifying complex tasks and allowed mankind to do what their ancestors were unable to. However technology is an un-harnessed beast. It can be used to benefit mankind, but if it falls into the wrong hands, it can also spell the downfall of mankind. Unscrupulous businessmen use the advance in technology to cheat unsuspecting consumers into purchasing products that not only they do not need, but that even harms them. We are eating more, but are nourished less. We reach our destination faster, but it comes at the expense of our health. We live longer, but are less happy.

Technology is here to stay. Whether it is used to benefit or harm humanity will ultimately lie in the hands of the one with the leash.

– END –

BEI MEISI MICHELLE
In the blinking of an eye, 12 weeks have passed and we have entered week 13! n i must say, i definitely have learnt alot from the entire course. I remembered mentioning in my first journal that at the end of the thirteen weeks, I hope to acheive life skills which could be useful in my future endeavours. And true enough, I have, take for example, at the minimum, i learnt how to present impromptu-ly and this will be a very important skill to have, definitely in SMU, and in the future working world. Moreover, I learnt not only textbook concepts. Discussions and breakout questions also benefitted me alot. Take for example, today’s breakout questions. I never knew soyabeans and vitamin Cs are that harmful. The breakout sessions also enabled my team to work better and bond stronger. I dare say i love my team and i really learned alot from them. The mix of students of different years in a team enabled the seniors to coach the juniors and i see my group mates giving us presentation tips and advice. Im truely touched to see such love within SMU. The talk about SMU being overly competitive and is more like a battlefield than a campus doesnt seems to hold true then. Besides learning from friends, I definitely learnt from Professor Pamela too. Its the life experiences that she share with us that really provided lots of insights. The story i remembered most vividly was the story where her secretary betrayed her. It taught me alot about the harsh facts of life and how we cannot afford to be too trusting. People often say, you can’t learn much in a classroom. But i beg to differ. I have learnt alot from TWC classes and we, students may now say, there is alot of modules in SMU that we don’t know how its is going to benefit us in future, but i dare say, TWC is definitely beneficial. If the textbook concepts doesn’t, then the life skills i learn definitely will. As such, i have definitely acheived the objectives et up in the first journal.

WONG KAI YUN CAROLINE
Yes, I feel that the objectives that were set up in the first journal were achieved. This class has taught me much about technology and its applicability to my life. I did not have a strong understanding of technology before, thinking that technology was only related to me in terms of the appliances that I had been using over the years. However, I’ve come to better appreciate the lesser-known aspects of technology. An example would be the great effort that technopreneurs put into developing the product. Having always thought that product developers were able to earn lots of money just by selling their products, the hard work that they actually had to put into creating a product without any guarantee of success made me realise that there was more to innovation than met the eye.

My first journal also mentioned my interest in understanding the progress of technology over time, as well as the possibility of predicting certain aspects of the future. Discussing topics like technological change definitely helped in this regard. For example, the Kondratiev Cycle showed a certain predictability to the way technology had evolved over time, and these past results could possibly be extrapolated into the future. This would help in managing and alleviating the great uncertainty that economic and technological cycles are characterised by. Also, learning about theories like the technology S-curve and the dominant design theory explained certain seemingly puzzling situations, like why some technically superior products could simply never catch up with others. This can help in predicting when are the right conditions to launch new products, or even whether or not a certain product line should be pursued in the first place. Essentially, these theories, by reviewing information from the past, help people to better predict the possible success or failure of a certain product in the future.

As such, I feel that since these questions have been answered throughout the course of this semester, the objectives that were set up in the first journal have been met.

ANG PEIQI
Attending TWC has benefitted me greatly. Initially, I thought TWC will be a dry and boring class. However, I was wrong. Interactive discussion during the class and there was a break-out session which is a good time for group to discuss the topic of the day and from there we learn from peers.

Introduction to topics like sources of innovation, process of innovation and types of innovations have let me know that technology and innovation can come from anywhere surrounding our day to day life. Be it from gas stove to a soft drink or even business models like Starbucks, technology and innovation keep evolving with our ever changing lifestyle. Using real life examples, the module have certainly broadened my knowledge with regards to how innovation and technology is being applied in various sectors and contribution to its growth. After all, I have achieved most of my learning outcomes that were mentioned during the first few weeks.

However, I would like to highlight the additional takeaways I had gathered after attending the course. In topics taught like technoprenuership and intellectual property, prof have shared with us many of her real life experience which I thought was invaluable, practical and useful in future. In the topic of technoprenuership, prof shared many of her personal experience and mentioned how various soft skills is important not only towards the success of the business set up but also the bid in climbing up the corporate ladder. Thus, it gave me an insight and prepares inexperienced students like me on how is it like in working in a real corporate setting. During the topic of intellectual property, prof also cited many real world examples how big corporation would leverage on their strong financial muscle to snatch the profitability of a lucrative innovation that came from a small start up which serve as a precaution to the aspiring innovators. In summary, it was grateful of her to have would share so many personal experience relating to the module which I think is hard to come by and impossible to be extracted from the textbook. Most of the topics were also practically taught which allows us to takeaway beyond wrap up of the module and helpful in time to come.

All good things come to an end, so does the course. I really hope that Pamela could share with us more on her expertise and experience as technoprenuer. However, all good things come to an end. I have taken away more than I can ask for, with contribution from both prof and students who share. I have had a great time through TWC. Thank you for everything that you have prepared for us.

LUO QIN
In this TWC class, I try to use my own innovative sense to understand the information under the guidance of the prof’s. Now I think have understand the different classifications of technology as well as relations between technology and social development. Basically, I had achieve my own objectives set up in my first journal. But, for further understanding, I am sure I need to continue learning it and try to apply the knowledge to my daily life.

If there is a follow-on course from TWC, I would like to hear more about the future trends of technology industries. For some new technology fields, What sources of fundings will it be’; What is the difference compared to the innovative company contenporarily’; Basically, I am more intested on the difference or comparasion of the future innovative company and the current innovative company regarding to every aspects.

KHWANG PENG HOCK
If there is a follow up course on TWC, I would be glad if the course can cover technological entrepreneurship. In my opinion it would be beneficial if the course have these take aways
-How to set up a technological company
– Entrepreneur opportunity,
-Market and competitor analysis
-Intellectual property protection and start-up legal issues
-Business strategy (Writing business plan)
-Strategies in fund rising
-Networking

Coming from school of information systems, I have heard many solid technological ideas. But many budding technopreneur didn’t know how to develop it. It will be beneficial if the course touches on these areas. Another interesting idea I had in mind would be getting students to organize a networking session with the industry. No business can work without networking. By getting the students to organize a session, firstly students will get a chance to sharpen their PR skill and secondly having a opportunity to make an impression for themselves.

All in all with such a course it definitely will provide a good platform for budding student technoprenuers to develop their skills and idea.

ONG HUI SHAN REBECCA
As Aristotle once said â€œMan is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.â€� From the objectives that I set in the first journal, which were to learn how to use technology in such a way where I can guide it and improving my presentation skills, I think I’m barely scratching the surface, there are still lots more for me to learn and improve on. But I know at the very least, that I have matured as a presenter, improving my presentation and communication skills as the weeks go by. I now seldom experience the chronic stage frights that have plagued me since year 1.

Technology is constantly improving, and each new wave of technology brings along a new wave of business ideas. I find that learning how to use technology and learning how to adapt it to today’s world is an on-going process that will never end till I go to my grave. Admittedly, it is something that I’m unable to master in just 13 weeks. But these 13 weeks have armed me with essential knowledge. Rather than just approach something from a common sense point of view, I can apply theories and concepts to view it better. The experiences that professor Pamela Lim spoke about, as well as the case studies presentations were an eye opener. There were various behind the scenes work to be done when setting up a business, I learnt about words that I have never come across before such as â€˜business angels’ or words that I have come across before, but have only a vague understanding about it like â€˜venture capitalists’ and the various other sources of funding as well as the ugly and unethical side of businesses. Looking at it now, my objectives were somewhat of the long term type which is difficult to achieve in 13 weeks. But by learning all these new information, bit by bit, they will all add up to help me in my long term goal.

WONG MINYI FLORA
Times flies and here we are, in week 13. It was a fulfilling semester for me as I have learnt a lot from my peers and Professor Pamela Lim. I felt that there was a variety of learning style for example from the case study analysis, discussion topics, presentations to just simply listening to professor and guest seminar relating to their life experiences which were awesome and my class indeed learnt a great deal.

We, as students have also play an active role in speaking up and participating in class which help to make us think out of the box. I have also developed awareness for technology, its deployment and effect on our society throughout the 13 lessons that we had with the slides and some interesting views by my peers. From the textbook, we have from the history of technology to how technotreprenuer gets their funding

I am more interested to be an entrepreneur now after hearing so much from Prof and the findings and research that we gathered for our case studies. All of them were very courageous and even a silly idea did not deter them. They had gained what they have achieved from these â€œsilly ideasâ€� perceived by people who think that it is not achievable or totally stupid. However, they have proved them wrong. In addition, I have also realised that many opportunities arise from crisis. It is during crisis where people know that they have to innovate to differentiate from the rest.

I have definitely achieved my goals in TWC and it has my expectations of having a fun time with my group members and my class. It was an enjoyable semester to learn TWC with my peers.

KOH JIE YU
TWC have definitely opened my eyes to the potential of technology. I used to have a very narrow view of technology, limited to tech products etc. However, through the course, I now see that technology is more than just ipod etc. It’s the potential to create a new realm and the exploitation of technology can lead to dramatic increase in the welfare of human beings. That been said, I remember asking myself if technology is a boon or a bane and right now, I got the answer. Technology is a boon because it unlocks the potential a human being can achieve with just his bare hands. However, the pervasiveness of technology makes it a potential bane because it has such outreaching effects that can be disastrous if manipulated by the wrong hands. With this in mind, it links me back to the need to protect IPs to prevent abuse and perhaps the need to take an ethical perspective of technology.

KOH LEE SHA CARISSA
13 weeks flew past at a blink of an eye. But, I what I have learnt from this course is definitely more than the technical terms in the textbook. Yes, I do believe that I have achieved the objectives that I set for myself during the first lesson. Through Technology and World Change, I was able to delve beneath the surface of the various technologies in our daily lives, things that I have taken for granted. Take week 13’s lesson for example, the various presentations by the groups discussed topics that are extremely relevant to us as students. Born into a digitalized generation, we fail to notice the ill effects of technology and have only viewed technology as commodity to enhance our lives. As true as it is that technology brings about a whole new way life, it has also made us more vulnerable in the sense that our daily lives are almost dependent on it. One of the objectives that I had set of myself was to gain a deeper insight on technology and the way it has evolved over time due to the various problems and needs the world faces. In class, Professor Pamela Lim brought up a good point saying that when faced with a problem, humans would built create another technology to smoothen out the problem, only to be faced with another caused by the new technology created. A quote by writer Frank Lloyd Wright says that, â€˜If it (technology) keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger’, and I can’t help but agree, considering the various amount of resources invested in creating new technologies (like the remote control and internet) just to make our lives more comfortable when millions of children in less developed countries die of hunger and illnesses.

CHEONG CUI WEN
I definitely achieved more than the objectives I set in the first journal on the intricate nature of technology.
Firstly, I have gained various insights on the theories and factors determining the success of a technology. Innovation (which includes commercialization) is vital in determining whether the technology reaches the products we buy. Additionally, I learn about the numerous theories behind the choices made by companies in the development of a technology and why radical innovation usually comes from outsiders.
From this course, I recognize both the beneficial and detrimental effects of technology. Though initially developed to improve lives, technology may be manipulated by individuals for selfish purposes; often society bears the consequences.
E.g.: Monsanto included suicide genes in seeds to maximize profits as farmers (now dependent on Monsanto for their livelihood) would have to purchase seeds from them after each harvesting season.
Through class presentations, I also realize that a widespread use of a technology does not ensure its safety. There are always monetary issues involved when an innovation that is not completely safe is still approved to be sold in the market.
E.g.: The initial ban on microwaves was lifted after the Russian government could not substantiate claims of microwaves causing genetic mutation in food. However, through further analysis, we learn that perhaps the approval was in fact because the vast microwave industry provided many opportunities.
Last but not least, I have definitely improved my presentation skills and technique of answering questions. This course has also taught me to think critically, learn from others and make me more inquisitive of new concepts.

OOI TONG SI
I think I did manage to achieve most of my objectives set up in the first journal, and learnt even more! I was able to understand concepts through the different case studies presented in class, which lead me to continuously think of the fundamental ideas of an innovator and how their products and ideas changed lives.
Throughout the whole term, I was constantly trying to think about the objectives of the innovator, as well as to find out how they manage and protect their innovations. However, as I have learnt through this course, there is so much more to being an innovator. To be an innovator, you have to be an entrepreneur as well â€“ to be able to market your goods, and sell them. There are many ways of identifying the nature of strategy innovators employ, and the list goes on. Thus, I feel that the crux of it all is to be constantly moving, and wanting to improve- you should not be stagnant and happy with what you have. Instead, you should want to take your innovation to another level of sophistication, to make another difference- and change these words into action.
Prior to this class, even though I was already aware of the many controversial issues surrounding the rise of technology, such as intellectual property, through this module, I was able to understand them better on another level.
Another lesson learnt is that I learnt in depth about the Singapore government providing loans and grants for entrepreneurs. Knowing more about this is rather encouraging, as it tells me that there is feasibility in setting up a business for youths in Singapore. Funding issues have resulted in the abortion of good ideas, as well as the failure of business operations. Through this course, I learnt more about the different sources of funding.
Another objective of mine was to think about how commercialisation and marketing of products make us think of ourselves as individuals. After sitting through all the classes, I realise, that there is no one concrete answer, as it is a matter of opinion and perception. In my opinion, I feel that marketing and advertising (ie. Media) is a very powerful tool to change the way people think, about themselves and the world around them. In today’s lesson, Prof cited the example of a video through the internet that had an underlying message or propaganda, which made me think about the dangers of technology. Of course, technology has been and will be always evolving. So, the question lies on the individual- whether he or she is able to tell what is right from wrong, truth from lies (or half truths).
I thought the highlight of the whole course was the guest seminar, which provided us a more intimate view of the thoughts of an entrepreneur/ technopreneur. It was a rather interesting lesson, whereby we got access to the personal views of the innovator himself, rather than through other sources like the internet. This guest seminar was able to clarify and etch certain concepts in my memory, which are rather useful. Another good thing about the class is that it was a rather interactive, but I was rather uncomfortable speaking up at the start, then I realised that as long as I have a view on that particular topic that I feel strongly about, I should just voice out my opinion. So, I guess, this course made me think carefully and feel more inclined to speak up and let my opinion be known, as I will be able to learn from others as well, and see things from different perspectives.

TAN JIAN YANG BERTON
I had foolishly missed the question posted in the first journal and ended up waxing lyrical about the perils of technology. It is almost poetic then that week 13’s seminar focused on the negative impact of technology. Nonetheless, like I’ve weighed the pros and cons the first journal, technology often stems from the best intentions and the eventual ill-effects that happens will have to be tempered through great restraint. One of the objectives I had mentioned in passing in the first journal was to gain a better and a more accurate appreciation the issues relating to innovation which I had always thought to be something truely random; I can confidently say that I have achieved the objective. I am more aware of the effort required to facilitate innovation and I find myself linking concepts and models introduced in class to articles I find in the papers and online. However, my learning journey is far from over. With the set of theory the module has exposed me to, I am eager to find out more and will read even more feverntly to satisfy my curiousity.

YONG SHI-MEI CLAIRE
This course has allowed be to have a rather in depth understanding of innovation and how technology has led made the world a better place. I remember that my objectives for this course was to learn to handle technology responsibly. I believe being aware of the various technology companies in the world and the applications they provide like YOUTUBE, facebook, google, eBay and Amazon helped me to realize the amazing force they can have in doing their business. These are really companies that have made a difference in the lifestyles people lead.

The various sharings of the different groups helped to enlarge my knowledge on technology and the different class outlines each week gave me a broad view of the subject as a whole. Because we were actively involved each week with presentations, I felt that I learnt more.

If there is a follow-up course, I would like it to focus on investing in Technology-based companies as I am interested in finance and markets.

LIANG XIANGXUAN
The entire learning objective that I’ve set at the being had achieved. But some it can be improved, for instance class participation. If there is a follow-on course on TWC, I will like it to focus on Technopreneurship. Because as a IS student, I’m very interest in coming out new IT solution and ideas. I am a very technical person and I’ve always wanted to come out with new technology to the market but lack of experience. And I’m sure that course or topic will help me alot.

SIOW CHEE LEONG AMOS
Faced with this question, I referred back to what I had written in my first journal, addressing â€œWhat do you want to learn from this course’;â€� Upon reading my response, I found myself smiling and nodding my head with agreement feeling very accomplished and pleased with the things I had written in week one.

To imagine, that I didn’t know exactly what to expect from the class during the first week, it was really quite a surprise to me to find that the objectives that I had set out for myself, were achieved. And if anything, I feel like I have gained much more than I had set out to achieve. I have completed this class feeling empowered with greater perspective on the changes around us in our world today, in particular our technological changes.

I am very pleased that this class was not all about theories and case studies, and that Professor Pamela Lim had actually made a very deliberate effort to teach us the â€˜goodness’ (or badness) of technological innovation and not to accept everything that we gain from our world change with a naÃ¯ve mind.

I feel like I have definitely learnt a lot from this class. I have learnt the success stories of past innovators and the challenges they face, I learn about what inspired people to invent and innovate change, I learn about whether all technological innovations are good to our society, I learn from first hand experience from speakers who walk the lonely road less traveled.

There is so much that I have learnt from this class and I am certainly pleased to say that this has definitely been one of my most enjoyable modules I have taken in SMU.

NG PUAY WEI EDWIN
I think I have internalised my objectives as I have become more aware of how technology affects our lives. I set out to read more about news around the world and have become more sensitive to technological changes. I now make a conscious attempt to read up on the news that is happening around the world today instead of being oblivious to what is happening around me.

I would like to keep this habit of keeping abreast with latest technological changes and dreaming of possibilities that could happen.

If there is a follow-up course on TWC, I would like it to focus on technopreneurship. Personally, I would think that it is a logical step after TWC. Investing in technolog-based company could be taught as a minor topics as it could allow budding or aspiring technopreneurs to understand how their businesses can attract investors.

FU QIFEI
Coming from the IT background, I would be very interested to learn about technopreneurship as a follow-on course. This is because I have the ability to develop an IT product/service myself and I have many friends who are good in this area. To be a successful technopreneur, I think that 4 things are very important: a good product, a good team, a good marketing strategy and funding.

The most important determinant of a business’ success would be the product/service. However, before the product/service is pushed out to the market, it is quite hard to know if the product/service would sell well. Since acquiring a technology is usually not cheap, and a wrong choice of technology would not only lead to sunk cost but also time wastage, making technology decision is important. It would be good that the course can teach us how we should choose the technology (as in what kind of IT product/service I should provide).

What I mean by a good team here to have the right people to complement one another. For example, a team that consists of good salespersons, good programmers/technical people and a good team leader who oversees various aspects of a business. It is always good to know these people who are willing to work with us to start a technological business. However, this may not be the case most of the time. So one interesting topic in the course could be how to attract people who are not my good friends but whom I know would be very helpful in the business.

After we have developed a great product/service, we would need to innovate/commercialise it. This could be a challenging task at the initial stage especially if the product/service that we are offering is new to the market. Marketing would be a good way to reach out to potential customers. However, it requires significant amount of capital and sometimes may not be effective. I would like to know what the different channels to reach out to potential customers are and how I can make use of them.

In TWC, we have learnt about different sources of funding and their advantages and disadvantages. As you have mentioned in class, funding is rather hard to get when it is not certain that the business is going to be successful. In fact, successful businesses such as ebay and hyflux are self-funded in the initial stage of the business. Bootstrap is one of the options but with funding and the help of investors in terms of contacts and knowledge, it tends to make the business smoother. However, without relevant contact, I would like to know what would be the best ways to approach investors.

KANG JIA
I think I have achieved the objectives set up in the first lesson as I have understood the theories of technological innovation and its applications in companies. This module has provided me with a great platform to understand various technology strategies, sources of innovation, processes of innovation and the funding issues, etc. It is quite interesting by understanding these theories through real case studies and presentations made in class. I believe this method of learning is much more effective and engaging than merely reading theories in the textbook.

It is through class discussions and team presentations that various issues related to technological innovation is discussed. Many theories and typologies have been applied into these case studies which include Facebook, Google, Amazon.com and Recycle Bank, etc. Personally, I feel the idea of recycle bank is quite interesting and impressive. It is through the innovation of technology and exploitation of technology that makes rubbish- collection business become a success in U.S. The innovators not only see the ineffective way of rubbish collection in the current market but also the potential business opportunities and technologies available to assist the operation of business. I believe there are still a lot of business opportunities in both developed and developing countries. When time and resources are available, I probably will go into this business area. Through this kind of class interaction and share learning process, not only theories are learnt through applications but also opened my horizons of how to exploit technology into business opportunities. Although innovation and technology are crucial in business venture, knowing how to protect these intellectual properties is also very critical as well. I have learnt various methods of protection by way of patents, registered designs, trade mark, copyright and licensing etc. I believe this knowledge will be very helpful to me in the future business venture.

In conclusion, I feel this is a very interesting module which gives me a constructive insight of technology innovations and business opportunities. In addition, I also quite prefer this kind of share learning and class interaction and it is certainly a very memorable learning experience for me. I believe I will take away what I have learnt from professor and my peers and applied it into future career.

HO JOO YEE ESTEE
DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE ACHIEVED YOUR OBJECTIVES SET UP IN THE FIRST JOURNAL’;

I think I have accomplished what I had set out to do from the start of this course. The in-class presentations and professor’s sharing of her knowledge have given me a better understanding of the pros and cons of technology. Professor Pamela said that once said that â€œtechnology is always first use to benefit mankind; but eventually it can also do more harm than goodâ€�. An example would be the case of genetically-modified food. In the initial stages, crops are genetically modified to fight pests and to increase yield. As technology advances, genetically-modified food and its side effects are causing more harm to humans than good. Another example would be the use of computers. In the beginning, computers were used to speed up job processes. However, with more applications of computers invented, the excessive usage of computers for gaming and social networking has led to a negative result. At times, men can be the ones who make use of technology to destroy. Thus, it is evident that technology has its benefits but we should not overlook the harms caused by it.

On top of that, I have come to realize the interrelationship between technology, people and the world as a whole. From the presentations in class, we can see how the use of technology by mankind has caused economic and environmental changes. The increased in reliance of technology has not only caused detriment to mankind, it has also damaged our earth. The effects of global warming, depletion of the ozone layer and pollution have raised the alarm for people to take note as well as take action. Thus, the course has made me better understand the world and its changes.

Reading news related to technological development has made me realized how much technology has advanced. By having up-to-date information about inventions and innovations, I am no longer the ignorant student who is unaware of everything other than school. When a highly-innovative product interests me, I do research on it and go about exploring the different functions of the product. An example would be the new Apple iPhone. With so much commotion arising because of it, I was curious to find out what exactly was so special about it as compared to other phones. I borrowed my friend’s iPhone and started my examination after doing some research about it on the internet.
Apart from that, I have also started taking note of the specifications of computers. Questions such as the difference between Intel Pentium Processor and Intel Core 2 Dual Processor, the meaning of Ram and Firewire, and the speed at which the computer functions have all been carefully explained to me by my friends. These are the things which I do not know and could not be bothered to know in the past; but now I think I can actually work as a promoter at the IT fairs. Hence, the course has definitely generated my interest in technological products.

In addition, I did make an effort to constantly interact with my team members during class. The discussions and research done for our presentations have helped opened my eyes to the many uses of technology in our daily lives. Firstly, I have learnt how to operate an Macintosh because of Hafiz. Other than that, I have learnt the skill of making use of Microsoft PowerPoint to enhance my presentation slides. Most of the time, Belinda was the one who does the power point slides for our in-class presentations. I would always sit next to her and ask her how she does certain things using Microsoft PowerPoint which I myself am unaware of. For example, I now know how to use the Action Buttons and Online Broadcast function in Microsoft PowerPoint. Yang Yan was the one who introduced me to Skype â€“ a type of software that allows users to make telephone calls over the internet. Lastly, through my numerous conversations with Chang Tat, I have gained insights about companies like Nintendo, Google, Apple, etc. He was the one who told me about Nintendo’s past business before they went into gaming products. Hence, my knowledge about technology has increased with the help of my team members.

Finally, I think the course has taught me more than just technology and world change. The seminar about entrepreneurship was the highlight of the course as it has made me realized that it is perfectly fine to dare to dream big. We should never be afraid of challenges and do what we want to do. The important thing to note is that without trying, we can never succeed. The talk by the established businessmen, who have been there and done that, has given me the courage to think about the many great things which I can achieve in life.

HO PENG DAVID
Yes i believe i have achieved my objectives in the first journal, if i recall correctly.

I remembered stating that technology and world change was a relavent topic in today’s ever-changing evironment, and hence would do my best to listen in class and soak in as much as I could.

The awesome thing about Professor Pamela Lim’s classes is that she engages all the students in vivid discussions, rather than making it a one way lecture kind of thing. Hence, I believe i have learnt a lot from the module, not only textbook knowledge, but other important skills as well. These important skills include presentation skills, from the many times we had to present, communication skills, through communicating effectively with our group members, and not forgetting innovative skills, as we tried to make our presentations be more catchy and interesting.

Therefore, I have gained a lot from this course, and hence believe that i have achieved my goals set up in the first lesson.

TAN SWEE HAN CEDRIC
In my first journal, I set my objective for the course and that was to understand technology and its effects on the world better. More specifically, I wanted to see how the concept of technology can be used as a frame to understand trends, such as globalization, in the world better. Questions that I had in mind were â€˜What kind of societies are more receptive to new technologies’;’, â€˜Why do some people appear to be more resistant to technological change’; Is there a psychological construct/explanation for it’;’

To be truthful, I don’t think I have achieved that objective on a level as deep as I would have liked to. While the first few lessons on the long-wave cycle and the theories of innovation provided some insight, the latter lessons in particular proved to be more about managing or starting innovation, rather than as a grand theory of innovation and world change. It felt more like an introductory course to innovation than a course that attempted to discuss innovation on a very deep theoretical level.

However, I must say that as the term went on, my objectives about the course gradually changed. As I learned more about the sources of innovation, the processes, as well as possible funding of innovation, my interest about innovation, in particular how to manage innovation, grew. I pictured myself as a potential entrepreneur, and thought that these are exactly the things that I would want to know, and guess what, I am interested in them.

By taking this course, I have grown interested in things that I never thought I would be, and this is perhaps much more valuable than the accomplishing of any prior objectives I had set.

CHEW WAN JUN SABRINA
After attending 13 weeks of TWC’s classes, I had achieved my objective of having a better understanding for TWC. Each week, I learnt about the various insight of innovation, such as what is innovation, what does innovation involve and how do you manage innovation, these gives me an in-depth knowledge which I can apply in the business world. In the first week of class, I learnt the differences between innovation and invention. Invention is important, however Innovation is also vital. Innovators must have the business mindset to earn profit, understand the market demand and approach the efficient and effective marketing strategy to market the product. By understanding these basic concepts, it allows me have a bigger picture of this module. In addition, in-class research and group presentation are beneficial as it helps me to better understand each chapter.

To add on, if there is a follow-on course from TWC, I would like to focus on funding innovation. Personally, I think that funding is a fundamental process and important for all entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs ought to know the various different types and sources of funding that are available, to help them in starting up their business. This chapter will be essential and advantageous to the entrepreneurs-to-be.

HUYNH NHA CHI
The course has ended before I realize that I have not spent much time doing research on the topic, as I have planned at the beginning. However, I believe that I have gained more knowledge on this subject than what I have expected. Initially, my point of view on this module was that TWC only covered the effects of technology on the society in general. However, having gone through the course, I have learned many theories relating to innovation and technology, such as the sources of innovation and the process of searching for funding, which I have found to be quite interesting and useful for any business people to know. Professor Lim and my classmates have also shared much of their own knowledge and experience, and real-life examples, which enable me to understand the concepts in a more effective way.
Yet, what I have really learned from this course is more than just technical knowledge. I am particularly enlightened by Professor Lim’s life story. I am amazed by how she has managed her time so well that she can be an entrepreneur and at the same time, taking care of her family. I have learned from her that having enough sleep and focusing on what we do will help us achieve much more than spending hours working when our mind is not focused.
I guess through Professor Lim’s class, I acquire more than just TWC- what are the types, forms and sources of innovation, or what are the positive and negative effects of technology to society. What I have learn from her class are life skills- time management, communication skill (in the sense of dealing with people) and presentation skill – which I believe to be much more important and useful for my future career and social life. As what Prof has said ‘If you can remember at least five things that you have learned in university, it’s already very good’, pure technical knowledge is not the most important thing, it is how we deal with problems in future workplace that really matters!
To answer the question, I may not have achieved all my objectives planned, yet, I have achieved more than I have expected.

BOH SWEE FAN
During the coursework, I am very glad that I have learnt and understand technology better, and how it relates to my application in the future. Most importantly, the experience through project works, in-class presentations, and peer teaching is definitely a memorable one.

As for my objectives listed in week 1, not all but many has been fulfilled. I learnt not to merely look at the surface of the theories, but to focus the concepts behind them. These concepts apply to life experience and are not restricted to SMU’s coursework. Why do I say so’; For example, absorptive capacity reminds me that we need to constantly obtain knowledge, reflect and apply the knowledge to have breakthroughs in life. These breakthroughs may be incremental or radical, and no matter how material the achievement can be, we should understand that these are improvements made to our lives.

HIBATUN NASIR BIN MUNAWAR
I would like the follow-up course to focus on Technopreneurship. Ever since I got hold of my first personal computer when I was ten years old, I learnt how to write programs on my own by reading library books instead of using it to play games. In that sense, my heightened fascination and passion for technology and how it interacts with people’s needs and wants was sparked off since I was young, and I am still very much excited by the use of technology till this day.

The concept of Web 2.0 has certainly added more vibrancy and buzz to the arena of technopreneurship as well, with a paradigm shift to how the web is increasingly driven by user and community-centric decision, content and information. This is augmented by the fact that technology has become so pervasive and commonplace that most people do not shy away from trying new technical innovations, but instead embrace the use of technical innovations as a part of their daily lives. I see this as a sign that technopreneurship has enormous potential due to a market for its products that has grown tremendously, and will continue to grow rapidly.

One can just look at the rate at which the Apple iPhone Application store is growing in size so rapidly to see how high the take-up rate is for such simple, yet useful or entertaining technological products are. In fact, companies such as E-bay and Amazon have even proved that in this new technical age, people are willing to part with their money for payment even without the physical presence of a person or good to inspect.

Although there may already be many players in the arena of technical start-ups, I feel that it is impossible for this area of business to be saturated as new innovations are only limited by the ideas that you have. Your success would also be dependent on the ingenuity of your product placement, strategic partnerships, operations management, capability to erect barriers of entry and other relevant issues that can be taught in this follow-up Technopreneurship course.

Having visited Silicon Valley last year, I was greatly inspired by the energy and enthusiasm surrounding technology start-ups. By visiting other organisations in the community such as the schools, law firms, venture capitalists and technology incubators, I understand that there are many issues that are unique to technical start-ups. Thus, the follow-up Technopreneurship course would at least equip me with more domain knowledge to tackle such issues when I embark on my own technical start-up. Having a low barrier of entry and possibly low start up cost, coupled with readily available knowledge and resources, technopreneurship is a very attractive career option that I can realistically pursue.

PAWAN GUPTA
I would like to answer, or rather discuss the second question. If I were to do another follow-up course, I would actually do a course which has a theme closer to Technopreneurship.

Personally, I have done a lot of courses related to technology (i’m from SIS!!) and I have learnt a lot about the various technologies. But what I’m still unclear on is the part where implementations of such technologies are done outside corporations i.e. your own business or your parents small business etc. I have done two internships, which both included working on Web 2.0 technologies. As a result of this, I have come in contact with numerous ideas and hence have developed few of my own. However, putting these ideas into practice is something new to me and I’m not very confident about.

Technical entrepreneurs possess certain traits like a certain self-belief, mental strength, strong character and good time management skills. Also, they are well versed with their technology and confident of their skills. So, if a course could teach me about the WHAT, WHY, WHEN, WHERE and HOW of technical entrepreneurship and how to actually develop such traits and use your skills to the fullest, I’ll be very interested to do that because ultimately I want to be my own boss!!!!

SINGH PRATIMA
In the case of a follow- on course from TWC, I would personally like it to focus on Financing and Investing in Technology â€“based companies. Through the semester I picked up immense amounts of knowledge about technology and ideas the ideas behind it. Each and every class was different and this made me understand various aspects of this increasingly popular phenomena. Although through the course I learnt a lot about the impact and consequences of technology I was still extremely fascinated by the application an implementation of this technology through various ideas. The last few classes on financing and investing in technology based business seemed especially attractive to me as I am a finance student in the university. I feel the depth of knowledge that goes into the funding part of a capital intensive business like one related to technology is immense and thus, it is extremely important for us to understand this industry.

Technopreneurship is up and coming like never before, and especially in a business hub like Singapore. It is here that people can come together with different ideas and perspectives to make something of. These ideas then go on to become blockbuster hits and make an impact in their respective industries. Since Singapore is more developed than most of the countries in the region, technology is an important factor to consider. It is thus, crucial, that these ideas, should go on to be implemented and not stunted due to lack of financial resources. At the same time, people looking to finance such technology based ventures must have the sensibility to choose a good opportunity from a weak one.

At a management university like SMU, it is of utmost importance that the business leaders of tomorrow are equipped with a skill set that can enable them to make this choice. Also, the entrepreneurial ambition in the SMU community should be trained and equipped with skills to succeed in the realistic world, where one of the main obstacles is financing. Thus, a course that would look into the financial aspect of technological ventures from both the investor and investee aspect would be welcome and most definitely appreciated. This topic, being so interesting and practical at the same time, would provide us with a taste of reality to achieve success in a dream venture.

LIM YI HAO
Looking back, I realized that I have grown in terms of identifying myself with the countless entrepreneurs’ case studies that we went through in class. I can vaguely remember that in my first journal, one of the objectives I set for myself was to pick up and understand the relationship between technology and entrepreneurship.
I am glad that this course has given me what I had came for and I am certainly much wiser and more well informed in this area as compared to the person who first stepped into the seminar room 12 weeks ago. The countless break-out sessions, class discussions and the numerous life experiences told by professor Pamela Lim had been really inspiring and was also very much an eye-opener.
In my opinion, the personal experiences that Prof shared with us was particularly precious as it gave me a first hand perspective into the life and politics of the corporate world. Prior to this course, I could never imagine how a female entrepreneur could run her business and take care of her 5 children at the same time as I had always thought that entrepreneurs were predominantly males. Another story that struck me was when her childhood best friend, whom she offered a $6000 per month secretary job, betrayed her. But seeing how Prof took this blow in her stride really inspired me. If I were to undergo the same situation, I would definitely be devastated and I doubt that I, in my current capacity, could have dealt with this massive disappointment and loss of such a close aide.
Although I may not have mentioned in my first journal, these personal testimonies was something that I had always look forward to. It has given me a clear picture of the how theories, like financial bootstrapping, are applied in real life. She also cleared several myths about government organizations in class as she mentioned that SPRING Singapore is actually reluctant to support aspiring entrepreneurs from her personal experience.
On top of this, I also enjoyed the numerous class presentations that I went through as they have empowered me to be able to stand and speak confidently in front of a class. I look forward to the possible lessons and life skills that I can learn from her in the future, should I have the opportunity to bid for one of her modules again.

NG CHONG HUI TERENCE
As I start typing the lines to this journal, ready to end off TWC with a flourish, I realised that 13 weeks is a short period of time indeed. I remember that while writing my first journal, I was not very certain of what to expect for this course except that I will definitely be keeping in touch with technology and maybe the IT industry. While writing the first journal after my first lesson in week 3, I was secretly hoping deep down that this course would not be all about theories such as the long wave cycle. Now, I would definitely say that I come out of this course having learnt more that what I have expected to.

Discussions on subjects such as venture capitalist and ways to list a company on top of entrepreneurship went a long way in convincing me that the scope of TWC is bigger than I thought (for my class at least). Constantly tying in current affairs with course content was a bonus that I did not expect too. That made me feel more connected to the course content. I certainly feel that I absorbed more when how the knowledge is being applied is being taught instead of the knowledge itself. As compared to other classes, I am actually aware of my thinking process in TWC due to the many breakout sessions and discussions which stimulated me to think deeper to link technology with everyday affairs.

If there is follow-on course from TWC, I would definitely be interested in ‘investing in technology-based company’. The future (for my lifetime) is definitely technology. With technology-based companies having the biggest growth potential in a period, it is inevitable that they are always on the radar of venture capitalists. I would like to think that being able to spot these companies and investing in them when they are relatively ‘cheap’ is surely a lesson the many bankers-wannabe (including myself) in SMU would not want to miss.

While the course has ended, I would relish the chance to apply my newfound knowledge. To sum up, I came into this course hoping to learn as much as I can and I got away with so much more. I guess this truly and fully embodies the essence of my TWC class.

NG HUI TING
In my first journal, I stated that I had hoped to achieve the following objectives:

1) To learn and understand how technology has changed the world, transformed businesses, and the direct impact it has on my lifestyle. I had planned to achieve this aim by firstly absorbing the concepts and information that I was taught and exposed to in class, secondly actively observe my surroundings to see technology in action, and finally to apply whatever concepts and skills that I have learnt in class.

2) To hone my teaching and presenting skills. I set about reaching this target by firstly practicing through the in-class presentation opportunities, secondly to observe and learn from my fellow course mates, and thirdly to engage regularly during class discussion.

With regards to my first objective, I believe that I had to a very large extent succeeded in achieving it. I found that the lessons delivered in class were very applicable in my everyday life â€“ a stark contrast to the content-heavy but generally inapplicable education back in my JC days. Furthermore, as the lessons were mostly taught by my fellow course mates, and facilitated by Prof Lim, I found that the learning content of this class was suitably pitched to maximize my learning. While in-class presentations may sometimes be dreadful, I realized that this form of learning is much more effective than merely studying textbook cases. For example, cases such as the Starbucks and Shanghai’s Xing Bake’s intellectual property infringement, the fact that the Apple iPod is very much an incremental innovation unlike an enormous breakthrough that some may perceive it to be, IKEA’s novel way of selling flat-pack furniture, still remain fresh in my mind.

I had also learnt about how the emergence of ground-breaking technology like the internet or telecommunications has transformed the world. With the advent of the internet and email, the way businesses run is no longer the same as it was twenty years ago. The direct impact technology has on my life is also enormous. For example, the tech-based product â€“ the Apple iPod â€“ has subconsciously introduced a â€˜Mac’ culture into consumers without some of us even realizing it.

After 13 weeks, I am glad to say that I do feel my teaching and presenting skills have improved. I believe that I had learnt the most from observing and picking up good presentation techniques from my fellow course-mates. Through the many presentations that we have in this TWC module, I was exposed to a wide-range of presentation skills and tricks. I learnt how to produce aesthetically-appealing power point slides (with bright pictures, minimal words etc.), how to become more creative in presentations (through skits, videos, talk-shows etc.), and understood the importance of having eye-to-eye contact when presenting. Through engaging in class discussions regularly, I have also learnt how to be more confident in speaking up, and also become better at phrasing and asking intelligent questions.

In conclusion, the past 13 weeks in this TWC course has been an exhilarating and informative journey. Although the journey had sometimes been challenging, I feel that through this class, my learning potential had been pushed beyond my limits, and for that I am truly glad to have taken up this course.

CHIN HUI SHAN
I think i have achieved my objectives set up in the first journal.

I believe I have benefited greatly from this TWC course. From the numerous in-class presentations relevant to the week’s seminar chapter, to the weekly presentation of case studies after the mid-term break, these activities have showed me how innovation is very much related to us in our lives. I have learnt that there is more to knowing just the different types and sources of innovation are, for there are other areas such as managing and funding innovation to take into consideration as well. In addition, through these activities, I have also gained a better understanding on the different technology strategies available for companies and industries of different sizes and forms. Besides, I am also thankful for the wonderful group mates I worked with for this module- I believe they have formed quite a substantial amount of what I have learnt and absorbed from class, through their clear and concise explanation whenever I have doubts in any areas.

I also feel that I have met my objective to participate more actively in class and I am glad that I decided to not take on the individual assignment, even when my class participation marks in week 9 was below the class average. However, if there is one area I can improve on, it would be to ask the presenting group questions because it was only towards the end of the course when I managed to ask questions during class presentations. I feel that this might be because by listening to the questions which my peers have asked, and thereafter exclaiming to myself, â€œI also wonder why. Why didn’t I think of that flaw/loophole/area’;â€�, I have learnt to be more critical and to think deeper into the issue. Hence, I believe I can work on this in future to improve

Overall, I believe what I have gained in TWC will have far reaching benefits for my future since it has gotten be interested in what it takes to start your own business and become techno-entrepreneur!

YEO SHI WEI JASON
Being my first class in SMU, I was somewhat apprehensive when I first stepped in but I think that TWC was a good starting module to kick off my university life with the amount of group work during the course of the term. Aside from the group work and learning from seniors, TWC has allowed me to understand the ways and workings of technology as well as the process of innovation.
Certain phenomenon like the technology S-curve as well as the types of innovation which may seem pretty straightforward never really struck me until this class. TWC has helped me to crystallize certain thoughts and ideas. With today’s business environment greatly affected by technological changes, I think this class has given me a better grasp of how technology evolves.
Apart from whatever has been covered in the textbook, the things I really learnt in class come from the discussion in class. Certain things like the flaws of AliBaba, doing a weekly report for your superior when you are working and how an owning an Intellectual Property Right does not always work are things that are not found in the text. Being able to learn other useful things outside the textbook really sets the class apart from others.
Also, I would like to add that for all the criticism of class participation in SMU, the need to get marks has forced me to think of questions to ask during class which I am beginning to see is a good habit. Rather than just accepting facts as they are presented, it forces you to think of questions related to the presentation. Even if the crux of it is to get marks, it does help at the end of the day.
Despite my apprehensiveness during the first few weeks of class, I believe I have learnt and achieved what I set out to achieve at the start of the class and it has been beneficial as a breadth subject.

CHIAM PENG XIANG
Do you think you have achieved your objectives set up in the first lesson/journal’;

Time flies, without realizing it, we have finished our twc course. 13 weeks of lesson, 13 weeks of learning and sharing. Every week I learnt something new and many thoughts in mind.

I remembered in my first journal, I set some objectives for this course. There are:
1)Learn how technology affect us
2)Learn what is the impact of technology and how we can make use of it
3)Learn to work well with group mates

I felt that I have achieved all of these points. Through weekly presentation and research, I know the life cycle of technology, the type of technologies. And through weekly presentation and 2 major presentations, I learnt how to work better with groups (As 2 of my group mates are from School of Social Science, quite different culture from SIS students) and not forgetting the skill to research, compile and present in class in a very short time…haha.. In fact, I learnt more than what is taught in the class. Because prof had shared with us her knowledge and experience (this might sound like in favor of you, but honestly I learnt things that really bring me into deep thinking). I always dreamt to be an entrepreneur. Because my parent run their own business, I always thought that setting up a business must involved in selling of goods in a shop. But from this course, I see that business can be in many other forms. One of it that inspired me most is the creating of online games. This thought came to me when my group was doing the second major presentation. We went to interview Leonard from Tyler. He shared with us this experience and story. I learnt that setting up a business is not anything easy. I was also inspired by him because he was also a SMU SIS graduate, I also studying Information System; I believe that with my IT skills I also able to set up a business and be a technopreneur. I was thinking of getting the entrepreneur course that prof is conducting, but I worried that I might not do well as next semester I have heavy IS modules and TA for an IS module. Think I will take the module in year 3.

In summary, I realized that the course is more than what I expected. Initially I thought that technology is just about how technology affects us. But after all the lessons, I learnt things that are useful, and things that inspired me to be a Technopreneurship. Someone told me before TWC stands for â€œTime wasting Courseâ€� because just sit there and do nothing. But to me, it was a total different experience, I am glad that I took this course. It will definitely be useful in my future career.

TAN EE LIN JACQUELINE
My first objective for this course was to learn how innovation and technology has played a vital role in influencing and impacting our lives. I think I have not only achieved my initial objective, I’ve probably achieved more than that. No doubt I’ve learnt about innovation and how it comes about, but I’ve also seen how different circumstances can affect the success of an invention. Things like funding, having the foresight and being creative in your approach can make or break an invention. TWC presents more than just an academic approach; it introduces aspects of technopreneurship and sheds insight on the difficulties that many business startups have. However, there is another objective that I have not achieved, and that is an understanding of how technology affects relations and policy developments across countries. I think we have been confined, by time maybe, to following the textbook too closely sometimes. While I have gain knowledge on individual innovator and their funding woes, I have not really seen how innovation can affect country policies and relationships. Maybe the course was not designed for this aspect, but otherwise, I’d say I’ve achieved most part of my objective for this course.

If there is a follow-up course, I’d prefer a focus on investing in technology-based companies.

RATHAPORN SMITHIPIPATPOL
Thinking back to the first TWC lesson, since I’m a Political Science student, I did not have much knowledge about technology. Actually, I should say that I did not care anything about technology. I had a wrong perception that technology has nothing to do with neither me nor politics. However, after I joined this course, I then realized that technology is incredibly close to me and my life. Considering a successful technical entrepreneur like Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook creator, who launched the program while he was studying in the university, I then realized that he at that time was about the same age as me!

TWC class did change my perception on technology and brought me awareness that I myself can one day become a successful technical entrepreneur as well. As such, I would say that I have achieved my first objective set up in the first lesson which is to link technology to my life and realize its importance.

Apart from that, throughout the course, I have learned a lot of things from each lesson. Due to the way Prof Pamela teaches, students are formed into group of 6 and are asked to present on particular topic of each week. I feel that this way of learning is very effective. This also helps me achieve another objective which is to learn, from professor, classmates, as well as myself.

To sum up, I would say that I have achieved my objectives to a great extent. I did learn how technology is important to me, my wrong perception was changed, and I can proudly say that I learn a lot of things throughout the whole course. Nonetheless, nothing would be more appreciate than that TWC course brings me interest in the field of technology and I even plan to take â€œTechnological Entrepreneurshipâ€� next year. Thanks Prof for enlightening me. See you next year in Technological Entrepreneurship class 🙂

YEO MING RUI CLEMENCE
In hindsight, I regretted not taking TWC in my freshman year in SMU. I feel that TWC has not only broadened my horizon in terms of the textbook theories, but also freshened my perspective with regards to the entire technology industry.

Previously, I have not put in much thought about how pervasive and influential technology is in our daily lives. As a matter of fact, many of the things in life are dependent on technology, and it seems as if I have been taking all that for granted. Upon completing this module (except for the upcoming exams), I realized that I have altered my view on technology; that it is something instrumental in improving lives and allowing societies to progress. Because of that, I believe that it could possibly be a compulsory freshman module, as it will allow students to get hold of the relevant knowledge relating to technology before they move on to advanced courses in subsequent years.

Personally, I have established the links between TWC and other modules that I’m taking this semester, and I feel fortunate to be able to combine knowledge learnt from each module as that will enable me to understand and consolidate my knowledge better. Besides TWC, I’m currently taking Entrepreneurial Finance, which covers issues such as the VC industry, valuation strategies from investors’ and entrepreneurs’ perspectives, and ownership stake and staging of investments. Also, in Financial Institutions, Instruments, and Markets, I also learnt about the structure of VC firms, the trend in VC activity around the world, and the future for VC firms in the current global credit crunch. I have drawn useful parallels from these 3 modules, and I must agree that TWC has helped me to better understand the concepts in the other 2 modules.

I feel that I have more than achieved the objectives I have set up for myself in Week 1. In fact, it is gratifying to know that the knowledge that I have picked up is so relevant and applicable, and also could be applied to other areas of discipline too. I believed I have not only gained from understanding various theories in class, extracting important lessons from the presentations on different technopreneurs, but also learning from my peers, some of which are in SIS. I feel that as students, we should always strive to learn as much as possible, be it on our own or from our peers who are better in the field than us. This will accelerate the process of assimilating knowledge, and it is only when we consolidate all our knowledge and see the application in real life, will the knowledge become proprietary and extremely useful in the future.

In conclusion, TWC has enriched my life to an extent, way exceed that of the other university core modules such as Leadership and Teambuilding, and Creative Thinking. And I believe that I am prepared for my career with this new-found knowledge, and this would aid in my foray into entrepreneurship definitely. Thanks to Prof for the guidance, and I wish you all the best in your career endeavors, health and family!

ZARA TANIA CHEN WEIYAN
In the first lesson, i wasn’t really expecting to learn much useful information is this course as i was really low in interest for technology (which is why i am in social science). But, nonetheless, i had to enter the class with certain expectations and objectives. Now that the lessons have ended, i must say that not only have i achieved my objectives initially set up in the first lesson, i have learnt more than i have expected. At first, i had a pre-conception that this course would be a broing one that is filled with technical informatin about technology but i was proven wrong. I have learnt more about business strategies, market observations, the spirit of entrepreneurship and the strength of technology.

Thus, needless to say, i did achieve my initial objective of learning more about technology. I learnt about different kinds of technoloy through the countless case studies and also about other technology related services. My eyes was also further opened to the degree at which technology is pervasive and that this situation brings about both good and bad effects.

If there is a follow up course from TWC, i think i would be most probably interested in learning how to invest in technology-based company as it involves not only the part about technology but business and marketing strategies as well. All in all, i would say that i have definitely learnt from this course and the effort put in will most definitely not go to waste.

TAN JIA JUAN
Pursuing TWC for 13 weeks have broaden, if not alter my view of the world and the role technology plays in its evolution. When I first started out on TWC, besides understanding what innovation is all about, I wanted to know more about its impacts since there exists 2 sides to a coin on every issue. Coincidentally, this week’s lecture touched upon the ill effects of technology which saw an interesting field of views and we can see how closely related to profiteering by companies against the real benefits of humans.

If there is a follow-up course on TWC, I would probably like it to focus on something pragmatic in our fast-paced world, and that provides the necessary tools, knowledge, resources and network for aspiring individuals like us to jumpstart our dreams.

Driven by curiosity and ambition, students in this new course could turn creative ideas into innovative and valuable business realities (guided by those who had boldly taken the path least travelled and succeeded). This is possible by simply offering:
â€¢ Access to broad, globally aware business research with a strong technology focus.
â€¢ Practical classroom experience effectively blending theoretical instruction with hands-on execution.
â€¢ Business case challenges with best Technopreneurship Plan awards.

Hence, it could probably feature a rich and exceptional learning experience balancing an integrated combination of core topics in technopreneurship and investment, given the existing lucrative technology-based market (despite the Dot-com burst and thus we should learn more from it).

CHEN SHIQI JOAN
The objectives which I set in lesson one include equipping myself with traits of an innovator, exposing myself to current technology and innovations and acquiring practical and academic knowledge with regards to technology and world change.

I feel that throughout this course, all of the objectives which I have set for myself have been fulfilled. Before this module, I had almost zero knowledge of the process of coming up with an innovation, marketing it and the different categories of innovations, innovators and technopreneurs. However, through the sharing from weekly in-class presentations, group presentations and own research done for presentations, I was exposed to them all of these. Now, at the end of the course, I have gained much knowledge with regards to these topics. It has made me realised that there is the long and tedious process from invention to innovation to marketing it and achieving results. I really admire the determination of those who persevere through it. One example will be Jeff Bezos and Martin Eberhard.

In addition to the objectives set, I feel that after many sharing of personal experiences from Professor Lim and the guest speakers as well as the case studies presented have proved to be helpful as they have showed the traits which an entrepreneur should possess. In addition to that, they have also showed me the difficulties faced when one wants to start up a business. These problems are will be exacerbated if one plans to start up as a technopreneur as it will be more difficult to get the appropriate funding due to the lack of confidence in new technology and also, patents related to their innovations.

This module has triggered my interest in starting up my own business in the future as such I am thinking on focusing on this area and taking related to entrepreneurship but not so much on technopreneurship due to my lack of interest in the technology sector.

TEO YOUSHENG SAM
I have initially planned to increase my awareness in technology, as well as to spur myself to greater heights in terms of learning. I can safely say that I have accomplished both. This module has been a fascinating one that has definitely inculcated a change in both my attitude and aptitude towards the field of technology and its impact on society.
Over the course of 13 weeks, my interest for this topic was greatly fired up as the lessons were highly interactive and engaging. The salvo of questions flying across the classroom was not only entertaining to watch, they are fun to learn from as well. The environment of the classroom and the mix of the participants were also very conducive for engaging in intellectual questions, spurring greater motivation to learn. The break-out in classes also gave the lesson a well deserved break in which we can munch on some snacks to lighten our emotions and have fun whilst discussing on the topic at hand. The feel of the entire class is that it is both jam-packed with knowledge to learn, yet light hearted and not stressful. This created a wholesome backdrop to promote learning and that is what I experienced.
On top of this, I gained a deeper and more profound understanding on the workings of a technology, its intimate relationship with the world and how we make use of what we learnt to our advantage. The theoretical part is undeniably beneficial as well, but it’s the real life examples that you, our prof, shared with us that really struck chords and has created a lasting impression of the lessons learnt. Furthermore, the in-class presentations gave us experiential learning that accelerated our pace of absorption of the materials required, and the discussions we held explored areas outside the textbook that helped broaden our perspectives. The many witty questions asked also served to delve more into various issues. All in all, I had an excellent learning journey in this class over these weeks.
As Winston Churchill once put it â€œTo improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.â€� Changes are paramount for improvement, and as such, I believed this module has changed me for the better and it is definitely not the end of the learning journey, but rather, it is only the start of the things that are to come.
In retrospect, I believed I made a right choice by attending this module under the guidance of you, Professor Pamela Lim. This class is the brainchild of your passion and drive to teach and educate us to the best of your abilities. You have indeed done a marvelous job in bringing this class alive, inculcating in us both attitude and aptitude in this discipline. I will definitely remember you as a professor that has touched the soul of our hearts, delivering precisely what you are here for and even more.

DAPHNE CHOW ZHIXIAN
In terms of the objectives laid out in my first journal, I would say that I have managed to learn a lot more than I had initially expected from this course.

I started out thinking that this was merely one of the core course units that I needed to complete and my aim was to get over and done with it because studying technology never really interested me. All that interested me about technology was the final products, like your iPods and how technology turned creative ideas that sprung from companies such as Ikea into products that simply amazed me.

At the end of this course, I learnt that setting up a company and being an entrepreneur takes much more that what is perceived. In my first journal, if remember correctly, I wanted to try and gain from this course an understanding of how the developments and current trends of the economy have an impact on the development of technology and vice versa.

From weekly group presentations, such as my group’s presentation on the iPod and RecycleBank, the other groups’ presentations on Ikea and Hyflux, as well as the guest seminar, it has made me realise how funding is especially important in today’s world. Without initial funding from the Columbia University, and angel investors, many budding entrpeneurs cannot bring their proposed ideas into the market because of the lack of funds to even engage in initial production.

Similarly, I have also come to understand how some products that are in the market just do not receive the amount of demand and attention from consumers as expected. Even as they put in all the desired features to compete with competitors, it may not necessarily cater to consumer needs and in some cases, it might actually lead to a drop in sales because putting too much into the product might actually saturate it. Its like saying that too many cooks spoil the soup. One function that seeks to amaze consumers slows down the efficiency of the product, therefore compromising on its supposed quality. That is how I have come to understand why products like these are just near the top of the technology S-Curve, but never at its peak.

In this sense, I have met my objective of understanding the way the market and products work.

If there were to be a follow-on course, I would like to focus more on how to invest in a technology-based company, why I should invest in it, and what to expect in terms of what I may be able to get out of it as well as the potential pitfalls and the ways to deal with these pitfalls.

TAN SWEE SAN MELISSA
I have always thought of innovation as something intangible, mysteriously innate and almost fantasy-like. It almost never occured to me that innovation can actually be treated like a skill to be nurtured and cultivated. This course has seriously broadened my views of the topic of innovation as a whole and largely perked my interest. There is something almost mathematical about the process which makes it all the more exciting; like innovation could be something that an average person could achieve. Truthfully speaking, I cannot really remember what I had expected from the course at the start of the semester, however through the lessons, the course really pipped my interest on the subject of innovation. Having grasped the groundworks of innovation and entrepreneurship as concepts, I hope that there would be a future course on the actual dynamics of starting a company from scratch, a company based on entrepreneural ideals. I am especially interested in financial aspects of the workings of such companies [aka funding etc] and would love to have a course on this topic.

TAN ERN YEONG BRENDON
I believe that to a large extend, the concepts that we have covered in the syllabus has given me a better grasp on the concepts and ideas behind technological innovation.
However, i personally feel that while these concepts are worth knowing, the real take away from the module for me has been the sharing of knowledge and experiences by the class and professor. More so then the text, i have found the ideas and opinions shared instructive and interesting.
Early in the semester, i set the twin objectives of taking a more proactive stance towards understanding the importance of technology along with getting to know more about entrepeunuership. 13 weeks on, i am glad to say that i have managed to acheive both objectives to a satisfactory degree. =)

Also, as for the 2nd question ( which im answering cuz of interest not because im kiasu, haha) personally, i would be more attracted to a module that focuses on investing in technological firms. I say this partly because i am a finance student who is currently trading in the market, and if there has been one sector that i have always shied away from, it would be technological firms. An opportunity to learn from an industry practioner would be an extremely interesting proposition for me.

Warm Regards
Brendon

YANG YAN
Initially I was not sure what the course was about, so my objctives were different and therefore not fully met. They are however, those of the new course.
Regardless, I have gained valuable some insight into what I wanted to learn, like understanding the processes of technology (in the earlier chapters) and more applicable part of the topic (towards the last chapters) about funding and protecting ideas and inventions.
It showed me how much technology had to do with business of which im studying and that I have been largely ignorant. Now I see it in a different light than just things that boys like to dabble with. In addition, I also didn’t expect such an inspiring prof. Therefore although I didnt fully acieve my objectives, I did learn a whole lot more than I thought.

YAN BUYUN
for my own opinion, this term is not bad. our team work happily, and i like my teammates, they are all kind people.
we talk, discuss and cooperate to finish our work.
and the class is also nice, and I learnt something really useful
and know some of the relationship between techonology and the society. know something i didnot know before as some interest

LIM CHANG TAT
I think the answer would be YES to a large extent.
The biggest achievement for me is how my mentality of TWC has changed over the course, from ‘a useless module’ which some have said, to something that I feel I will actually apply in the future.
In terms of objectives, one of my main concern was application. I guess the course has convinced me that there is a very rational thought process in innovation and that it is definitely something that any one of us can achieve contrary to popular belief. I honestly hope that I will remember the lessons and use them to my advantage when I am working in the future.
Another of my concern was to understand how technology has impacted us. To this I can only say that the sharing of so many success stories during classes has pointed out to me that I am unable to discern the impact of them as I have long taken them for granted. Innovation of the bra, cellphone, and Windows OS were definite examples of this. The course has highlighted to me what I had previously missed out on.
The only unachievable objective would be that despite being able to analyse so many success stories, the course cannot really impart substantial ingenuity to us. Truth to be told, retrospect is at best retrospect. You can tell a man how Italy won their last World Cup, but you cannot expect him to be as good as them, because his potential is just as such.

If there was a follow-on course from TWC, I would really be looking to Investing in Technology based company. Technology is here to stay. Even in the most recent global recession, technology companies are the ones who are standing strong. They are very resilient and I believe this will be the general trend. Investing in tech-based companies would be a very useful module because it is a skill that can be truly acquired. Analytical skills can be imparted wholesome unlike Technopreneurship, where talent is a significant factor in my opinion.

LAI CHUN YAP
Hi Prof, I would really like to apologize for not attending your last lesson. Feeling unwell since yester, I will pass my MC to Keith. I hope I didn’t miss out anything fun and important today.

I think, SMU should have more courses like TWC. I am lucky that even school now teaches courses like entrepreneurship officially. I think your generation, none of these courses are offered. But, by taking these courses doesn’t make one successful. So, pretty much is still need to be done by the entrepreneur himself/herself. TWC, is the most relevant course that I have taken in my entire SMU life, the theories/concept/discussion we had is just so applicable to my personal life. Unlike other course, this is a real stuff. I can’t wait for next term to take MGMT324 and Desai’s IS426 â€“ Technopreneurship.

Several topics that I would like to drill in:
Business Plan (writing) â€“ I do not know is there any formula to write a success, influential and powerful business plan. Having a great idea is not good enough; we must be able to share our ideas with others through documents. There are some red-tapes to follow, I think there must be some ways to write or word down a proper business plan. A business plan written by you and me now, the standard will deviate by a lot. If an entrepreneur can write a business proposal like a â€˜veteran’ entrepreneur in the shortest learning period, it will be a great thing. But then again, there is no short cut, so, I have to learn, but I guess the sharing from experienced entrepreneur like you is always helpful in this situation like this.

Fund Raising Strategy â€“ Most of the company will raise fund during their start-up, but how does an entrepreneur choose where to find the source of funding’; I am glad that we have covered some in TWC. But to a newbie entrepreneur like me, I am only following guidance from Desai; I have no clue where to find money initially. But after TWC, I know that SIRIUS has got some funds to be applied, and suddenly it seems like everywhere has funding, it depends on whether one knows WHERE and HOW to find it. After TWC, I have an impression of VCs are really sucky. And I will remember what you said about the â€˜vision’, only when one have a big VISION, then look for VCs. But then again, it seems VCs are really sucker, although they have 1%, they will find ways to eat you up, so I won’t be wasting my time talking to VCs anymore, at least not in the near future.

Angels and VC â€“ How about Angels then’; Will angels become devil later’; Say, a good friend of you invest in your as angel. He said he is gonna give u 500k and no string attached to it, but he wants to be one of the director in the company. In this case, will this angel later turns into devil and take over the whole company’; I don’t really trust angels and vcs now after hearing from you. Perhaps government grant such as iJAM, SPRING POC or SIRIUS are more appropriate for start-up.

Pitching process â€“ Well, this is another crucial part of running the business, before I met the vcs, BIG actually told me that there are certain ways to pitch, hmm, it’s more of like a guidelines. But I believe an entrepreneur can learn faster by seeing how a veteran entrepreneur pitches. Are there any entrepreneur network or group that you will recommend to a newbie like me’; I have joint one in facebook, but those are American group. I think this kind of interaction between entrepreneurs is definitely helpful for everybody.

Bootstrap strategies â€“ you mentioned several bootstrap strategies, buy 2nd hand furniture, cut manufacturing cost, etc etc. I think there are a lot more that I can learn from this. I have seen the course document of MGMT324, your week 7 next term will cover this, I can’t wait to see how it goes. Perhaps you can use your company as a case study throughout the whole module’; Touching every single aspect from your company’; I know companies vary from one another, but I think analyzing a real company and especially it’s your company, will be definitely helpful.

To list or not to list â€“ you asked me before, whether I want to list my company. Yes, I want to make it big. But how’; The way I run a company, whether to IPO or not, must be very different. How do you decide, to list or not to list’; Personaly choice’; For branding ‘; For money ‘; What really motivates an entrepreneur to list his/her company’;

Technopreneur â€“ This is something closer to my heart as this is my profession. Desai’s course will be much more focus on this aspect. According to his course outline, students will be building real prototype for business mentor. Only 15 students in his class, I think he is real serious about course. This is another module that I can’t wait to take next term. Next term, will probably be the best term in my SMU life. I don’t know whether I will get different perspective about entrepreneur from you and him. Let’s see, anything interesting in his class, I will update you =)

Business Mentor â€“ I believe in mentorship in my life, the same for my Christian walk with Him. I mentioned about my company to few of my bro n sis in my cell group, they said God is blessing me and want to bless me and my family. I always like to hang out with them, they are all in their 30s, I am the youngest, I learn so much from them, so rich yet so humble. Actually, I don’t know whether you believe in mentorship. If you do, could you be my business mentor’; This journey is gonna be long for me, I hope to have some guidance till the day I can walk by myself.

Life â€“ Ultimately, it’s what one wants to do in life. You mentioned about the ability to balance work and family. I will have it in my mind. Integrity, you are not the first one who advise me that integrity is the KEY, not only in business, but in LIFE as well. You also mentioned about don’t trust in people, but only God. To be frank, I am struggling in this, I still â€˜doubt’. I know a Christian is not supposed to be like thisâ€¦I am learning how to fear Him. Not easy for me.

Well, this whole TWC course is more like a short journey for me. I am glad to have your presence in my life. You are the 2nd prof that I feel is really approachable. The first one is Velina who used to teach Finishing Touch, a very amazing module as well. But she is not in Vietnam, coming back to SG 2 years later. To sum it up, this is another divine intervention in my life. Thanks for all the invaluable lesson, I have learn so much from you. But still, not enough, something is still missing in my life. Till then, I will learn and explore the world by myself.

Thank you Prof.

WONG SHOU WOON
I think that both Technopreneurship and Investing in technology-based companies are interesting and they will be useful knowledge to students.

Finance students will be interested to learn how to identify budding technology firms and where to find firms with great potential. However, not many students have the capital or risk appetite to invest in these high risk companies. Another problem is that not many investors will be interested in investing in technology stocks only. I feel that technopreneurship will be a better follow up course due to the following reasons:

1) Technopreneurship has a better match with the skills that we have learnt in TWC. One of the skills we acquired such as capital raising is essential for a technopreneur.
2) There is no other course that teaches technopreneurship in SMU currently. Therefore there will be a lot of interested students if we start a class on this topic.
3) Most techniques on investing can be applied across all fields. There are methods in investing such as valuation which will help an investor to assess his investment across firms from different industries. However, technopreneurship is a very specialized skill that is hard to learn. Therefore it is better for aspiring technopreneur to learn from someone who has â€˜field experience’. A professor who has experience in technopreneurship will be the best person a budding technopreneur can learn and seek consultation from.

Therefore, I believe that Technopreneurship will be a better follow up course to TWC. Topics that the course might cover such as how to market your ideas and what to look out for in business partners will benefit students enormously in future.

MOHAMMAD YUSRI BIN ABU BAKAR
In the first journal, I stated my objectives in undertaking this module. I have not been disappointed. Several reasons led to this conclusion and this final journal aims to explain why.

Understanding the Processes

The first objective I set out to achieve was: to deepen my understanding in understanding how innovations achieve their masteries. Throughout the lessons, I have skewed my in-class questions to really understand how inventions, which differs (but not mutually exclusive), from innovation. In achieving success in innovation, there is no doubt that an invention, or a great idea, is not the sole ingredient in understanding the formula of success. The bridge, as we have seen through the twelve weeks of lessons, lies in the processes involved in reaching the pinnacle of achievements. It was through a thorough understanding of these processes that I have learnt the finer details of an innovative product. Great innovations like the Personal Computer (PC), E-Bay, Carrier, Apple and others not mentioned here run along the same track in crossing the finishing line to emerge as top innovations that serve as models of successes that would-be innovators like me strive to achieve.

Providing the Environment

There is no doubt that the â€˜parental factor’ plays a significant role in churning innovators. This was my second postulation in undergoing â€˜Technology and World Change.’ Having gone through the module, I began on my quest in identifying â€˜potential’ environments that could foster innovations. The workplace, one’s education, the mentorship and the corporate culture of a certain company are quintessential features in â€˜looking out’ for opportunities. This was addressed comprehensively by Professor’s sharing sessions that further value-add the module.

What Makes an Innovator’;

Coupled with the two simple objectives above, I was inclined to find out from Professor Lim the idiosyncrasies of an innovator. Spurred by Professor Lim’s success story (the featured article in Week One), I hoped to gain more real-life insights on what it takes to be a technological entrepreneur. As if it is not enough being a businessperson trying to make the best out of the opportunities, the technological entrepreneur has to deal with the tides of the fast paced world of technology.

Additionally, through Prof’s sharing session, I achieved my objectives in understanding the necessary features of a technological entrepreneur. From managing the Intellectual Property (IP) aspect in protecting one’s invention / ideas, to managing the workers that come under one’s jurisdiction, it is clear that the challenges technological entrepreneurs face would be an uphill task.

The â€˜Heart Ware’ â€“ I dare to dream

Moreover, one of the best learning experiences I had during this module was the guest speaker session. We learn best from other’s experience, and like the other students, I was honoured to learn from renowned innovators (as per Learning Journal 12). The drive, the energy, the motivational factor that exist within these innovators serve as constant reminders for budding innovators alike. There is no question that the guest speaker series was the most memorable learning experience thus far.

Next step’;

A vision is set, a dream has been internalized; but all these, like inventions, will not materialize without undergoing the rigorous process of â€˜making it work.’ What are the other, latent features that need to be emphasized before I realize my goals as a successful innovator’; Although we have learnt the fundamentals of innovation that creates world change, I have decided to take my learning to higher grounds.

To build on this model, I would like to set myself nearer towards achieving a status of a technological entrepreneur or even just an entrepreneur. Thus far, I have learnt the basics of understanding essential features like the Long Wave, the types of innovations and the ways of funding innovation. These concepts have been discussed at great lengths with my friends and relatives in various fields. Their affirmations on such topics have validated my learning experience in doing this module.

Overall, I am grateful for the learning experience I have undertaken in TWC and I wished to learn more in this field. I would like to express my utmost gratitude and respect to Prof Pamela Lim in her innovative ways of teaching the class, and I would fully recommend this course to anyone who dares to dreamâ€¦

Suggestions’;

I have no doubts that this course has met and surpassed the objectives of learning the underlying concepts of technology and its role in effecting world change. Nevertheless, as an investor, I would be grateful if some attention is paid to investing in Technology-based companies. Clearly, the current economic slump is a portrayal of the â€˜Depression’ portion of the Long Wave Cycle.

It is a huge probability that the ingredients for recovery would emerge from the technology industry. Along with â€˜innovative’ ways that would spring up from the desks of the White House to revive the economy, I am certain that technology would take centre stage, thus necessitating the need to observe â€˜real-time’ the role that technology plays in this recovery process.

Additionally, a session on the requirements and the channels for technological entrepreneurs in Singapore could be done. Most of case studies come from the Western world, existing in the western context, as opposed to examples from Singapore. Needles to say, the processes, especially in Singapore, are inter-woven with the socio-cultural realities that dominate the business scene. Thus, a comprehensive session, focusing on the channels of technopreneurship in Singapore, would paint a realistic yet informative picture for budding innovators alike.

Overall, a great course and many thanks to Prof’s commitments and guidance!

Regards…

HOON TIAN CHER EUGENE
I definitely learned a lot during this course and my objectives of learning how an entrepreneur goes about developing his business through theories, models and past experiences/case studies have certainly been achieved. However, I must say that there is still a lot to learn. I have been equipped with all the knowledge necessary to embark on an idea and create something new, perhaps to even commercialize it successfully, but the ways to go about creating a product/service are not exhaustive and one must be versatile to adapt to changes in reality. Nonetheless, a good foundation based on theories, models and success stories are a good stepping stone for embarking on a venture.

In short, I have enjoyed and benefited tremendously from this course, not only in the areas of Technopreneurship but I have managed to draw relevance of the topics to some of the courses that I am currently taking or have taken.

LOW KAY KHAM
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, which topic would you like it to focus on’; E.g. Technopreneurship, Investing in Technology-based company.

If there is a follow up course from TWC, I would like to focus on Technopreneurship as I think it is something that will help me in the long run.

After going through this course, it really changed my perception about many things. I have always thought that by studying well, going to a good school, having good grades, then going on to climbing up the corporate ladder within huge corporations is the best way to prove myself as successful. I have also never believed the governments attempt to promote entrepreneurship thinking that success rate is low. Well, at least that is how I am educated and I believe that’s how most parents educate their children nowadays.

However, through this course, it has shown me another possible path that I can take and that is the path of a technopreneur. Through the course, I have seen successful stories about technopreneurs and I am starting to believe in the concept. It also spurred my interest because the life of a technopreneur allows one to enjoy his work by doing something he is interested in. His job becomes a form of enjoyment rather than a chore. In addition, one can have more control over his life and have a flexible time schedule and I really like that idea.

Hence, I think that a follow up on technopreneurship would be really useful. For example, questions such as how to start up, requirements to start up would be issues that I would like to know about. I also started the TWC course without any dreams of starting my own business; hence, I do not really have any ideas of how to start and to focus in which industry or technology. It would be great if there is a follow-up course on this. In addition, there could be a much more in depth course teaching what separates the textbook and reality on issues such as funding. Even though many avenues of funding have been proposed in the textbook, I don’t think it is that easy to get the money as well as meeting the requirement for funding. I would like to learn more of the reality issues related to being a technopreneur in Singapore as it is much more relavant to me. Even if I do not become one, it is something that is useful to know about because the knowledge gained might be useful in work someday. In addition, it would be good if the follow-up lesson can go much more in depth into the success stories of technopreneurs, and analyzing why they have succeeded. In this way, people know the correct steps to take and would lessen the chances of failure or lessen the damages during failure. As I am going to study accountancy as a profession, therefore it would also be good to learn how to choose the correct partners as I am neither equipped with the correct skill nor am I equipped with the correct knowledge to be a technopreneur. Hence, I think that choosing the right people to work with is important. In addition, as they are people that I am going to work with in the long run, I should be all the more careful who to work with. Therefore, lessons on these would also be important.

In my opinion, if such follow-up lessons are taught, I would be very interested to take it. However, no matter what the theory teaches, I think the courage to take the first step, the courage to stand up from failure, the courage to be different and the courage to dream will the be determining factors as to whether one succeeds or fails in his path of technopreneurship. If there is indeed a follow up lesson, I will definitely express interest to take it.

LOW YAN HONG ANDREW
In my first journal, I mentioned that I wanted to be exposed to various types of technological developments and understand the impacts of these developments on businesses and the lives of human folks like me and after 13 weeks of lesson, I have learn a lot more.

Through the constant break outs sessions which encourages us to look into how technology affects every aspects of life to the multiple presentations on the lives and challenges of technopreneurs. These presentations and research have given me a holistic understanding of the key concepts covered in the textbook but in a more interesting and pro-active way. Furthermore, in the last lesson, it has given me an insight into the ills which could arise due to technology, and nothing is more real that hearing the real life experiences and opinions from prof Lim and the rest of the class.

All in all, the things I have learnt and the experiences I have obtain throughout this course have far exceeded my objectives and expectations.

If there was a follow-on course, I would be interested to know more about technopreneurship, from idea generation to the running of the company. Having heard many inspiring stories from the class presentations and the guest seminar, it has sparked off some interest in me wanting to know more about the risks, challenges and the way how technoperueurs overcome all these adversity. Also I feel that by experiencing these setbacks and challenges, one can truly say that he/she has contributed back to this soceity.

WONG ELIN
12 weeks ago, I set out to acquire more knowledge about innovation, technology and its tremendous impact on the world. A key question on my mind throughout the weeks was whether it is company culture that creates a more conducive and receptive environment for various types and forms of innovation, or if certain individuals are simply â€˜born’ to innovate. I grappled with this nature-nurture debate and eventually came to my own conclusion that some individuals are naturally equipped with the skills and aptitude to become successful innovators. However, it is only with perseverance, the support of his or her family, and a conducive company culture that actively encourages innovation (for those in a company setting), that an innovator is truly likely to succeed in the marketplace. Certainly, funding a business is imperative to its success, but Prof has demonstrated that funds are not incredibly difficult for budding entrepreneurs to obtain. This has proved to be extremely useful and I will definitely keep it in mind for future planning purposes.

In addition, as I have come to realise through lessons and additional readings in newspapers and online journals, technology has certainly had a huge positive impact on society. Through various forms such as the internet, education, factory processes and even household appliances, technology has enabled social advancements amongst previously less â€˜equal’ groups, but creating an equal platform which everyone can access to gain knowledge and upgrade their skills. The recent success of president-elect Barrack Obama has also demonstrated the efficiency and importance of technology in everyday lives and even in major events as such.

However, its negative impacts on the world are significant as well, and should never be ignored or overlooked by governments, corporations and individuals. As discussed in class, not all technology-driven progress is good, as profiteering and capitalism may be the main motive behind it. I will definitely keep this in mind and be more cautious, whether in the capacity of an individual, a student or even a manager in the future. Its negative impact on financial markets and war are amongst the key concerns of the effects of technology on world change. I am very concerned as well, for privacy issues such as those that are beginning to emerge in a nationwide â€˜human search’ in China where online citizens track down people for justice. Many such incidents have triggered huge public outcries, with the public playing police and hunting down a man who was apparently unfaithful and whose wife blogged about his personal details before she committed suicide (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm’;id=international-report-technology). This surmounted into several lawsuits and an immense amount of psychological pressure on the parties involved. These cases demonstrate the costs that come along with the benefits of technology, and I can now say that I am significantly more well-equipped with knowledge to handle these challenges and decisions in the future.

On hindsight, I believe I have achieved my objectives and I have certainly learnt a great deal from Professor Pamela’s insights and personal examples, project presentations by fellow classmates and through active participation in the class discussions.

P/S: Thanks for everything Prof! 🙂

ANG ZHI KAI ALOYSIUS
I feel that i have gained a much deeper understanding of technology – innovation to be precise. Innovation was more complex than i thought, and i feel that understanding the origins of innovation as well as the different types of innovation were especially helpful, for example incremental and radical innovation. Understanding innovation is the first step in which we can in turn begin innovation of our own.

It was interesting to see so many different types of innovation (many categories) and the different phases in the technological timeline that they will fall under. Innovation is something that is very significant in society as it is the key to progress and i found it very useful to be able to categorize the various major technological breakthroughs. Also, i was able to see a trend (cycles – K-wave and technology S-curve etc) in which we are able to predict what major innovation is going to occur.

I feel that because i learnt all of the above, i have achieved my objectives of the course. However, understanding theory is only one component of technopreneurship and i would really like to attend a more hands-on, practical module on the basics and necessities of setting up a technopreneur venture.

POH SHU YUAN FIONA
Apart from the knowledge I have gained from the textbook, I have learnt a lot from Professor Pamela Lim. She shared a lot of her experiences with us, something which we cannot gain from the textbook. She had told us about her experiences as an entrepreneur. Almost all of her lessons, she will shared with us her ideas and opinion on certain issues. At times, she has a very different perspective from people at large which I found it enlightening. There isn’t a need to follow the norm. As long as you think you are right, believe in it. You might just do well or even better than anyone else. This applies to technology as well. Believing in your idea or invention, you will find means to make it work.

In addition, the teaching method Professor Lim used is very different from all the other lessons I have attended so far. Every lesson, we will need to research on a certain topic and present it in class. Usually, such topics are very much related to technology. She facilitates our learning more than what the textbook is teaching us. Sometimes, these topics arouse my interest so much that I bombarded my friends with questions. We will create a short discussion among ourselves and find it a must to further research on it outside class. I have also asked my parents who are more experience on the history of technology and their opinions on it. At times, I find the topic so interesting that I shared it with my sisters who find me a nuisance.

Through this module, I get to know a lot of facts and sometimes the history of certain technology and how it came about. It is so much more interesting than just absorbing what we are taught in class. Firstly, we do our own researched which allowed us to absorb faster. This is because we will need to read it, understand it and present it to the class. Secondly, having class presentation for every lesson, helps to build up my presentation skills. Although I did not get to present for every week, it still do help me in building up my confident bits by bits which aid in not only for TWC presentation but also presentations for other modules.

I have learned so much more in this TWC class which I believed I would not have if I have attended other classes. After all, learning is not just about textbook knowledge. The world is constantly changing; I need to frequently update myself with information through other sources beside textbooks and also to understand the subject (especially for technology that changes rapidly) even better.

Although I might not have achieved all my objectives stated in my journal one, I find that I have actually attained much more than what I have actually expected/planned.

SU HUIYA WINNIE
Without referring to what i wrote for the first journal, i still can remember what objectives i set for myself in week 1. First, to learn about being an entrepreneur, because I want to set up my own childcare centre, and second, to learn more about technology!

I have definitely learnt more about being an entrepreneur, especially through the guest seminar! Fortunately for me, one of the guest speakers was Mr T Chandroo, CEO of Montessori and I gained many valuable insights about venturing into the childcare industry.

At first, i thought the course would just be content-heavy and boring because of the nature of the subject. Moreover, Technology was not one of the things i was extremely interested in. However, as Prof Pamela came to share with us her journey as an techno-entrepreneur and her many experiences at work, I realized there were many things about the working world that i didn’t know of.

I’ve learnt that technology has already become a fundamental aspect of our lives and even though I want to go into the childcare business, it is inevitable that I will have to deal with technology in some way or another. Perhaps in the future, i’d be an innovative entrepreneur and design some new method of teaching children with technology’;

Even though I’ve achieved my objectives set up for this course alone, I know I’m only taking the first step towards realizing my goal. Many people have questioned my ability and drive – but as long as I do not waver from my goal, I’m sure I’ll be able to do it. (:

LAM AI LING AMANDA
yes. i definately feel i have achieved the objectives i set out to do in week 1. I have learnt more about how technology has evolved and how technology affects people. i have gained knowledge about the challenges technical entrepeneurs face when starting out. they face issues such as preventing their ideas from getting stolen and funding. Through this, it has also showed me that drive and perserverance is essential if want to succeed at the things we do.
The benefits technology has brought to us has been tremendous, however, it has made us over reliant. technology is a double edged sword. with every benefit, a new flaw is brought about. Today we have speed, comfort and efficiency. We also have global warming, energy crisis and new diseases. teachnology has become indispensible in out lives.

WEE JIA MIN
Through these 14 weeks, I have definitely achieved my objective as to obtain a better understanding on the topic of technology and other related issues.

The lessons were conducted in a least expected way which was not only interactive, but challenging and stressful at times. The weekly in-class presentation necessitates reading up on the texts before every lesson and prompted me in thinking of possible questions for presentation so as to be better prepared for class. Through the group discussions, it facilitated interactions among teammates and sharing of knowledge and ideas. Being pressed for time, it allowed me to learn how to manage time and resources more efficiently and effectively.

The knowledge that I have gained from this module was much comprehensive as compared to what was stated in the course outline. Through the researches and intensive readings, I have learnt much more that I had expected. I like the way how the lessons were conducted such that it was not just based on the text but coupled with real-live experiences, examples and case studies. It shows how technology advancement could bring about great impact and affect our lives adversely. It turned out that technology could actually be more of a bane than boon.

In conclusion, I would say that this module was an eye-opener to me and has indeed broadened my horizons. I take away with me not only the knowledge on this subject but also valuable insights which Prof has generously shared with us.

RACHAEL TEH YIN PING
In my own opinion, in the past thirteen weeks of this Technology and World Change course, I have achieved the objectives that I set for myself in the first lesson. In the first lesson, one of my objectives was to increase my knowledge on how pervasive technology is on our lives. Personally, I believe that I have achieved this objective. Week after week through the different discussion topics bring brought up in class, I have gained more insight into technology and its issues; both good and bad. Breakout sessions that enabled us to research on different topics pertaining to the issue of the week broadened my knowledge on technological issues. For example, this week we discussed the ill effects of technology and my group researched on GMO. After the presentation, prof highlighted that even organic products are not all that organic after all. Such knowledge is not able to be gained through plainly reading text books and journals. My biggest take away from this course is that there is much more to learn about the world than what the textbooks provide. Different groups researching on different aspects of a topic enabled us to look at the topic at different angles and not limit our class discussions to a certain angle. Without a doubt, technology is indeed pervasive in our lives. This course enabled me to realize its importance and to not take for granted what we have today.

KOH YU REN DAVID
Looking back and reflecting at the last 13 weeks I’ve been taking TWC, I must say I have learnt quite a fair bit. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much out of this module as I could not see how it related to my degree in Social Science. As the course went on however, I began to see how technology actually has a part to play in enacting social change. As what I have wrote in my first journal entry, one of my learning objectives in this module is to understand better the dynamic between social change and technology.

This point became especially salient to me as our project group researched and presented on the Kontratiev Long Wave Cycle for our group project. I was especially fascinated by the institutional change that accompanies great shifts in technology. For example, the rise of bureaucracy and online services have their roots in technological change, and have a huge impact on our social landscape. The Kondratiev Long Wave Cycle also gave me a much richer understanding on the cyclical nature economies seem to go through, and enables me to more critically analyze and predict boom or bust periods in history.

I believe I am better able now to bring in the element of technological influence in my analysis of psychological behavior. As mentioned in my 1st entry, the role technology plays on our psychological well-being is of particular interest to me as I am majoring in Psychology. Today’s class on the ill-effects of technology also helped me put together a much more holistic and critical approach to technology, something like a â€˜healthy skepticism’ approach to purported benefits technology brings. The examples that Prof raised during class regarding synthetic vitamin C, yellow ginger pills and even milk were especially enlightening.

More significant to me is the socio-psychological impact technology has on us. To me, technology seems to have the unfortunate side-effect of making us less responsible for our behavior. 2 examples in class today particularly stand out in the aspect â€“ instantaneous communication (mobile phones) resulting in the devaluation of prior appointments made, and the proliferation of irresponsible business practices (eBay crooks) on the Internet. Technology seems to have a dehumanizing effect on humans and results in lower levels of self-awareness. This psychological mechanism makes it easier for us to avoid taking responsibility for our actions due to the anonymity and convenience technology gives us. This consequently results in lower levels of personal accountability. In the example of eBay, the whole system is self-regulated, whereas in the past business transactions were done face-to-face, which allowed the building up of relationships, trust and mutual accountability.
My last learning objective that I laid out at the start was to get a better insight into what makes an invention an innovation. To this end, I have learned a lot from the experiences shared in class from Prof and my peers. In particular, I really treasured the experience of learning from one of my project group members, Vincent as he is currently trying to start up his business even while studying. It is exciting as he shares with the rest of the group technological innovations his company, Tocco Studios, is trying to develop such as multi-touch programming solutions. I have also learnt a lot from the guest speaker series especially Dr. Chandroo’s experiences in innovation and keeping his company one step ahead of his competitors.

If given the chance to do additional modules involving Technology and World Change, I would be interested in learning more about how the dynamic and interaction patterns between politics and technology. As technology becomes more advanced, how will that change our political landscape’; Will better technology necessarily lead to better governance’; Is there a trade-off between efficiency and personal touch’; As Singapore moves increasingly to put more and more government services online, this is indeed a pertinent issue, and I would be interested in the policy decisions regarding a eGovernement system in Singapore. In conclusion, I have gained much through this module, and am grateful that my learning has extended beyond the course syllabus to what I am interested in, which makes this module more than just Technology and World Change.
=)

QUEK JING YI
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, I would be interested to know more about how to invest in a technology-based company and what type of technology-based company should I invest in Singapore or China.

I recognized that there are numerous factors which are critical in investing a technology-based company. The question to ask yourself is, â€œwhy should I invest in your company’;â€� or â€œwhat can I benefit from the investment’;â€� One of the most critical factors is the knowing the success factors of technology-based entrepreneurship. The success factors are an important element to determine whether the company is worth to invest in. Basically it covers sub-factors like attitudes, management teams or talents, patents behavior, existing quality investors or directors, flexibility, product development, research and development (R&D) and location.

Furthermore, there are different procedures and legal regulations of investing a Singapore technology-based company and China technology-based company. Besides knowing that you have to be assets-independent to invest in a technology-based company, what are other factors which a smart investor look for before they inject their shares in.

Risk can be one of the essential factors that an investor will look into before investing especially a new and small technology-based company. As an infant technology-based company, the management team may not have sufficient technological support or resources to do R&D or a new product development, and they may not be attractive enough to pulls potential investors to support their product development. But a coin has its two sides; risk may be one of the factors that an investor has to carefully consider on. However, before investing, the investor should look at the overall picture of entire organization especially the management team, their attitudes towards radical innovation and their technological flexibility as these are important platforms that enables the company to move further in future. Moreover, it is important for them to know the importance of radical innovation, how to pioneer a new product, how to package and sell the product, how to attract customers, and testing & validation is the most critical phase of determining whether this product is ready for market launch.

Hence if there is really a follow-on course on TWC, I would like to know more about HOW to invest, WHY to invest in this certain technological company, WHAT are the risks or other factors should I consider before investment and the past experiences of potential investors faced.

CHUNG YEE CHENG EILEEN
If there is a follow up course on TWC, I will like the course to focus on Technopreneurship Management. Firstly, as inspired by Mr Steve Wah, I understand that a good management team is vital to a success venture. As mentioned in my previous journal, journal 2, I agree with him that this team is very important as if they do not have the expertise or the ability to work in a team, the venture can never be successful even if the product or service is deem best in market.

For a team to work well, it is important that these people know more about management and interaction skills, therefore, the reason why I feel that this is a vital course for individuals who inspire to be a technopreneur. Furthermore, as technopreneurs usually start a company of a totally new innovation or concept, it is difficult for them to have a set of comparable firms that they can use as a form of skeleton in their business operation model and strategies. So, the more they need to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to better prepare them in the society.

We also see that they usually start small and will only expand to bigger scale as the venture takes off, thus the different methods of management skills for various scales of operation is important as the managing model for a small startup can be totally different from a corporation. They also differ from industries and even sometimes within the industry; there are many different kinds of management models. Thus, it is essential for them to learn about the pro and cons of various management models and its features so that they can know how to manage the different stages of their business most efficiently. It is only in this way that they will be able to figure and form the best â€œorganizationâ€� for their company, which is deem the main contributing factor towards the success of a venture.

Besides that, technopreneurs might also need to face scenarios where they need to get funding from the various options available at their reach, for example, Venture Capitalist or Government funding, and these are under the responsibility of the management level to get in the required funding. This may be in the form of staged funding or initial funding, and they will need to show financial projections of the venture to convince these investors to invest. They will have to understand the valuation in terms of the outsider investor’s perspective and have to scale their projections towards it. This way, it is easier for the outside investors to relate to them and will be more likely to invest in the venture, if it projections show a positive return. Thus, this is also an important skill that can be incorporate into the course.

PUA QI EN BEN
To a large extent, I have achieved my objectives. I wanted to listen and share my opinions on technology since the first week and indeed I was able to do so. However, due to the size of the class, it would have been unfair if I had capitalized all the time. I have a lot more thoughts running around my head, but i guess it will have to be channelled through other means. In addition, I was exposed to many sharp minds within the course itself and has reaped quite a handful of tidbit information.
This class has truly been godsend for me in SMU’s curriculum. And it has been my privilege to be a part of the class.

RAFIDAH BINTE ABDUL RAZAK
I think that I have learnt some of the things I was curious about at the beginning of the course: I learnt how the different sources of innovation that led to how various technology came about (individuals, process needs, corporate undertakings etc), what makes certain innovations succeed more than others (usually because they manage to successfully market it, and not necessarily because they are the best; as in the case of Excel), and the ill effects of technology that we discussed in the last lesson.

Some other content-learning objectives, I learnt a little, mostly through your comments in class. I wanted to know how we could cope with the changes and problems and technological advancement brings us. For example, technology makes us so connected yet disconnected; we are physically present in class to watch presentations, but the laptop in front of us distracts our mind which thus wanders elsewhere. Or perhaps technology has created new channels of entertainment (MSN chats, Youtube, gaming) and has caused us lack of sleep. I think in the end, it boils down to discipline. In social situations, we must be disciplined to watch our manners and pay our undivided attention to the people we interact with, instead of constantly SMSing or IMing on our laptops, or people will not respect us. At home, we must discipline ourselves to resist temptations set by technology, and sleep early. For these two things, I have learnt in theory, although I believe practising this will be a lot more difficult, but is still possible.

My other learning objectives about being a good team player and delivering effective presentations were achieved through your weekly in-class presentation activity. The research required often needed teamwork and thoughtful discussions. Having to present in class after a short preparation also trains us to be more comfortable with presenting. Furthermore, our project which involved the Guest Seminar trained me to be more comfortable with meeting professionals, instead of being intimidated. My team’s conversation with Mr Tan Kia Tong was very insightful as well, as he dispensed a lot of other advice that we did not manage to show the rest of the section.

While I have paid attention in class, I know that I have not participated as much, and so this probably means that I have not been thinking critically enough in class. Nevertheless, I do internalise what you say, and I especially love the non-textbook life advice that you give us. Those were extra learning objectives that I’m glad to have achieved.

NOR’ BAYAH BINTE AINI
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, I would like a focus on Technopreneurship. Apart from the basic theory, it’s best to complement if the professor themselves has a very good background or commendable experience of being an entrepreneur that he/she can shared. As an IT-equipped student, as much as I’m very interested in understanding the nature and evolvement of technology, it is also preeminent if I could impart the knowledge of entrepreneurship with technology. It is also said that Technopreneurship has become the only source a long-run sustainable competitive advantage. As technology is pervasive in the world, it is important to constantly succeed in this rapidly changing global environment.

With both these skills and knowledge of integration of technology and entrepreneurship, this will allow us to broaden our perspective on future careers that are related to new venture creation such as working in a start-up company or even investing in a technology-based company.

I hope that the course will include the general knowledge of science-based entrepreneurship and commercializing technology and also how to take off from a business idea based on the application of the new technology advancement.

SHARIFAH SHAKIRAH BINTE SYED MAHDER
I definitely have achieved more than what I had originally set up for myself at the start of this course. Apart from dissecting the various theories offered on innovation and technology, the interactive manner of the course also provided me with an insight on the fundamentals of the theories and its relevance to real life.

The in-class discussions provided a platform for me to engage in active discussions with my group mates, hence allowing me to properly discern the different theories and its applicability to whichever topic we were working on that day. Apart from the course content, the class also propelled me to adapt to it’s extremely fast pace. I felt that the class environment honed my ability to work well under pressure .Also; I learnt the importance of efficient delegation of work.

One of the main objectives that I set out for myself, which, to outsiders may seem trivial or insignificant, was to have fun learning during the course. The weekly discussions and projects allowed us to develop a sense of camaraderie amongst the team. No other class that I have taken in SMU, even Leadership and Team Building, provided this avenue-something of which I feel is lacking in the SMU system. It was not the traditional teaching style, whereby our heads would be filled to the brim with tons of information. We were able to process and analyze the questions and information together on a weekly basis, hence bringing us closer as a team and as friends as well. And, the refreshments provided did not hurt either (ha).

Ultimately, I feel that this class has far surpassed my initial expectations. Being exposed to the different life stories on various entrepreneurs had a huge impact on me. It really struck a chord within me when Prof mentioned that innovation and being entrepreneurial is something that is necessary today, especially with the uncertainty looming in the market currently. Listening to the life stories of the various enterprising individuals, especially young enterprising students who chose to take the offbeat path offered as a form of encouragement. For most part of my education, I have always wanted to be a banker. However, my friends and I are currently attempting to venture into other sectors and we are trying to formulate a plan to create the â€œnext big thingâ€�. The idea of being my own boss and having control over my own career really appealed to me. Of course, I would never completely abandon my dream of being a successful banker, but I am considering being a business owner and this can largely be attributed to this class.

TAN KEAT SIONG JEREMY
Although the objectives that I want to achieve is not stated in my first journal, I do have objectives to meet for each module that I am attending.

In true fact, there are many ideas generator in the class, which really expose me to try looking from different angle when looking at an issue. I realised that although innovation involves the coming out of product and commercialising it, creativity plays a big part in the initial stage. Without creativity, no products will be produced and there will be no innovator(s) at all.

I do feel that I had achieved part of my objectives, while some will left barely touched on or untouched. The few objectives that I had set for myself at the start of the module are (i) be open to ideas from other people, (ii) think more creatively, (iii) improve in my presentation skills, and (iv) be more active in class.

Some objectives that I feel I had yet to fully achieved is (iv) be more active in class. There will definitely be a group discussion in every class, which really open myself up to my group mates and it is a good opportunity for me to listen to ideas from others. Surprisingly, I had never heard of such ideas and it really makes me think otherwise on some issues. Also on the rotation of presentation every week, it helps me in overcoming my stage fright that I had during my 1st year of study in SMU.

As mentioned, the only objective that I feel I failed to achieved is being more active in class. This had been a weakness in me as I have a shy character, and I am afraid that the contribution to class by speaking up is not relevant to the topics covered. This highly restrains myself from speaking up in class, which really hinders me in achieving good class participation points.

In all, I still feel happy that I had achieve most of the objectives set at the beginning of the course and that I had taken something out from the course.

Thank you Prof Lim.

ONG SHIO WOON
I would say my objectives set on the first lesson was not ambitious, hence I am rather satisfied with myself and thought that I have gained sufficient achievement with my objectives already. I am proud to say that I am in this TWC class as I had gained many valuable insights on technology and the world change. I was really amazed at the various innovations in the world as it has greatly widened my knowledge on the technology in the world. Since the start of the class, I am ignorant about what this module can provide me. I thought it was in a general sense and might not learn much as I was silly to think that it was just like another module. Surprisingly, this module gave me an introduction and allowed me to gain various knowledge through active class involvement, sharing of experiences and knowledge in class, real-life case studies and close interactions with the guest speakers.

What makes me learn the most is from my professor. Being a technopreneur, she shares with us her experiences and her knowledge. Just like before today’s class, I did not know how harmful most foods can be. Foods like meat, milk, and even organic foods are genetically produced actually harmful for our body. I felt like a victim at then. Usually I am the one who shops at the grocery, buying meat, vegetables etc. for my family for meals. I thought I am smart enough to choose the right food for them but after this lesson today, I felt I was wrong. The ill effects of technology made me realize how harmful products can do to human, not just being reliant to technology.

I will try my best to widen my knowledge on technology by regularly keeping myself updated to the technology and world change news online. I feel that apart from learning all the knowledge from the text online, it is important to learn and analyze on the real-life case studies regarding how the leaders in the world innovate and affect the world. I will keep myself updated by visiting sites like http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/, http://www.straitstimes.com, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/technology/default.stm, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/. One of the most interesting technology website I frequently visit is http://www.tuvie.com/. In the society today, technologies are prevalent in everywhere around the world. It has greatly affected our lives and people are reliant to it. Whether we like technology or not, it has affected impacted our lives to a great extent. Also, companies are aspiring to come up with various innovations to attract people to constantly accept the products. Companies spend huge amount of capital innovating and design their products. An example of an innovative product that I have found came from the company called COCORICO. This company came up with a unique domestic chicken yard with the concept of an alternative to farming with high-tech facilities for the chickens. (http://www.tuvie.com/2008/11) The designer of this product actually designed it in a way to limit any kind of environmental impact and even, gave a modern lifestyle for the chickens. Who say only humans enjoy the comfort of technology’; Hens have it too! On a lighter note, I was wondering if my professor will have this yard at her place since I was amazed that she rears her own fishes and has a papaya tree!
As technology has taken control of our lives and change our lives significantly, players in the industry like Total Immersion (http://www.t-immersion.com/) are innovating on products that bring virtual closer to reality. They developed interactive video technology. What Total Immersion does is to have superimposed graphics over a real environment in real-time, with cognitive feedback. People just have to wear on the glasses (its products) and they can see what they want to see. For example, you can pick up a box at a store, and go up in front of a â€œmagic mirrorâ€� where you can see yourself holding the box, but also see a 3D object popping up out of that box in real time (http://www.socaltech.com/interview_with_bruno_uzzan__ceo_of_total_immersion/s-0018194.html). However, such technology degrades human-to-human interactions. It also encourages people and attracts people to be reliant on the technology, which results in characters like laziness in people.

Besides, I have gained much valuable insights into the various types and aspects of innovation, technology and world change through the textbook and the conceptual teaching and explanation from my professor.

Through various researches during in-class breakouts and active participation in class discussions, it taught me technology has a flip-side coin. There are positive and negative impacts of technology. I found many of the presentations interesting and insightful. In the guest speaker talk organized by three different groups few weeks ago, the guest speaker, Dr. T. Chandroo, left a vivid impression on my mind. I was inspired by his entrepreneurship and his adaptability to the technology changes in the world. The TWC guest speaker talk has introduced me to many innovators, including having an opportunity to invite Mr. Tan Kin Lian, former CEO of NTUC Income, to give us a talk to the class. Another presentation that interests me most was the in-class presentation topic on the Egyptian archeological findings. I learnt that today, where all the advancement of technologies are present, it does not mean these are known as â€œimpressiveâ€� advancements. The Egyptians’ mummies and pyramids are still able to come up with innovations using limited or no technology at that point of time. They are even smarter than us! Humans today are still unable to discover the mystery of the construction/technology of pyramids. I would say the pyramid, which was built in the past was absolutely flawless. Apart from this topic, there’s a presentation today which covers â€œloss of sleep due to the 24×7 attention requiredâ€�. I would say I am experiencing this problem and have not been sleeping for more than 6 hours a day for the past few months due to hectic school projects and even have to stay overnights in school to meet deadlines. Professor Pamela told us about the no. of hours we should sleep and the harm we cause to our body when we do not have sufficient sleep. It affects the way we perform too. Personally, I agree totally with it as I had a share of experience during my university school term in SMU. It was the first term in my first year and I always had at least 8 hours of sleep a day, and focus on learning rather than blindly pursuing of grades. I performed well in that term and was always feeling â€œshine and brightâ€� when I came to school. However, after the first term, I barely had enough sleep and due to competitiveness, I had to push myself to score higher for my modules. To my surprise, I did badly. Now, for my TWC module or any other module, I would experience the stress and anxiety in the middle of the night of having to keep track of my performance and assignments, whether I have completed it or not. It has become amazingly, a habit that I would check my school mail and SMUVista many times a day. To my surprise, I did very badly for that term. I reflected again and again, and asked myself if it was the lack of sleep and the attitude towards my studies that contributed to the failure. It was a good lesson learnt indeed. I learnt that attitude is the most important character in a person to succeed whether in life or at work.

Most importantly, the journals are like reflections to me. Through the journals, it has allowed me to assess and enhance my learning. I like to write journals though, maybe because of my habit keeping a diary. Research has shown that a person can only remember 7 things a day. How would I be able to remember what I have learnt from the module after this semester, or even after this year’; A journal or diary to keep, is something that one can look back and reflect on, and constantly remember and do what they have learnt. However, I feel that it would be nice if there’s a learning discussion portal to share what each of us has learnt in this course.

In short, I am sincerely glad to have the support and guidance from my peers and professor in this course. It was an enriching experiencing, providing a greater exposure to the various technologies in the market, the innovations that companies have came up with.
I would continue to keep myself update with the technological innovations in the market and hope to achieve much knowledge as much as I can. Apart from the technological side, I believe that I am very well taught with the presentation skills that this module has brought me. It was an adventurous and fulfilling journey for me.

MARIANNE ELIZABETH WONG YI WEN
In week 1, I had set the following objectives for the whole course: To learn about how technology has seamlessly intertwined with our lives and to learn about how technology can either help or hinder progress.

I feel that these objectives have been achieved in the course of this module.

Firstly, I have learnt how technology can help or hinder progress. Throughout the course, we learnt about how technology has a big part to play in today’s economy. For example, we learnt how it is important for a firm to adopt the appropriate technologies and commercialise them in order to maintain a competitive edge over the other competing firms. This is how business and technology can be intertwined to ensure success of a firm as I believe they complement each other in achieving the ultimate aim of the firm, which is to maximise profits and be successful.

In the last lesson, we learnt the ill effects of technology in various fields. Although there are many merits to technology, as learnt in the previous lessons, there are definitely some cons associated with it as well, that may eventually hinder progress. Some examples include how technology contributes to global warming, which will eventually destroy our environment and how technology contributes to our lack of sleep, which will prevent us from fully exploiting our potential or making use of our time.

Hence, throughout the course, I did learn a balance between both the pros and cons of technology.

I also learnt how technology has managed to become part of our lives. I believe it is due to the commercialisation of innovation. Aside from innovating, firms also commercialise their innovation by employing various strategies such as business, technology and product/innovation strategies to market their products such that consumers are aware of their products and are willing to buy their products. Hence, it is a combination of business and technology that has made it possible.

Hence, I feel that I have met the objectives I set out and in addition, I have learnt a lot more about technology. It has changed my perception of technology as previously, I never knew the close relation between business and technology, about how they complement each other. I felt that this module has shed light on this important relation between them through projects, case studies and through the guest speaker seminar.

In conclusion, this course has been useful in teaching skills and application of technology and business in real life, which would come in handy in the future.

LEOW CHIN HOU

I think that I have been able to learn how different technologies evolve over different period of times. It gives me a sense of how some far-sighted individuals take these technologies a step further and make them big commercial success. Not only that, through TWC, I understand how different technologies help improve the qualities of people’s lives and solve problems that surface in different eras. However, everything has its pros and cons. Technology is no exception. Just as it brings numerous conveniences to our lives today, it also has become a habit or addiction to some. For example, many youths today spent long periods of time on the internet networking. For serious cases, it may have taken its toll on their health in general. Therefore, while technology has its benefits, it has its ill effects as well.
Overall, through TWC, I have understood what is technology and innovation, how it comes about under the management of far-sighed individuals and how to manage technology properly.

Should there be a follow-on course from TWC, I would like to focus on the area of management of green-technology. As there is a limit to the supply of natural resources that Earth has, it is very likely that we need to source for alternative sources of energy. Therefore, I think it may become the next global phenomenon and is worth looking into.

SIM MONG JEN ALEX
In the beginning of my Technology and World Change (TWC) course, I expected to learn more about teamwork, leadership and the importance of technology in today’s world.
My group was given more than enough opportunities to learn about teamwork while we tackled the many projects given to us. Those impromptu projects handed out during seminars served to train us in time management and working under time constraint. The two projects, one on iPod and the other on Recyclebank, which we completed over the term, helped us to learn how to work as a team, out of class. Given the busy and often conflicting schedules of our teammates, it was very hard to schedule meetings and even meetups to talk about our project over a meal. Therefore, we had to maximize the little time we had when we managed to meet up for work.
En route to the completion of our project, we had to plan and design a structure of presenting our work, coagulate our research and in the process, sieve out unusable jargon, and prepare for our presentation proper, well within the few meetings that we had. That helped me to learn how to prioritize and organize. It was not an easy task, but with efficient time management and a strict motive in hand to achieve, I learnt how to lead.
Leadership in my team was not the typical scenario one would see in most groups. Everyone in my group was good at different things, and so, these people would step up and take the lead whenever their topic of expertise was needed. It was then that I would take a back seat and play as supportive a role as a team player. TWC helped me to grow not only as a leader, but it taught me the need to learn how to hold back and support when necessary. For example, I usually led discussions and helped assign work out to the group. However, whenever we had to prepare for the presentation proper, Daphne would take the lead as she was really good at Microsoft Powerpoint.
Though TWC was not meant to be a leadership course, it helped me learn more about leadership due to the time spent working with my group. Primarily, TWC was a course to help me understand more about the importance of technology, the use of technology in today’s world, and how much I actually rely on technology in my everyday activities. It helped me distinguish between innovation and invention, and how important innovation is to Man. The absence of innovation would mean the absence of improvements to the technology in use today. That would defeat the purpose of using technology since it was meant to help make our lives easier in the first place.
Innovation is the way to help improve on what is already there, and that would make things easier for us. For example, if there was no innovation in the automotive industry, modern day cars would still be aerodynamically and fuel inefficient and these would cause more environmental damage in the long run, as compared to the existence of innovation in the automobile industry. Note however, that the same can be said for most technology. An improvement in one industry would mean an improvement, or the prevention of further degradation of society, the environment or our surroundings in part.
In essence, TWC taught me not only the technical aspect of how technology can change the world, but how I could apply these changes in my life. We can observe and learn from others; How they innovate, how they improve and make things better, how they learn from others and how they pick themselves up despite failure (given the nature of technology, failure and successes in enterprises come hand-in-hand).
Interestingly though, I think Professor Pamela Lim taught the class more than what was required. I’ve learnt much more about the business world from her than any other professor or tutor I’ve ever met. The experiences that she had, and those which she shared with the class helped inspire me to work harder and more efficiently towards my goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur/technopreneur in future.
In retrospection, the course served to be much more than I expected, in a good way, of course. I learnt way more than I ever expected in the beginning. All that leadership and teamwork applied merely skims the surface of what I’ve learnt to appreciate from my Technology and World Change course. Its been three months, but the journey seems long (as in, I traveled far) and short, in the sense that I’ve enjoyed it so much that it seems short. I’ll never regret my choice in taking this class and I look forward to a future module in Technical entrepreneurship with Professor Lim.

KATRINA CHEW YUEN NING
Initially, one of the first few objectives I set up when attending the first TWC lecture was to expose myself to the ideas and concept revolving around technology. Prior to the class, I would admit that I thought little of technology. It was basically a tool used for convenience and communication, and little did I think of the effects and impact of this powerful tool.

Upon closer observations now that we have came to the end of the course, I realized that I have only half achieved the objectives I set up for. True enough, that through the course, I have personally learnt much about technology and its effects on the world, compared to what I have known before. TWC has widened my perspective of innovation (its sources, types) as well as the implications that technology has. Technology is not that convenient a tool after all. While at first glance, the advantages of technology are instantly visible. Yet we fail to consider the detrimental effects that come along with technology, such as radiation, which we were given a chance to explore in class many times. This was because during the many classes we had in TWC, we were given opportunities to research on different topics in depth regarding to technology, and this opportunity had widen my view of technology, on top of reading sources like newspaper and magazines.

Yet, I have not entirely fulfilled my objectives set up in the first lesson. The main reason is because I feel that not everything in this course can be learnt in the textbook. In many cases, the professor had cited many cases and examples of people doing their technopreneurship. In other cases, we went through examples of people who took a different path for technopreneurship. This shows that technology cannot simply be studied, and the added information of examples of others were not explored in this topic. In this sense, I feel that I had not researched enough to cover knowledge in this aspect, particularly for the local industries, because much of our contexts were covered in the foreign context. In this sense, I feel that there could have been more topics to be explored, through magazines and journals. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that the knowledge learnt through TWC has provided a foundation on the knowledge of technology, and most importantly, its impacts on the world.

YEH HUIQI ESTHER
For the past thirteen weeks, I learnt about the various aspects of innovationâ€”the types, the process and the management. I think it has been fruitful and I have learnt alot. I never once thought that innovation is such a difficult and lengthy process till this course.

Firstly, I have hoped to learn more about the impacts of technology in the world today and the likely impacts in the future. I feel that I have learnt a lot on this aspect, especially during the last lesson [ill effects of technology]. From the many cases presented in class, I learnt that the initial aim of technology is always to do good, but Man, being greedy, exploits the technology for self-gain which is likely to result in negative effects.

I wanted to be updated on current affairs and understand their relationships to the rest of the society. By the different cases and topics presented in class each week, I learnt many new things, things that I don’t usually read on. Furthermore, some of the new things that I have learnt in class sparked of my interests, which made me further self-read into the topics. Moreover, the weekly in-class presentations cultivated my skills of researching and presenting what I have learnt to others in a given period of time. I believe that this is a useful skill learnt. Also, the guest speaker seminar gives me a real sense of technology in the actual business world. It is no longer something that I learn in textbooks and is impractical, but is something that can be really utilized in the business world today. This session also inspires me to think beyond the conventional methods, to become who I really am and not blindly follow the rest.

Lastly, I hope to be able to present confidently and effectively. There are many chances for me to present in class and to voice out my opinions, which I believe aided me to become more self-confident. I learnt that there is no wrong opinion and it is beneficial for me to share my views and, at the same time, learn from others.

However, I have hoped to learn about the responsive management of technology, which is not covered in this course. I know that it is impossible to learn everything in class. I believe that the research skills I gain will guide me to learn more about this aspect.

YEO SHEREEN
Yes, I feel that I have achieved most of my objectives set in my first journal. In fact, I also learnt more than what I hope to achieve; like how to present better and to speak up more in class. Class being fun and enjoyable value-added my learning experience.

If there is a follow-up course on TWC, I would definately be interested to focus on area such as Technopreneurship as well as how to take businesses online. If there is such a course the following term, I would most certainly be compelled to join it!

LIEW KIMBERLYN NEPACINA
Yes, I definitely think that I have achieved my objectives that I wrote in my first journal.

I have learnt so much more about the different technologies that I use consciously or subconsciously every day. I have come to know about their founders, the problems they faced, and even the purpose of why they were invented. An example would be the founders of â€˜Facebook’, whom all 3 of them (Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes) were still in university while they invented this social networking website! Technology is so ingeniously integrated into our society that sometimes we forgot it’s even there. And that is how technology has evolved. From something that was a phenomenon change like the innovation of the telephone by Alexandra Bell, to something that become more subtle, but nonetheless still as important in our lives, like â€˜Google’.

It was truly very enlightening to hear about professor Lim’s experience in and out of the business world. Her lifestyle and the way she deals with things have opened my eyes to the perils that technology brings. We should not be too ignorant and trust that all technology is good. Because each day we expose ourselves to the numerous dangers that will slowly accumulate and who knows what will happen in the future.

GAN SHU-JING MIKAELA
I think I have learnt as much as this course has had to offer me. I have more or less met my objectives, and I feel that I have accomplished as much as I possibly could over the past thirteen weeks. I largely enjoyed working with my project group, and I feel that we have reached a close understanding of each other’s working styles and personalities.
There are a lot of things that I lave learnt in the duration of this course. The most important thing that I have learnt in this course closely related to the recession currently sweeping throughout the world as a result of the US subprime crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. A chief economist in Goldman Sachs stated that the effects of the current recession looked to be even more severe that the Great Depression in the 1930s. This course has shown me how important it is to plan for our future, and consider technological entrepreneurship as a possible avenue to exploit in possible times of need.
With greater understanding of the Kondratiev cycle of technology and the S-curve and so forth, this course has well equipped us with the basic knowledge of technology, in case the need arises for us to become entrepreneurs in order to pull ourselves out of the recession.

CHEAH HUI XIN
From learning about the basics of technology and innovation, i moved on to learn the management of tech and innovation and finally the impact of technology and innovation on the world. I would say I have acheived the objectives that I set up prior to the course. I’ve always wanted to set up my own business. Throughout the course I’ve learnt about the types of innovation, the sources of innovation, the funding available and alot of useful information that I can apply to my future business plans. I’ve realised that not only have this course met my expectations, it has also offered me so much more.

We learnt about Technological changes- the different cycles of technology and found out why the world is going through what it is going through. This lesson brought about many new perspectives regarding existing technology and how the application of theories can make me understand the dot.com bubble burst and the subprime crisis and help me predict when this technological wave will last. Refreshing indeed.

Another chapter that opened my eyes was Intellectual Property. This area is applicable to many of those eager innovators out there as through this lesson, we found out that knowledge of IP rights is very important as this may make or break your company if youve come up with a new technology. There was many new and refreshing insights. The case studies provided by some groups also helped to reinforce the need to protect one’s IP rights.. This I believe will be able to help alot of students along the way of their business..

I also found the topic of Sources of Funding very useful indeed. It has provided us students with the valuable insight as many eager innovators are out there with great ideas but need funding..

All in all, the best part of the course that enabled me to learn and acheive my objectives was the presence of our prof whom, as an entrepreneur herself, had so much experience to share with us. There was so much advice, so much passion and philosophy and I believe it inspired not just me, but many other students out there. I thank her for the many hours of lecture, advice and mentoring! 🙂

LOW WEN YAN RICHARD ANDREW
Having gone through the module, I am confident that I have achieved the goals I set out at the start of this class.

First, I wanted to take away lessons and tools from the module that will be applicable to my career in the future. While I might not be sure of the technicalities of setting-up a business, I now possess a good idea of what is a good start-up business plan and what are the key ingredients for a successful business venture. I am also aware of the various methods of funding a start-up and this is definitely useful if I start up a business on my own. If I decide to work in a company, I am confident in applying basic technology strategies and theories in my work. This will put me in good stead to compete in a challenging and globalised environment.

Secondly, this course has taught me what it means to be a successful innovator. The case studies in class have shown me that successful entrepreneurs and technopreneurs did not become successful overnight. For most cases, it was a few years of hard work and numerous setbacks. This is contrary to the â€œget rich quickâ€� fallacy associated with Silicon Valley and information technologies. I now understand what it takes to be a successful innovator: courage, guts and a lot of hard work.

In addition, I also feel inspired to seize opportunities. The guest speaker’s input at the seminar and the case studies that we discussed in class, illustrate that there are many opportunities in the world. These opportunities are waiting to be explored and taken up. It is like going to a wine shop; there are so many types of wines to choose from, each with a unique flavour and for a different occasion appealing to the individual taste of the moment. Similarly, an entrepreneur has to be sharp to look out for opportunities and seize the right one depending on the timing and the overall competitive situation.

ANG YI WEN AGNES
Referring back to my first journal, my initial objectives of understanding the linkage between change, innovations, technology, societies and businesses was met. On top of these, I’ve felt that I have learnt something new every week, both from the peers’ in-class presentation and the sharing session by the professor. I could readily relate technological changes around the world to the lessons learnt. Not only have I widen my knowledge, but the weekly in-class presentations trained me to think critically and prepared us to speedily summarise our findings with the class.

Personally the week 13 was one of the most memorable weeks I’ve had. The presentation that our group was working on makes a lot of sense to me â€“ ill effects of technology: stress related sickness. Technology seems to be like a dormant monster that initially improves people’s, changes, invades, and inevitably attempt to control our lives. Even though technology is changing rapidly, we should not let it control our lives despite the immense convenience that it brings.

I am glad to have taken this course under Professor Pamela, who has shared many of her rich experiences with the class. Without doubt, this is the most useful and interesting module I’ve done in SMU. To conclude, I would like to mention that my biggest take away from the course has to be recognizing the impact technology has on our world, the importance of technology, and understanding that technology should not be embraced full force, but rather taken in at an individually comfortable level.

NEO YUANN SHAN
I would like TWC to focus on technopreneurship should there be a follow-on course because technopreneurship education would prepare us to become entrepreneurs in the digital world today.

Personally, I aspire to become an entrepreneur and I believe that there are many others who would wish to be groomed into entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is largely encouraged to support new start-ups and ventures. However, as undergraduates, we would require more assistance in this field as there are very few courses that expose us to entrepreneurship currently.

I understand that the key element to technopreneurship is creativity, which in playing with imagination and possibilities leads to new and meaningful inventions and ideas that could possibly benefit the society. However, creativity alone, without technopreneurial skills and competencies, is not enough to sustain a business in a digital, knowledge-based economy. Therefore, it would certainly be helpful if a follow-on TWC lesson could focus deeper into technopreneurship because I feel that the current textual knowledge on technopreneurship is insufficient and only covers surface knowledge such as gaining information on the various ways that we can fund innovations and the different processes of innovation. Perhaps a follow-on course would focus more on becoming a technopreneur instead of understanding innovations.

The previous guest speaker seminar has created much entrepreneurial interest and has given me slightly more understanding about technopreneurship such as the requirements and journey of a successful business in the real world. I do hope for TWC lessons where there would be more information and knowledge on technopreneurship which could provide more insights for the next batch of undergraduates and give rise to more technopreneurs in the long run.

Through TWC lesson, I have learnt much from my classmates and the professor. I have gained experiences and knowledge that cannot be found inside the text, I guess this is where learning became more effective for me and it would have certainly been better if more time could be spent on specific topics such as technopreneurship so that we could all understand deeper instead of surface knowledge.

DIVADKAR YASH NITIN
I think some of the objectives have been achieved among the ones that were set up in the first lesson.
While, I did learn how theories can be used, and how entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Jobs, Bezos and Omidiyar managed to be successful, i thought that the course fell short on the practical implementation and integration of technology with an idea that we came up with. Thus I believe that, there should probably be less emphasis on theories and more on being able to apply the theories to actual innovations. As such, I think there is a need for a course on technopreneurship so that students like us can put our creativity to use and come up with contraptions that probably might be practical and can be put to use.
Nevertheless, I believe for a 101 course, it did achieve the objectives.

LOW JUN YANG
To quote what Albert Einstein said, â€œIt is appallingly obvious our technology has exceeded our humanityâ€�. This was one of the important lessons that I take away from this module. Our modern society is intrinsically linked to technology and within this field of technology, there are countless of inventions and ideas that have been created since history. And people are the one behind all these ideas and inventions. Just to name a few prominent figures, we have Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, and Alexander Graham Bell, creator of the telephone. These ideas and inventions are the key sources of motivation and drivers of technology to greater heights and levels. It is undeniable that these changes in technology have brought about drastic changes to the world and the effects are lasting, even till present days.

Innovation is the essential element that goes into improving and changing an invention or an idea and bringing about another new market value to this invention. In recent years, the emphasis on innovation has saw more innovative improvement to existing products and radical changes that propelled technology forward like we have never experienced previously. Hence given the rate at which technology advances, it should come as no surprise that we will be anticipating and seeing more innovative products and creations appearing in the market.

Technology is constantly changing and improving itself as I have learned in the first few weeks of lesson. I learned about the evolution of technology through time and the theories and applications of innovation as a powerful engine in our daily lives. The knowledge that I acquired helped bridged the gap between understanding how innovation and technology work hand in hand to bring about dramatic changes.

Just as I managed to grasp the theories and applications of innovations in technology, the subsequent weeks saw the incorporation of the concept of innovation into firms today. I was given a microscopic examination of what exactly goes into the process of innovation. And these were substantiated by real life case studies that made in exceptionally interesting and easy to relate to than if hypothetical examples had been given. My individual research and findings about companies and their ways of managing innovation facilitated discussions in class and I am glad that I was able to engage in a constructive discussion with my group mates and course mates. This helped broadened my research results and gave me a better insight as to how applicable is this concept of innovation in the real world.

The last few weeks solidified the concept of innovation and provided a macro view of how technology in itself can bring about world changes and impact. Such changes are evident in our daily surroundings. Big companies with huge financial backing and stability are living examples of incorporation of innovation and technology. I also learned about the other socio-economic and environmental factors that could affect the company and its operations. And more often than not, we realize that companies have to find equilibrium between these factors and their company policies. As technology advances beyond its existing limits, companies have to react and figure out the best changes that they incorporate into their business to make them more efficient. It is not enough to innovate once and stop there. This effort is on going and has to follow the trends that the market is demanding or the world is following.

In completing the course, I have gained valuable experience and knowledge with regards to technology and innovation and its application to business operations in the outside world. I have learned to identify innovations and apply the theories that go behind these innovations. The guest speaker talk seminar also gave great insight to the mechanisms and operations of the corporate world. Technology itself plays a huge role in our society, it is the driver of many of our daily activities and we are heavily dependent on it and it is a never-ending pursuit for improvement and changes. In our relentless pursuit of technology and innovation, it should be at the back of our mind that technology came about to benefit and make things more convenient for ourselves. And we, as the source of energy that goes behind driving technology to greater heights must bear responsibility for the world changes and effects that it can bring about.

RAFIQAH BTE ABD RAHMAN
I would like to focus on developing a start-up company focusing on technology products and how to go about surviving in the IT industry.

From this lesson, i have learnt first and foremost the theory of innovation, whereby in the near future if i decide to set up my own company, what type of technology would the theory of innovation follows, be it in terms of dominant design or even following the technology S-Curve.

Most importantly, in this course i am able to understand the different sources of funds that a new technopreneur can gain when he or she decides to opt for fundings. The pros and cons are being weighed and with the insightful explainations based on professor experience, it open my eyes more in terms of making the effective decision on which approach that i would adopt for my fundings.

In conclusion, this course inspires me to develop and plan for my future business plan a step further. The stages are not comprehensive enough, however i am still able to develop the skeleton business plan first. At least i know for sure now that there is a risk involved in setting up a new IT business, but at the same time if we mitigate the risks well, we will be able to manage it effectively and be successful at it.

LIN LIHONG LARISSA
The last 13 weeks in Technology and World Change have changed my perception of the world tremendously. I admit that before joining this class in SMU, I had always taken technology for granted. I couldn’t imagine life without all these everyday technological marvels, and yet I could not understand why and how they made their mark in the world.
This course has equipped me with the knowledge of how new technologies arise and the numerous factors and processes they have to go through before becoming a â€˜technological break-through’ or an â€˜innovation’. I have come to realize that for one to enter the market as a successful product, technologies have to go through a highly rigorous process, where the ones with less potential are weeded out â€“ it is not an easy process at all. In fact, to sum it all up, the emergence of new technologies is a result of the â€˜survival of the fittest’.

On a more personal level, I have come to understand the role of technology in my life. Even as a single consumer out of the billions out there, my preferences and tastes ultimately affect the demand for a technology. Now it is much easier for me to relate to new technologies, even if they may not directly affect me. But somewhere along the line, everything is related, and it is certainly an enjoyable challenge searching for the links I can now identify with. On a related note, I had always enjoyed thinking up of new inventions; I loved thinking of new gadgets to solve my problems as a child, even when I could not come up with a prototype. As a result, I participated in an Innovation Programme in Secondary 1. This experience will always remain in my memories, because I had to work with a friend and come up with a new invention together. It was unforgettable as I remember how my creativity was stifled as a result of the need to cater to my team mate’s own expectations; and on hindsight, I realize our invention had little purpose and little market value. It was only after this course that flashes of inspiration sometimes come to me and I realize how many changes I could have applied to the product at that time. Especially now, after learning so much about innovation in this course, I find that I enjoy exploring ideas beyond this particular product, for example, what new technologies I can apply to enhance my product and how to manufacture, market and sustain it. These may just be intangible thoughts, but I appreciate them as a mental challenge. In this manner, I believe that, even if it is not on a deep level yet, I now understand what factors are crucial in exploiting technology and innovating.

Adapting to new technologies is probably not an issue for my generation, for we are born in an age where new technological marvels are a daily phenomenon. This is the extraordinary extent to which the capabilities of Man and his technological know-how have developed. To use this technology and to appreciate it, however, are altogether different issues. Understanding the Kondratiev Cycle has allowed me to see how technologies progress, evolve and die, and are eventually replaced by newer, more cutting-edge ones. Not only would this help in business forecasting in my future career, but is also an interesting pattern to observe and track in my everyday life.

Lastly, I wanted to learn to keep an open-mind and think out of the box. Although the course outline did not require us to come up with radically different ideas, we were given the opportunity to encounter many case studies in applying our learning material. What we did was to go back to the roots and study others’ successes and failures, and in doing so, I gained many new perspectives to work with, learnt to see the world from an alternative point of view and gain awareness of my own criticisms as well as what I lacked in judging issues.

All in all, I would say that, yes, I have achieved my objectives in this course, and as a result, gained many invaluable skills and experiences that I will hold close to my heart as I progress through university and even when I emerge into the working world.

LAWRENCE TAN CHIN HWAI
Firstly, I would like to briefly recap the objectives set up in the first lesson/journal. In my first journal, I have indicated that it was the first lesson I had in SMU. I had to give a short presentation which was certainly good exposure for a first day student. It had given me a great transition from military to academic life. I stated that I wanted to hone my presentation skills. Next, I would like to learn from Prof Lim and every single other student in the class. I would also like to work as an effective team member, displaying certain leadership roles at times. In order to achieve this, we must engage in highly interactive discussions led by Prof Lim. I will do sufficient preparation at home and through critically thinking and analysis, hoping to contribute to the class discussions. Of course, it was imperative for me to give the person speaking full attention so as to respect the speaker and learn from him/her. Of course, consistent hard work is essential in terms of class preparation. I would seek to understand the contents in the text which is the prerequisite of every student.

As I have mentioned in the last journal (week 12) that I believe the importance of versatility. Hence throughout the course, from understanding the lesson and module better, my objectives set up in the first lesson/journal has been undergoing minor changes constantly, or rather new objectives have been introduced, while the ones mentioned earlier still stand.

I have presented at least 5 times, including 2 major ones, throughout this module and I am indeed grateful to be given the chance to present so many times. Many other courses had only one presentation throughout the semester. I felt that this exposure gave me the edge over many of the freshmen peers. Admittedly, I had jitters when I had to present on the first day of school, despite the fact that I had many chances of speaking to a group in national service. Speaking to a whole class in a GSR just felt different initially. However, within seconds, I felt at ease and began to present my points comfortably. Subsequently, I was also able to create some humor in my presentations. I then realized that what Prof Lim said about presentation in the first class was indeed true. Prof stated that a good presentation doesn’t need a very long time to prepare. The important thing is to get into the right state of mind, knowing the concepts well to know the flow of the concepts applied. This is indeed true as I have noticed that many country leaders and company heads have to address the public many just hours after a crisis occur, and yet they are able to orate well. Certainly, these leaders are extremely capable and respectable individuals. On the contrary, over-preparation may be disastrous. I am indeed glad to be given such exposure as a freshman, and I hope my presentation skills will improve along the way. Presentation skills are indeed important as it aids my conveying of concepts and information to others. It is also instrumental for my career, which ever path I may endeavor. Good presentation skills indicate a person’s confidence and others will then have confidence in him/her. Of course, knowledge and substance is indeed just as important.
After the presentations, there was also the question and answer part in which I was given a chance to interact with my peers and learn from each other. I will be trained to be calm upon receiving questions and respond quickly. This is indeed challenging and exciting. I felt that this objective has been achieved and there is certainly room for improvement in the coming semester.

Next, I would like to work as an effective team member. My group (group 4) has done 2 major projects and at least 8 in class presentation. Our group was very bonded and every individual was very committed. We treated every project and in class presentation very seriously. We have worked effectively as a team and each time, we exchanged ideas we researched and engaged in interesting discussions, all of us seeking to produce the best work for our presentation. Each time, we would take turn to lead the discussions. I felt that this objective has been achieved.

Now I would like to introduce a new objective-building friendships. Throughout the module, through these interactions within my group and within the class, I have built many highly-valued friendships. Considering most of them are seniors, they are very helpful and has helped me greatly to aid my adaptation to the school life. Prof has mentioned today that it is important to maintain highly-valued friendship.

Prof has mentioned the importance of consistent hard work for this module. I felt that I put in a considerable amount of effort consistently for this module. I ensured that I did the readings required for the chapter before every lesson. I also read the articles posted on vista. In addition, I would try to read up on the companies or topics the other groups were going to present. In addition, I was also fascinated by the innovation concepts such that I made an effort to catch the TV program- Business for innovation- showed on CNBC a few weeks before. This program has indeed interesting insights about managing technological businesses. All these were done to equip me with the information and the knowledge to contribute actively to the highly interactive discussions in class. I felt that this objective was achieved. I have realized the importance of technology, and the need to exploit it with the right approach to establish a strong business. A good business strategy with constant adaptations is essential for the business to grow, prosper and flourish.

Of course, I try to listen attentively to Prof and every individual student when they were speaking. Prof has mentioned in one lesson that she thinks it is very important for human to human interaction and hence the need to give others one’s fullest attention when they are speaking, and in this example showed the ill-effects of the blackberry, which was overly used.
Prof’s lesson was intriguing and interesting, covering many fields, from technology, innovation to government, banking, education, entrepreneurship and intelligence of humans. We once also had an interesting impromptu debate on the intelligence topic. I have also benefitted from listening to the pointers my classmates had contributed. One of the most impressive people is Ben, who scored the highest for class part. He had included the concept of commodification which got my interest. I felt that this objective has been achieved too. One of the extra objectives which I wanted to achieve amidst the course is to learn the traits of an entrepreneur and the various business strategies an entrepreneur has to adopt. This was covered in details in the previous journal.

Overall, I had never once regretted taking this course as there was endless excitement in this it. Of course, learning was not compromised. Studies have shown that learning by teaching others, which was achieved in the presentations, more information is retained. Most of the concepts are well elaborated by Prof and other students. In addition, we have learned the skills to work at an efficient rate in which we have to meet strict deadlines. This skill is also instrumental for my careers.

For the follow-up course from TWC, I would like it to focus on technopreneurship. This is essential especially now when the finance industry (mainly investment banking and hedge funds industry) future may look bleak or rather shrinking. Singapore will need more technopreneurs to start up technology companies. I believe that technology is the main economic drivers and hence our economy needs more locally owned companies to take a larger market share of the economy. Only in this way, Singapore can remain its competitiveness and productivity in the region. Singapore’s workforce, particularly the committed and talented ones, will contribute to local firms , rather than having all of them employed by offshore MNCs and finance industry. A balance of the workforce must be achieved to maintain efficiency.
Finally, I would like to thank Prof Lim for conducting the lessons.

YAO KANGQI
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, I would like it to be on technopreneurship. After learning about how technology changes the world and the challenges faced by innovators, it seems interesting to innovate a product or to start a company. Though it is difficult, we can see obstacles that we may face as challenges and it would be fufilling to overcome them and achieve our goals. Prof mentioned that maybe in this day and age, being an entrepreneur or technopreneur may triumph over being an employee. Today’s economy serves as testimony that no industry is safe and the world is becoming a smaller place. Big firms can go bust and events happening miles away seem to have direct impacts on us. Due to this factor, it appears to be a more attractive option for us to be our own bosses and be independent of any firm’s financial health. Wouldn’t it be better if we see the labor of our efforts going into our own pocket instead of going into a financial time bomb that may blow up any time’;

EVAN CHOW XINGLONG
In the very first journal, I set a goal for myself to serve TWC with an attitude of passion. I believe that I have achieved this objective in many different ways especially through working on our case presentation. This is a course that has taught me alot of useful things that I can apply in real life. I believe that the experiences that were brought into the class has really inspired my mind and I am willing to work towards developing it further. That is why I am very interested in the follow-up course, Technopreneurship. It is only unfortunate that I cannot take it in the next semester because I will be away on exchange. However, I do hope that it will be offered once I come back from the exchange. And when I do, I will definitely put that course into great consideration.

YAP RENJIE MARCUS
i think i have achieved the objectives i have set out earlier in the first journal. the objectives i have laid out at the beginning of the semester were,

1. ‘pull’ as much as i can learn and grasp instead of prof ‘pushing’
2. see the way how businesses perceived products and how they see ‘potential’ and take it a step further and commercialize them into marketable consumer products
3. to have the above objectives becoming a second nature to me

to date, i believe i have nature and develop the aspect which allows me to pull from the prof and class – questioning. sometimes certain aspect of an issue is being presented to the class however, i’m able to question and ask how an issue is being develop and reach such a point. An example is how technology has reached a point where it has been so infuse into our daily life that we almost cannot live without it.

Presently in Singapore, there is a growing number of youths carrying mobilephones. And sometimes, mobilephones have become so integrated that they cannot leave home without it. This brought me to consider whether technology has somehow got human beings so dependent and addicted to it or it has brought about so much convenient. It also got me thinking how businesses are able to leverage on such social trends and got entrepreneurs to develop applications for mobilephones, in this case eg. mobile facebook application.

twc has indeed fulfill what i expected out of it – technology and world change. how technology has an impact on our daily life so subtly that we almost did not take notice of it. as such, my biggest take away from this module is being able to learn how to analyze and question daily issue/happening that surrounds us everyday.

thank you prof =)

YEO GEOK ENG GLORIA
I believe that I’ve achieved my objectives set in the first lesson to learn from my prof, team mates and through class discussions and presentations to a large extent. Not only did I learn more about the various technologies, I also gained a lot of insights from prof’s sharing about her valuable personal and industry experiences as well as from the guest speakers during the seminar. In these 13 weeks, it has also been fun and enriching to work with my team mates, sharing our knowledge with one another which was indeed an awe-inspiring journey. Given the opportunity to follow-on from TWC, I would like to focus on ‘Technopreneurship’ as it has always been my dream and aspiration to make use of technology to start a business and come out with something new.

LIM AIYUN PENNY
I come into the course obtain a different perspective on how technology is driving innovation. By a different perspective, I meant not the basic facts that everyone knows about. Not the plain old definition of innovation and why innovation leads to progress. Of course, that is a prerequisite to the course. To really understand technology and world change as a subject, one has to have the basic understanding of it; the skeletal outline on the relationship between these issues. However, almost everyone who pays attention to the daily news will be able to draw up a direct correlation between innovation, technology and our society.

What I wanted to gain from the lessons is to add more â€œmeatâ€� into the topic of discussion. On a deeper level, I wanted to learn to appreciate the importance of innovation for business and the national economy; the different factors that can make or break innovations; how continual innovation can ensure the survival of businesses; the process of innovation that an innovator or a technopreneur has to go through to get their products patented; how companies acquire funding and from whom; and to be open to the different views as to whether innovation and technology is beneficial for mankind.

Through the course of this module, I have definitely covered these points and perhaps even more than that. The way the lesson was conducted; the way my peers presented their ideas and the ample examples pertaining to the subject at hand each week helps to strengthen my knowledge on the subject, achieving my initial goal of adding more â€œmeatâ€� into the subject matter.

Along the way, I also acquired invaluable life skills. The way work was divided for different groups to elaborate on taught me how to productively make use of the short timeframe of three hours we have each week to learn as much as possible from my peers. Also, despite the fact that we were only given approximately one hour to come up with our presentation slides, our slides always looked so well thought up and presentation so well carried out. This also taught me that it is not the matter of time you take you take to spruce up your presentation that matters; it is the amount of quality time that you spent on it which makes the difference. The group effort put into it is also of great importance.

As a whole, I’m very satisfied with my takeaway from these fourteen weeks. If given a chance to delve into a related course, I would most probably have taken a course that addresses the conflicting views of the need to save the Earth and our need for progress and how technology can serves as a mediator to realign these objectives. Areas covered would most probably include the usage of green technology for progress while not compromising the health of the Earth and how these technologies brought about a different level of innovation onto the market by not only focusing on coming up with something new, but also on the sustainability of these technologies and the social responsibility that these green-technopreneurs hold towards the society. Thank you.

YAN ZIYOU
What were the objectives and targets I had set for myself in the 1st journal’; Firstly, I wanted to be more aware of technology and the enormous role it has in our lives. Second, I wanted to be able to predict trends in technology, adapt to them, and master technology as it advances. With regards to those aims, I believed that I’ve achieved them to a great extent. The theories in the text have given me the foundation of knowledge from which I can draw upon. The experiences that Prof has shared and made us go through (for the 2nd project) have made me more technologically savvy.

In addition to that, I have gained much in terms of a life skill! I had set another really challenging target for myself in the 1st journal: To be able to create stellar presentations within an hour. In week 1, the thought of not doing proper in-depth research, fine-tuning slides till they were perfect and rehearsing at least a few times was hallowing. I was a frantic mess back then. Looking at myself now, I’m really proud at how I’ve come a long way! I’ve learnt to put together a simple yet informative presentation in 30 minutes. The in-class presentations have forced me to be a more impromptu presenter, as there is neither time to prepare a speech nor rehearse. I’ve learnt not to take it too seriously. In that aspect, it is a skill that was really hard to cultivate. I treasure it and believe that it’ll be useful throughout my career.

I’ve also gained a keen interest in observing the market and investing. TWC has really impressed upon me that there are opportunities abundant everywhere, anytime, even in the economic crisis that we’re going through. Talent is not absolutely necessary. Everyone can do it. What is essential is that I keep a close eye on market trends and do adequate research. Doing so would allow me to be an astute and prudent investor, maintaining and diversifying a portfolio of my own.

CLIFFTON TAY XIANG RUI
I originally set out to learn more about how business plays a role in innovation, and from the entire course I learned that there are various things that a person can do to fund their businesses (such as getting money from friends and family, approaching government funds or even approaching venture capitalists, which were not really recommended) as well as the importance of marketing and branding good and reliable products and services to ensure that they are able to stand out from the rest.
Of course, the opening of new products in new markets, such as the invention of Air-Conditioning, show how lucrative being an entrepreneur can be. Yet at the same time, as a technopreneur, one must also be savvy enough to be able to read the times and adapt their businesses accordingly, in the same way that Carrier adapted his business during World War II. Thus, I also learned that the job of a technopreneur goes beyond just being a good inventor, but also being a good businessman.
One thing that was particularly interesting to me during this course was the idea of business ‘angels’ who invest in budding companies that they feel confident can make a profit for them. Thus, if I were to choose a follow-up course from TWC, I would want to understand how people choose to invest in technology-based companies, and how such investments work.

RUTH TANG LI LING
First question on objectives:

Coming to this course, I had desired to learn some innovation strategies that can be applied to our ever-changing world. On top of learning all these, I have also been consistently inspired by other innovators that we study about in class.

From being able to identify the different types and forms of innovation, and in examining the different phases in the cycle of innovation and the different theories of the innovation, we can make general predictions about the market and the product we wish to market, and thus modify our business plan accordingly to ensure the product’s success.

It was also interesting to finally be able to put a name to a common theory. Take for example the sources of insights that inspire innovation. Inventions may come mostly from individuals, but corporate undertakings and outsiders also contribute to the innovative process. Also, in funding innovation, â€˜cost-savings’ is commonly known as one way of funding one’s business. What was interesting was not just its unique name of bootstrapping, but also the fact that it is not just about saving costs in the long run so that profits earned would be greater, but coming up with unique and innovative ways to fund your business as well. Who would think that innovation would not be limited to a product or service, but to funding a business as well!

Learning from my classmates was also fun. On top of the weekly in-class presentations, I think one subject that came up most was the need to be alert and sharp in avoiding the pitfalls of being in a risky business. Scams are all abounding and it has never been difficult to get cheated of your money. Every business requires a certain amount of risk, but what is important is to have just the right amount of risk to have your business set off but not fall into the hands of scheming swindlers.

Aside from theories on running the business, I was also inspired by the various innovators presented in the case studies, as well as the guest speakers in the combined seminar. These people truly were not only creative and innovative, but also determined to succeed. This has made me seriously reconsider my career choice, as to whether I should have a safe job, or go ahead with my dreams of joining or setting up a publishing firm and entering the publishing and writing industry. Should the opportunity arise, I hope that what I have learnt from these people will help me and that I will have the same persistence and determination that they have all exhibited.

All in all, I believe I have achieved my objectives in taking away good tips on making a good business plan, as well as the essential needs of an innovator. Whether I actually get a chance or have the courage to apply what I have learnt remains to be seen.

LIN FEI EPHRAIM
Technology and World Change has been more than an eye opener for me. Throughout the 13 weeks of class, I’ve learnt the foundations of innovation: what constitutes as one, the process that drives it and how it is protected. After the first lesson of TWC, I sought to take this course seriously by being consistent in readings and to find out more about the â€˜Technopreneur’ as I was interested if innovation was the scope I would focus in as a career.

To achieve the first objective of being consistent in reading, I forced myself not to buy â€œExploring Innovationâ€� because I’ve realised from the past year that if the book was readily available, I will somehow not read it. And in some warped way, it worked. Going to the library to do my readings was entirely beneficial both for the course and my own general knowledge.

The second objective is a self-discovery still in the process. However, I was able to achieve this objective partly though learning about what being an innovator is about. Throughout the course, the case study was the most crucial part for this objective because while researching, I was able to find out more on the life of an innovator. Though the prospects do entrails me, every innovator always seems to have an innate passion fuelling their efforts, and this is missing in me. Thus, this has motivated me to get real exposure of the makings of the innovation.

In essence, the course has not only equipped me with the foundations for innovation but with the countless experiences and wisdom in dealing with the other not to glamorous details of a Technopreneur (recounts story of getting cheated by other businessmen and copycats counterfeiting goods). Thanks Prof for an insightful and enjoyable module!

KWOK CHONG EN JOANNE
I entered the Technology and World Change module with two main objectives in mind, to learn how to respond appropriately to changes in technology in the modern world so as to reap maximum personal benefit as I embark on my higher studies and career, and to do so by acquiring a significant understanding on how technology has been and is affecting the business sphere. Although I admittedly do not normally involve myself too deeply with the subject of technology when it comes to its technicalities and history, the TWC module was able to meet these two objectives I felt were the most relevant to me as a business student.

Technology is more pervasive than we realize it to be. It is not confined to computers and gadgets, but exists in the lifestyle products we use, the services we engage, and the corporations that dominate our economy. The way we live is molded and altered by the technologies that are in season, and we in turn involve ourselves in the process of innovation to keep the technology in progression. By learning about the evolutionary cycles of technology that bring products from invention to commercial success, and how these cycles in turn affect the economy and how it functions, I realized through the module that if I want to remain relevant to the economy as a worker, I need to follow these major technologies and the products, services and processes that they spawn during their â€œlife-cycleâ€�. Although the legacy of past technologies are difficult to let go, it is necessary that I am flexible to the changes new waves of technology bring because most of the time they are more efficient and are worth getting used to in order to raise work productivity. Changes in technology are inevitable, and committing oneself to any quickly out-dated practice will only render me the loser in an economic game that is dominated by technology.

Technology affects the business sphere to such a great extent because it first results in the products we use (eg. Computers, PDAs, handphones etc), the services that we can use (eg. Online banking, online shopping etc), and the processes that companies will adopt to increase their profit margin with the higher efficiency technology promises (eg. Online transactions, SMS advertisements etc). Obviously those in the workforce will have to adapt themselves to make full use of these innovations because of the profit motivation of all commercial transactions, but since innovation is all about bringing technology to the masses, this too can be a source of revenue. Having an entrepreneurial mindset is important, because not only do we keep ourselves up to date with the latest technology, we can also be the ones bringing new technologies to the masses. As I learnt during the guest seminar, those who have dared to step out and introduce their innovations to the mass market have earned a great dealâ€¦of experience and self-satisfaction, that is.

I do think that I have achieved the objectives I set out to meet in the first journal. TWC made me more aware the technologies that have shaped the global society, and has given me a timely reminder that I cannot remain indifferent to the innovations that are subtly changing my lifestyle. At the same time, I must be as spontaneous as I am now as a young person to technological changes when I grow older. From my observations of the older generation, technology becomes more of a hazard than a help the older one gets. It is very important that one supplements experience and wisdom that comes with age with the spontaneity and openness to change that comes with youth. Technology, like fire, can be both master and servant depending on whether we are willing to take control of it and use it to our advantage.

NEO JIE SI JESSIE
I would like to focus on funding and investing in technology-based company. Funding is a very important aspect in business world, regardless whether if you are an entrepreneur or employee. At a certain point in time, everyone will encounter some sort of financial situations and I feel that it would be very useful for individuals to know about the available sources, procedures, and advantages and disadvantages of each funding sources so as to have a better financial management. For example, most people would think of banks and insurance companies when they need funds but the interest rates might be too high for a small company to cope with. In addition, I feel that funding is a major obstacle when it comes to being an entrepreneur. Many people give up their dreams due to the lack of funds especially if they are planning to set up a small company.

Technology plays a big part in our lives. It’s a fast moving industry and profits would generate very fast with proper investing. Personally I am very interested in investing as this can be a good source of income for studying students, however, I have no relevant knowledge in technology industry and with the busy schedule in SMU, I find it difficult to gain the necessary knowledge required for investing. Furthermore, this is an interesting, practical and applicable concept which is not commonly taught in school. It would also help students in their financial management which I feel that many teens lack nowadays.

TAN HUI MIN ESTHER
1. I wish to discover what made innovators move and shake their various industries.

In the course of the 11 weeks of lessons, breakout sessions as well as presentations, I have learnt that persistence and perseverance has been the key components of the success of every innovator or technopreneur we have studied. What allowed them to shake their industries was their determination and drives to succeed.

2. Their source of passion and true grit to overcome is what I wish to harvest for my own life.

Interestingly, the sources of each innovator’s passion varied from wanting to lead a better life, like in the case of Ma Yun, or even to change the world, like in Walt Disney’s case. I believe that the individual case studies allowed me to learn the most and also in terms of applying it in my life.

3. I wish to learn how innovators managed to balance idealism with the realism of this world.

Even though we were exposed to the life stories of innovators and entrepreneurs during the seminar that was conducted, their core component of â€œnot giving up on your dreamsâ€� seemed to contrast with the adaptations that each innovator needed to make in terms of adjusting the magnitude of their goals and dreams. This I believe was the main take away in terms of balancing idealism with realism; each individual innovator had to make decisions in terms of scaling back or changing the direction of their final goals.

4. I want to believe that there is hope and opportunities still available for the human race to take advantage of. I would like to be equipped with the ability to spot these junctures and to fully exploit and/or manage these opportune moments.

In identifying the sources of innovation and funding that individual innovators took in order to attain their final goals, I was able to see how there are possible solutions and opportunities to utilise and take advantage of. However, in the light of the current world financial situation, these opportunities seem to be greatly reduced. Furthermore, after taking into account what Professor Pamela shared with us, I am more inclined towards looking for alternative viable sustainable businesses, especially in the area of property and agriculture.

5. I plan to attend all lessons fully and participate whole heartedly in all activities, including reading up and researching above what is needed in my extra time.

I believe this is something that I have done with my utmost ability and effort and in doing so, have found the lessons, research as well as readings beneficial in the application of concepts in my presentations as well as school life in general.

In conclusion, based upon the reflections of 11 weeks of classes (one week of study break, one week of no class) I realise that the take away was indeed very large as well as influential in the way I made my decisions in regards to my studies as well as in future plans.

LEO SHIH YEH CLARICE
Yes, I do feel that I’ve achieved my objectives set up in the first journal. During lessons, there are many debates on the good points and bad points on technology. In today’s world, many people have been taking advantage of technology to the extent that it makes their lives more complicated rather than simple, which is its purpose in the first place. I’ve learnt so much on the right way to exploit technology, the steps to innovate, precautions to take, funding, intellectual property rights as well as theories of innovation such as punctuated equilibrium and absorptive capacity. All this knowledge will stay with me for a long time and I feel that it will help me greatly in the future.

I also learn many examples in lessons like alibaba.com, hyflux, ipod, dual cyclone technology etc. I feel like my knowledge of innovators and technopreneurs, the difficulties they faced and how they perservered and overcame them, has widened a whole lot. My perspective on innovative has broadened and I feel so much more enlightened, which was what I set out to achieve in the first place.

Hence, if there were to be a follow-on course from TWC, I would like it to focus on technopreneurship. I feel that it is enriching and would want to learn more about the difficulties faced by technopreneurs, and how they became successful in the end so that I can learn from them, be inspired and maybe one day, become just like one of them.

CHUNG XUEMEI GLADYS
As mentioned in my first journal, I was quite skeptical about how much I would learn and enjoy from this class because I am not a tech-junkie at all. I thought it would be something very IT heavy and possibly dry. But I remember telling myself to be open about it and learn as much as possible. Couldn’t hurt to learn something completely new and unfamiliar right’; (:

With this mindset I remember entering this course, determining to do my best with the knowledge I have and to add on to my existing knowledge.

Looking back now at Week 13, I believe that I have done my best in what I have contributed to the group, the class and value add what I already know. I have learnt very interesting things regarding technopreneurship, from the people who themselves have experienced it and life lessons too! (like how to be careful of meat that may be soaked in urine haha) However, honestly, I am still a bit doubtful if it can be taught through a textbook because I am learning a lot more through class discussions and presentations!

To be open and learn as much a possible’; Check!
Added on to my existing knowledge’; Check!
Done the best for what I can do in this course’; Check!

Three checks! I think I have definitely achieved my objectives! (:

WEE XUE TING
Do you think you have achieved your objectives set up in the first lesson/journal’;

In the first journal, I mentioned that I wanted to know more about the different types of technology available and how one can use it to connect to the rest of the world. I am glad to say that this course has not only taught me that, but also stimulated my interest in technology. The in-class presentations helped me to understand the concepts being learnt every week by making each group â€œteachâ€� the class about the topic we had to present on. Of course, the advent of technology certainly made looking up information for the presentations much quicker and more convenient.

I was surprised to find out that there were many ways of classifying types and forms of technology, innovations and entrepreneurs. I did not know that their background and level of expertise played an important role in defining who they were, but in retrospect, I now understand that this serves as a basis for understanding how some innovations came about and how some entrepreneurs became successful. Furthermore, from the research I did for the various presentations and case study, I learnt about the intricate details of some technological innovations, such as the Nintendo Wii and the Blackberry. This, coupled with my actually having tried the Wii before, allowed me to appreciate how an innovation must be suited for its target consumer base and well-marketed in order for it to flourish. Moreover, I realised that even the smallest flaw or mistiming may cause an innovation to fail. Through this, I think I can safely say that I have become somewhat more technologically-literate and I am better equipped to take in the complexities of the ever-changing technology around us.

In addition, I also wanted to learn about the factors that contributed to the success of certain companies, especially with the aid of technology. Personally, I feel that doing the case study answered this. Learning in depth about a particular company made me aware that there is no fixed formula for success. The key to a thriving business differs depending on the product, service, or process, the industry, the market, and the company culture as well. A sufficiently competent technopreneur has to have the right combination of these factors in order for his business to take off, and he has to constantly tweak these to ensure continued growth. In today’s harsh economy, these lessons are essential in inspiring and grooming the next generation of technopreneurs. Although I do not know if I will eventually end up as successful as some of the technopreneurs I have studied, I will definitely take what I have learnt from this course and try to apply it in my daily life as much as possible for a start.

PHYO PAING SOE
Before attending TWC module, I thought learning the technology is nothing to do with my business major as technology, in my eyes, is just a computer and programming relating subject. However, after the last lecture of this class, a thought brightens me that I have been changed throughout this module. TWC is not only about the technology but it complements the current technology with the most practical world changes and the most useful business views. Contrasting some cases in the past to those at present, TWC module gives the students a wave of ideas to think, analyse and take advantage of the lessons learnt. TWC, for me, is ‘Techniques for Winning Chances of successful innovations and business’ as the whole module focuses on how innovators invent, how they design their products and how they make their innovations penetrate the market. The course is not based on individual experience but it serves as a platform and window to make the individuals gain different experience.
Moreover, my objective as to be an experienced and mature SMU student was fulfilled by my increased confidence of presenting and discribing ideas through verbally or writings. I find out this module not only gains me strategies and new ideas on business world but it also raises me as a confident idea conveyer. It is very fortunate for first year students able to access this module in their very first term. For these all special reasons mentioned above, I believe I’ve successfully survived through this module.

ONG JIAYUN ELVIN
In the first lesson/journal, I set out to investigate how technology can help the poor in developing countries. Now, having gained an understanding of the different theories of technological change and the different instruments of technology (information and communications, biology, engineering), I conclude that it is not a question on the usefulness of any particular technology, but the access to technology and on who uses and how they use technology to achieve what ends.

Modern technology blossoming under the entrepreneurial capitalism has allowed greater efficiency and productivity in the way people live their lives. The great wealth that is created has modernized life in general. However, in contrast, vast numbers of the poor around the world have very little ACCESS to technology. Hence, they have difficulty USING technology to alleviate their problems in life. It seems that to some extent, technology itself has already brought itself to the masses, with the widespread use of handphones and the internet. Yet still, many people lack such access. Is it only a matter of time’; What can people do in the mean time’; Are there technologies to help the poor’; Is social entrepreneurship the answer’;

In conclusion, I believe this course has answered many questions that I have and has brought out even more questions in which I will also be keen to explore into the future. A good follow-on course from TWC which I may consider taking would be techonology-based social entrepreneurship, which is relevant to the interests that I have.

JIANG KEJIA
For an introductory course into Technology and World Change, I’m satisfied to say I have achieved my objectives set in my first reflective journal.

I’m glad to be engaged and challenged in every class and the on-the-spot break-out sessions have allowed me to research and learn a topic fast in order to present to the class. The weekly presentations have also allowed me to hone on my presentation skills. This course is research and fact based and it helps to learn about other’s opinions and even the Professor’s bountiful experience.

If there is a follow-up course from TWC, I’ll like it to focus on the basics of technopreneurship and how to go about from the developmental stages of starting an idea to seeing it happen. It will be really nice to be engaged in a hands-on project either working with a technopreneur or creatively thinking of ideas and making it happen. This would also enhance SMU’s status as a university that allows the realisation of people’s dreams and businesses.

YEOH HUI LING
In this course we studied various innovations and inventions that gave way to great changes in the technological world. We explored the trends that buckled existing conventions, such as Apple’s iLife, Microsoft’s Windows suite, and derived important concepts and lessons that we can apply to our understanding of technology.

However, although the lessons learned were insightful, they were limited to a very business-like aspect of the technological world. A second course could expand on the social behaviour of a company with digital roots. Where corporations in other areas concern themselves with physical charities such as donations and fund-raisers, a company dealing with technology is in a unique situation to contribute to the digital world. For example, Mozilla Foundation describes itself as non-profit organization dedicated to preserving choice and promoting innovation on the Internet, despite operating as a business. Google is an even clearer example of promoting free, polished products for the public to promote a more consumer-centered and people-friendly digital environment.

A follow-up course about the social aspects of technological businesses would be interesting and also help complete our understanding of TWC.

CHEONG JIN BAO CLARENCE
After 13 weeks of TWC lessons, the end has come. Looking back at my first learning journal, which I mentioned that I want to learn more about the different technology and the different success stories of technopreneur, I am glad that what I have learnt has exceeded my initial expectation of the TWC lesson. Being an introvert, I was more afraid to speak out as I feared that I would be challenged by other students, hence I was more of a listener in class and every class had a different learning point for me. Though I felt that sometimes the lesson went out of scope, technology and world change became a â€œhow to do businessâ€� lesson, it was a value add and an eye opener for me as prof had shared her experiences of the different â€œgood and badâ€� and out of textbooks lesson of today’s society. I had learnt the thinking skill that prof had emphases a lot in class. For example, the idea that the officer behind Spring Singapore rejecting a new business concept could have done so because he wasn’t willing to risk losing his job if the business was a failure.
Sometimes after attending the lesson I felt that the world has become a very materialistic one, ie everyone is simply after money… IPR was also another interesting lesson, never would I have thought of that companies would steal an idea from its originator.
In conclusion, TWC lessons have given me a new insight of things which one will never be able to learn outside from textbook or newspapers, hence I really enjoyed this class.
If there was a follow-on course from TWC, i would be interested to focus on Technopreneurship.

TAY JIA SIANG JASEN
We have learnt a lot about innovations and technology from Technology and World Change. Indeed, we studied the importance of innovation and innovation being a powerful catalyst in our lives. The theories and definitions behind the areas of innovations and technology applied in our real live context and real businesses. In week 5, we presented Source of Innovation and did a comparison between Sony and Nintendo. Our group learnt that high research and technology efforts aren’t the crucial factor to the source of innovation for success. With globalization, the world has become more interconnected and interdependent. Technology has diffused to many parts of the world regardless of their starting point and spillovers are a common source of innovation since IP laws are unable to protect every new creation. We have seen how Sony and Nintendo have benefited from this amongst the sources of innovations. Later on, we learnt about the importance of institutional support. Institutional support is not crucial only in the creation of a new venture, but also the growth of the venture. Whether the venture ends up as successful depends very much on the continued institutional support it gets along the way. Prior to the founding of a new venture, initial help, be it funding or advice from family and friends are important, and also the foresight and expertise of the technopreneur himself. When these are in place, institutional support will then play a huge role that can help gear the venture to success. Technology and World Change has made these points across to students like us to know about all these issues about innovations and technology. It was nevertheless a fruitful trip taken.

CHERYL ANG
Yes, i think my objective of wanting to know more about how technolgy can change/affect the world has been acheived. Throughout the course, there are many in-class persenation and i think that i’ve attained my objective mainly through the presentations. Take today’s class for example,I thought that the topic for today was very interesting of all and we can relate to it better. Group presentations (like the funding case study) allows me to understand how technopreneurs affect the world in more detail. I also get to learn about the difficulties technopreneur faced before they are successful and how technolgy has evolved through the years. I found the lesson when we invited 3 speakers helpful in a way that it allows me to understand how the process of starting up a company is actually like. In addition, i have achieved more than what i expected (besides my initial objectives). Like, I have made lasting friends and i’ve realized that this is a fun class to be in as the prof shares her life experience as a mother or an entrepreneur.

LAU SEO HENG
If there is a follow-on course from TWC, i would like to focus on the path of technopreneurship. TWC has allowed me to get an insight of the various successful stories of innovations and how large and crucial an impact technology makes to a business or, the world. It also taught me about the key basic ideas about technology strategies and how each strategy can be applied. Being a person whose dream is to set up his own business and succeed at it, the talk organised was very inspiring to me and really makes me think about going into the business of technology. The question to me now is how to do it and also, to succeed at it. And so, I will really like to learn more about technoprenuership, the hands-on process of setting up a technology business.

WANG ZHAOYUAN FLORENCE
I would say the objectives and goals that I set up during the first lesson/journal are not meant to be achieved within this short period of time. Hence, I do not think that I have achieved it but I think I am working on it. Well, I have been reading the newspaper more religiously and have been trying to IMAGINE more as well. Afterall, my aim is to gather as many creative ideas as possible before I graduate from SMU. To me, technology is a subject that can be really dry if we were to read it up on our own. However, if we deal with this subject at a different light, it could be really interesting and fascinating. For example, I have realised that during the TWC class, there’s a lot of interaction and discussion in class. I’m very glad that Professor Lim shared a lot on your experience and the observations you made regarding about society issues and other stuff. It has triggered me that the best way to learn seems to be listening to other’s past experience and how they do it. Afterall, nothing beats hearing from the successor/creator herself’; So, I have been more affirmed that the best way to learn more is to ask and find out the answer or solution from someone who has been through and good at it.

If there is a follow on course from TWC, I would like to focus more in investing in Technology-based company and what are the rising technologies we can look into, how we can tap on it and create a business out of it. I have read from various sources that it’s always more risky to invest in technology-based company because there has always been the perception that technology entrepreneurs are likely to have excellent science/engineering credentials but inexperienced in the commercial exploitation of technological innovations. So, how can we counter that’; Secondly, it is difficult for investors to assess the market potential for products that have not existed or on its way to create a new market. The technology is likely to be unproven and its application is yet to be demonstrated and hence if I were to invest, I might not know whether my investment will be profitable in future. So, I would really like to learn how to access the potential of a technology firm so to have as minimal losses as possible. In any case, I feel that investing in a technology business is not as hard as setting up a technology business. (Correct me if I’m wrong!) And, not everyone might be interested in setting up a technology-related business.

Nevertheless, I will be still interested to know how to get contacts or get people with the technology skill sets to cooperate with you and how do we actually start a business from the scratch with just a sum of money’; People always say about starting your own business but how will we know we are ready or not’; Of course, what are the common expected problems or setbacks we will face if we decide to do a technology business’; There are endless things to find out but all in nutshell, the takeaway of the new course should equipped the students with the ability to know where to get their sources and help to start up their business. Secondly, to provide a much clearer view to know how exactly we can invest and start a business right.

I hope the above suggestions and comments would be implemented as these are the things I and perhaps my classmates really wish to know!

SENG RUI PING DENISE
My initial objective of this course would be to be able to understand the theories behind innovations and trends of innovations, and to carry out full research to understand the concepts behind the theories we learn in class. A vivid recollection of how I achieved this objective would be when my team was doing the topic on Hyflux case study and we had to input theories from the textbook. I recall reading the concepts of Ansoff Product Market Matrix and Porter’s prescription and trying to understand the reason behind firms adopting each of the different business strategies. We then proceeded to identifying the business strategies that Hyflux adopted in different stages of their operation. This gave me a very clear picture after, because I was able to learn from the textbook through a practical case study. This brings the content of the textbook to life as compared to just plainly studying concepts from the textbook without real life application to the theories that I have learnt. In short, I would call this understanding the ‘big picture’.

Another objective which I felt I have achieved at the end of this course would be that I have improved on my presentation skills and increased my ability to work in a team. This course allowed me to polish up my presentation skills where I was most lacking through the weekly breakouts. I would proudly say that I am more able to work under time constrained circumstances. Comparing the depth of my research in class now to 13 weeks ago, I would say that I am able to perform more concise searches of my allocated topics and am now able to give short presentations without prior rehearsal. As for working in a team, I feel that to accomplish our presentations during the breakout session requires team work and good communication. Every week, my team discusses who will do the research, slides or presentation. Poor communication or allocation of work would have resulted in poor outcome. However, we improved weekly and therefore, a lesson leant is an objective being met.

On top of these points mentioned, I feel now more than ever, that this course has opened my eyes to the ever changing faces of the world. Abashedly, I was never one who makes reading newspaper a daily affair, simply because affairs of the current world do not interest me. Naturally, when I came for class, I was not aware of the many happenings that my fellow classmates brought up. However, through this course, I came to realize the importance of reading the newspaper, because like how technology is constantly changing and nothing we study in this course remains constant (figures, dates and facts), world affairs are constantly changing and we need to be able to keep up with news in order to protect ourselves against the huge tidal waves that technology can sometimes bring (It can sometimes come in the form of social, economical or political waves). Therefore, having achieved my objectives set up in week 1, my next step would be to practice continued learning.

MUHAMMAD HAFIZ BIN MUHAMMAD RIDHWAN POH
I would like the follow-up course to include specifically the process of setting up of a technology-based company in Singapore. This will include topics such as sourcing for funding, patent office registration procedures, listing/de-listing in SESDAQ/SGX and other topics relating to solid good startup of a technology-based company here locally.

However, I feel that this follow-up course may be difficult to grade. There may be some students who are already working on setting up a company and may or may not apply or follow the whole structure of the course to his company’s start-up. Some lecturers may want to grade it on a current project (company startup) by the students themselves. Yet, this may be difficult for those who have business partners from outside SMU or for those who are interested in the course but do not have any idea on what sort of company they want to start. I am sure that the direct ‘real-life’ applications of concepts learnt in this course will be of much more useful to the budding technopreneur than the testing of concepts through examinations.

The course should also highlight all potential pitfalls that budding technopreneurs face. Entrepreneuship as a whole is a subject difficult to teach as the desire must come from the individual. Nevertheless, I am sure that the strategies, steps and techniques of actually starting the company can be taught in a quantitative manner to the students. It will also help the students if the course has some networking events with venture capitalists or current technopreneurs. Or it may be good to include a field trip to all institutions involved or to invite them down to SMU as well e.g. Intellectual Property Office Singapore (IPOS), SESDAQ/SGX relevant personnel.

Should this follow-up course be introduced, I am definitely bidding for it even though I may not have any business plan or idea in mind currently.

YEO SUE-MAE
If there is a follow on course from TWC, I would like to see a course on â€˜Innovation Management’. Currently, there is a similar course conducted by Professor Desai but it is offered to SIS students only and only once in every two years. When I was in Israel, I undertook this course conducted by Mr. Ari Manor, CEO of ZOOZ consulting. The topics covered were: Product Innovation (via Thinking Tools), Organizational Infrastructure needed for Innovation (including DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats), Idea Bank Management (including Concept Testing) and Strategic Innovation (Blue Ocean Strategy).Â
He conducted the lessons for the above topic by assigning each group with a group project where they have to innovate a product or service for real companies. The project was evaluated by the CEOs of the companies. The students have to work from conceptualizing the product/service using systematic thinking to coming out with a final proposal on how to market the product/service including coming up with a commercial advertisement. For me, I was assigned the task of innovating toolboxes for Keter Group.Â What I learnt from this experience is that I was able to sharpen my business acumen skills. I have to understand the plastic industry as a whole, how can the company leverage on innovation to maintain/increase their position in the market. I also learnt how to conduct survey in Israel in a more â€˜effective’ manner because of language barrier. Most valuable takeaway from this experience is that Mr. Manor has proven to his students that anyone can be an innovator. This is an important message to students in Singapore as I feel most of them had a wrong perception that ideas come out from the â€œskyâ€� by some â€œsmartâ€� people. His approach to ideas generation was a systematic way of thinking new ideas. The details of the approach can be foundÂ in his website. Bottomline, do get companies involve in the course where students gets hands-on experience in the entire innovation process.

ZHANG JIEYING TEO JIE YING JACQUELINE
Yes, I do think that I have achieved my goals that I have set in the first journal.

I managed to see a clearer picture of how every stakeholder in the society plays a part in contributing to the progression of change. For instance, some products are created to fulfill the needs of consumers, and this need has led to innovations and changes in the process. It is also interesting to find out that there are existing theories that link these changes together, accounting for new waves of technology.

As one who has been resistant to new technology, I am largely convinced that changes in the level of technology are necessary. Resisting to change would result in my inability to adapt, and it is only by embracing it that we are able to learn with time.

However, it does not mean that all changes implemented affect us positively. We have to bear in mind the reason behind these changes and rationalize them before following suit. For example, the use of plastic bags has led to a large amount of waste produced each year. It is because of its convenience that everyone started using these plastic bags, without realizing that it is destroying our environment due to its non-biodegradable property. The ill-effects of technology! However, advancement in technology has allowed us to produce environmentally friendlier bags. By using such green bags, we are able to protect our environment for a longer period of time. A negative change brought about by technology does not necessarily imply that its consequences would be dire forever.

In addition, I found out more about technopreneurship and learnt about the interesting stories behind some technopreneurs featured during the group presentations. The necessary skill set required of an entrepreneur is extremely useful, as we are seeing things from another perspective. It has also sparked my interest in becoming an entrepreneur in future, as the challenges faced seem like a bitter-sweet experience.

I certainly enjoyed attending class each week, as the experiences shared by everyone in class seemed so enriching and fascinating on their own. It has exceeded my expectation of the module, and that I have learnt a lot of practical knowledge throughout the course.

Thank you, Prof:)

YEOW CHOON HONG
If there is a follow-on course for TWC, I would definitely focus on Technopreneurship.

From the module, i some sort got inspired to create a business associated to IT. Somehow we are not able to digress from the IT world in the future decades. Evidently, IT business have shown to advance rapidly today.

I would be interested in Technopreneurship because I would like to have a business on my own. Although the start-up cost and effort to put in to build the business could be higher as compared to being an investor, I am sure the satisfaction reaped would be greater.

Generating my ideas into reality will also be possible only when I am the technopreneur.

However it is not easy to be a successful technopreneur at all. Having to compete with many companies outside and emerge at the top would be a challenge. Also, resourcing for the right factors of production and partners is also an issue.

Frankly, I am still holding little knowledge of techonpreneurs. Therefore, to live on my dreams, I would choose to focus on Technoprenership for the follow-on course from TWC.

Technology and World Change: student feedback

Technology and World Change Classes

Technical Entrepreneurship Classes

Other Classes

Technology and World Change Classes

Technical Entrepreneurship Classes

Other Classes

Technology and World Change
July 2008

pamela

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