NUS iLead OSM Berlin 2015 Part 1: Introduction

I was invited recently by NUS Enterprise (the university’s link to industry and entrepreneurship support centre) to organize and lead the overseas trip component of the university’s 7 month entrepreneurial internship program (iLead). It’s a huge honour for me as I had graduated from the sister program of iLead (NOC) with very fond memories. I’m looking forward to working with Peng Kee, who is Senior Manager at NUS Enterprise and in-charge overall of the trip. He’s the adult in the room essentially, a heavy load that I’m grateful not to bear alone. This year we will be visiting the world’s newest startup hub and my old stomping ground Berlin! Ich liebst du Berlin!

A journey of this magnitude deserves to be chronicled. Unfortunately since my plane ticket ate up all the budget, I’ll have to forego having my own chronicler, biographer, Watson to my Sherlock, Plato to my Socrates, and instead type my own little story. I hope that by my little contribution, I can raise the profile of the iLead & NOC programs, create a manual for future trip leaders, entertain you dear reader, and just keep a record for what I believe will be a phenomenal time for me and the participants.

The way that this works is that I’ll post weekly updates on everything about the trip. Everything from what we’d like to do and why, to how we go about planning and executing it, plus a follow up to share the outcomes and reflections. Everything about the trip except the contents of emails and information shared in confidence within the walls of each company’s office will be open to all. If the parties involved consent to sharing the above, even those can be made public. I’m a big believer in openness and the culture of paying it forward. I’ve heard people at every startup conference in Singapore mention culture as an essential ingredient for a viable startup ecosystem and I hope that this series will play a part in fostering that culture.

I’ve already started planning and reaching out to friends and former colleagues.