Ardy — Abhishek — Stevanus
We wanted to share the amazing stories and motivations behind the alumni who gave to the #SUTD25KCHALLENGE.
New week, new stories!
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Ardy:
What was your favorite pastime in SUTD?
My favourite pastime in SUTD was playing soccer and basketball with the rest of the abangs and kakaks, and seeing juniors and seniors joining in as well.
A part of the SUTD spirit which you greatly resonated with and hope will be carried on?
Willingness to challenge the norm as well as being giving. I remember there were times where students gave impromptu tutorials and printed their own notes for the rest of the class! I really hope that part of SUTD continues.
What’s the one thing you wish you did or said in your SUTD life?
I wished I was able to wake up early and say hello to all the profs at 8.30am.
Abhishek:
From Sutd I take away the many experiences that I still hold dear even now as an alumni. When I think of SUTD I still recall my cohort classroom and how even at 4 or 5 am it was full of students, with teddy bears, food, discussions happening seamlessly as we rush to meet the deadlines given to us. It’s filled with opportunities to try something new, no matter how late the night, pick up a new skill and be experimental.
I really enjoyed how the different modules came together in SUTD. I particularly enjoyed the HASS modules, as it provided me the reflective space to think deeply and differently as well from the standard engineering problems. That alternate voice helped me in growing as a person and to own overtime my dreams and aspirations.
I distinctly remember that as I expressed myself overtime, I was able to host sessions around issues such as urban poverty. I felt that we lacked such conversations to deep dive into societal issues and design for impact, which is a key SUTD focus. By using human centered design, and giving weightage to their needs and pain points, I hoped then that as we carried ourselves through the semesters we will have empathetic solutions come up which will be sustainable in the long run.
Stevanus:
Foundation, Family, and Fab Lab: these are the 3 aspects of being a SUTDent that resonate with me the most.
The first being no other than the rigor of the curriculum; how we are challenged not to learn so much in such a little time, but to also apply them to create meaningful solutions for the future of humanity.
The second being the wonderful group of friends I made during my time in SUTD. Whether it’s from the 1-year we spent as a class together, the projects we did for different coursework, or the various clubs we partook of, camaraderies were forged through thick and thin, and rain and sun across all spectrums of life in SUTD.
The last, but not least, is how literally fabulous our Fabrication Lab is. From cutting-edge tools like the Micromax Waterjet to more run-of-the-mill yet reliable ones like 3D printers, SUTDents have access to whatever they may possibly need to realize their our crazy ideas. And on the rare occasions where in-house fabrication isn’t possible, there’s always that project budget to help you outsource to external parties of the right caliber.
With these in mind, I decided to give back to nurture future innovators, and I hope you will too!
