PROJECT PASCAL FORUM
Innovation for a Sustainable and Resilient Future
Professor Wong Poh Kam
Moderator: Mr. Pow Chang
Host: Kang Taeyoung
Date : 1st Sep. 2023, 2pm(GMT+8)
Organized by Project Pascal
Greetings, members of the Project Pascal Forum,
As we gracefully open the curtains on the Pascal Forum, we embrace the dawn of a novel epoch. The chapters of this remarkable odyssey embark in the records of curiosity, creativity, tenacity, agility, authenticity, and integrity. The catalytic potency of ingenuity has not merely illuminated our trajectory but has ignited our hearts with a vision—a vision of a sustainable and resilient tomorrow, one that extends far beyond the confines of Southeast Asia to encompass the entirety of the Global South.
Within the core of this initiative, we do not merely engage in discourse; we forge profound commitments. Commitments to delve into the intricacies of our cosmos, to empathize with the challenges faced by our societies, and, most significantly, to embark on purposeful endeavors. It is through these commitments that we chart a path that transcends boundaries, biases, and constraints—a path that unites us in the pursuit of a better and sustainable tomorrow.
The sagacious insights of Professor Wong Poh Kam serve as our guiding luminary, casting light upon the route to navigate the labyrinthine landscape of Technological Innovation in Southeast Asia, the symbiotic interplay between technological advancement and Entrepreneurship, and the blueprint for A Vision of a Flourishing Technological Ecosystem and A Vision for an Enduring Future.
Our odyssey marks the inception of a fresh chapter. With Professor Wong’s wisdom as our guiding beacon, we vow to persist in our endeavors to bridge divides, empower our students, and ignite the flames of innovation. The challenges we confront are indeed formidable, but our determination to surmount them is unwavering.
As we contemplate the enlightening dialogues, the impassioned inquiries, and the collective ethos that permeated this assembly, we are imbued not only with hope but also with a profound sense of sanguinity. Collectively, we harbor the transformative potential to transmute challenges into opportunities and obstacles into connections.
Our profound gratitude extends to Professor Wong Poh Kam for his invaluable insights, to Mr. Pow Chang for his exemplary moderation, and to Mr. Ken Lee and all our supporters who have stood by us throughout this remarkable journey.
Yet, the heartfelt appreciation is reserved for you—our Pascal members and participants of the Pascal Forum. Your boundless inquisitiveness, unswerving dedication, and resolute faith in the redemptive influence of technology to instigate positive metamorphosis inspire us all. You constitute the driving force behind our shared vision.
In the denouement, this odyssey is not exclusively about technology; it is a testament to the unyielding human spirit—the spirit of innovation, empathy, and collaboration. Together, as we stand at this juncture, we wield the authority to shape a future where technology knows no boundaries and where the radiant beacon of progress permeates every nook and cranny of Southeast Asia and the Global South.
With profound appreciation and an unflagging resolve to continually kindle the flames of innovation,
-Taeyoung Kang, James He Jingyang
Professor Wong Poh Kam
Emeritus Professor at NUS Business School, LEE KUAN YEW School of Public Policy
Wong Poh Kam is Emeritus Professor at NUS Business School and LEE KUAN YEW School of Public Policy. He obtained two BSc.’s, an MSc. and a Ph.D. from MIT. He has published extensively in leading international refereed journals on entrepreneurship and innovation, and was ranked among the top 2% most highly cited scholars in the world by AD Scientific Index in 2020-22. He has also consulted widely on innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem development policies for various international agencies including the World Bank, OECD, Asian Development Bank and WIPO, various government agencies in Singapore including MTI, EDB, ASTAR, Min. of Law, MPA and IPOS, and many private corporations in Asia. He was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at U.C. Berkeley, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, Oxford University, Korea University and GRIPS in Japan, and a Pacific Leadership Fellow at UC San Diego.
Besides his academic position, he was concurrently the Director of NUS Entrepreneurship Centre from August 2001 until July 2019, where he created or provided academic leadership for several high-impact experiential entrepreneurship education programs, including the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) program, the Technopreneurship Minor program for undergraduates in NUS, the NRF-funded National Lean Launchpad (LLP) Program on technology commercialization for professors and graduate students in the four leading universities in Singapore (2017-22), and the annual NUS Enterprise Summer Program on Entrepreneurship. He also advised the NUS Enterprise CEO on the strategic development of NUS Enterprise Incubator (NEI) program, including Block71 in Singapore, Indonesia, Suzhou and San Francisco. He has served on the investment committee of NUS Enterprise since its founding, and was a mentor to many tech start-ups incubated by NUS Enterprise. He initiated StartUp@Singapore, the largest annual business plan competition in Singapore (1999-2012), and the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia, the largest annual social entrepreneurship competition in Asia (2013-18). He also initiated and co-chaired the Modern Aging Accelerator, a joint program of NUS Enterprise and Access Health (2017-18), and the Port Innovation Ecosystem Re-imagined (PIER71), a joint program of NUS Enterprise and the Maritime Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore (2018-19). He is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Asian School of Business (ASB) in Malaysia, an advisor to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Entrepreneurship Academy on entrepreneurship education, and an advisor to Hong Kong S&T Park (HKSTP) on the Lean Launcher Program.
An entrepreneur prior to joining academia, he has been an active angel investor in tech startups in Singapore, Silicon Valley and China. He was the founding chairman of Business Angel Network (Southeast Asia), and is an advisor to iGlobe Partners, a global VC fund based in Singapore. He received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) Award from the Singapore Government in 2013 for his contribution to entrepreneurship education in Singapore, and the “Entrepreneur for the World” Award (Educator Category) from the World Entrepreneurship Forum in 2015. He was a board member of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) 2016-22, and is currently a board member of B-Lab Singapore, a non-profit organization that provides certification services for Singaporebased companies that seek to become B Corps (companies for doing good).
Moderator : Mr. Pow Chang
With over 20 years of experience in the high-tech industry, He is an accomplished IT and Artificial Intelligence professional with a unique blend of technical and business expertise. He hold a Master’s degree in Information and Data Science from UC Berkeley, an MBA from NUS Business School, a Master in Global Finance from NYU Stern School and HKUST, and a Bachelor’s in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from NTU.
He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and played significant roles in multiple stealth startups, where he has launched applications in e-commerce, machine learning, data analytics, and blockchain technologies. My technical skills include deep-link data analytics, natural language processing, predictive modeling using open ML libraries in the cloud, and blockchain solutions. He is proficient in a variety of technologies, including TensorFlow, Keras, Pytorch, and generative technologies.He has completed postgraduate certificates in Cybersecurity and Big Data from MIT and received the NYU Tandon Cyber Fellow Scholarship.