Achievements and Experiences
Outside of school
Memberships
2023-present
CURRENT
Singapore Academy of Young Engineers & Scientists (SAYES)
SAYES is a community of like-minded youth with a passion in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM). It serves as a platform for members to turn their ideas into initiatives, as well as promote STEM to the wider community.
I am currently part of an astronomy initiative, called Project Voyager, and working on a cybersecurity-related initiative involving a capture-the-flag (CTF) competition for beginners.
2022-present
CURRENT
The Universe CCK - Choa Chu Kang Youth Network Astronomy Interest Group
The Universe CCK is a platform for astronomy enthusiasts in the area (and from within Singapore) to meet, and for the rest of the community to learn more about what goes on beyond our skies.
I am a core committee member in this Interest Group, assisting with monthly sessions, as well as occasional events.
Experiences
PSA Code Sprint 2023
My first hackathon
Held from 29 Sep - 1 Oct 2023, this hackathon provides a platform for participants to come up with ideas surrounding Singapore's ports and the global supply chain and logistics.
Although we did not manage to win any prizes, it was a meaningful experience working with my close friends to turn ideas into reality through the making of prototypes. If I was given the opportunity to participate again the following year, I certainly would!
Using a Raspberry Pi
Ran various Linux Operating Systems with it
Back in 2017, my dad bought me a single-board computer, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. When I first got it, I flashed the official operating system for the Raspberry Pi, Raspbian, onto a MicroSD Card and put it into the Raspberry Pi. I was fascinated when I saw how different Raspbian was from other operating systems. One big difference is that in Raspbian (and other Linux operating systems), I needed to install apps via the command line by using 'sudo apt-get', and very few Linux operating systems have app stores/download centres.
Eventually, as time passed, I got bored of running Raspbian and decided to run other Linux operating systems. Firstly, I tried running Android. The version of Android I made it run was a stripped-down version of Android 7.1 Nougat that did not come with Google Apps and services. It was quite a cool experience knowing that Android can work without Google Apps. I eventually was able to learn how to install Google Services for Android on the Raspberry Pi and was able to run apps installed from Google Play, such as YouTube and Wattpad, however, the performance of these apps on the Raspberry Pi was extremely slow.
Another Operating System I tried was Ubuntu MATE 16.04. At the start, I had problems running it, and I found out that it was because I did not flash the files to the SD Card correctly. When I got it to work, I found the interface quite different visually from Raspbian, as it looks more like the actual Ubuntu.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, I felt a bit bored, so I found a way to flash the open-source version of Chrome OS, called Chromium OS, onto my SD Card and ran it successfully on the Raspberry Pi.
In conclusion, I find the Raspberry Pi a tiny but capable device, since it is able to run a wide variety of operating systems, mostly based on the Linux kernel. In the future, I intend to do more with it, like use it as an IoT controller or gadget.
Youth Cyber Exploration Programme (YCEP) 2020
Learning more about Linux systems and everything else cybersecurity-related
I first got to know about this workshop through my school. It was organised by Cyber Youth Singapore. I felt that I wanted to attend it, so that I could learn more about what cybersecurity is about.
For the first three days, lectures on cybersecurity and basic computer science were held each morning, while practical sessions using virtual machines were held each afternoon. During the practical sessions, we were asked to try out certain activities on Linux virtual machines, like changing user rights to files and folders as administrator/root user, setting up a virtual Linux file server, as well as remote connection to other virtual computers. I faced a bit of difficulty along the way, but the student mentors were there to help.
On the last day, a four-hour long Capture-the-Flag competition was held, where 'flags', which were hidden in the codes of certain websites and files, as well as hidden in the Virtual machines and could only be found after completing a Mission, could be obtained, and the team with the most number of 'flags' captured wins. Although my teammates and I did a bit worse than average, it was still a very good experience for all of us, given that that was the first ever time we have participated in a cybersecurity Capture-the-Flag competition.
In conclusion, I feel that the YCEP was a very enriching and eye-opening course, which helped me to learn more about the aspects of cybersecurity, as well as deepen my knowledge on Linux systems.