Tech For Good Essay Competition Submission Instructions & Terms

Theme​

  1. The Competition’s theme shall be “Shaping the Future of Southeast Asia’s Digital Economy”, which invites entrants to think critically about the future of the digital economy they will shape, especially as digitalisation rapidly transforms Southeast Asia. Entrants may consider the theme through the lens of sustainability, trust, or equity, though this is not a requirement.
  2. Entrants are welcome to freely decide on the direction of their essays, but essays must:
    • Be aligned with the Competition’s theme;
    • Be relevant to entrant’s local context or the Southeast Asian region as a whole; and
    • Be evidence-driven.

Eligibility

  1. The Competition is free to enter and open to submissions from all youths aged 18-35 years old from or currently residing in Southeast Asia.
  2. Entries will be categorised and judged based on the following categories:
    • Category 1: Institut Teknologi Bandung
    • Category 2: Universiti Malaya
    • Category 3: University of the Philippines
    • Category 4: Singapore University of Technology and Design
    • Category 5: Chiang Mai University
    • Category 6: Vietnam National University
    • Category 7: Southeast Asian-Open (for submissions from the rest of Southeast Asia and participants from non-partner universities)
  3. Entrants to Categories 1-6 must be presently studying in the stated Universities.

Awards

  1. 3 winning entries will be selected from each of the categories.
  2. The following awards will be given to the winning entries:

Award

Prize Money

1st Prize

USD $1000

2nd Prize

USD $750

3rd Prize

USD $500

  1. The Tech For Good Institute reserves the right to not award any or all of the prizes.

Submission Requirements

  1. Entrants must submit their essays between 8 September 2022 to 2359hrs on 31 October 2022, GMT+8:00
  2. Essays are to be submitted via the official entry form: techforgoodinstitute.org/tech-for-good-essay-competition
  3. Each entrant may only submit a single entry, formatted as a Microsoft Word file titled “COUNTRY_SCHOOLNAME_FULLNAME”. If not currently in school, entrants should title their word file “COUNTRY_FULLNAME”.
  4. Essays should be no more than 1,500 words in length, excluding any attached charts, tables, footnotes, references, and appendices.
  5. As the essay competition may is regional in nature, essays may be submitted in the following languages, dependent on where the essay is submitted from:
CategoryPermitted languages for essay submission
  1. Institut Teknologi Bandung
English, Bahasa Indonesia
  1. Universiti Malaya
English, Bahasa Melayu
  1. University of the Philippines
English
  1. SIngapore University of Technology and Design
English
  1. Chiang Mai University
English, Thai
  1. Vietnam National University
English, Vietnamese
  1. Southeast Asia-Open
English

Judging

  1. Essays will be judged on the level of demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the theme, quality and originality of insight, compelling use of evidence, quality of argumentation, structure, and persuasive force.
  2. Essays will be judged by leading academics and business leaders from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, chosen by university partners and the Tech For Good Institute.
  3. Judging decisions are final.
  4. Only winning participants will be notified.

Intellectual property rights

  1. By participating, entrants agree to assign copyright and intellectual property ownership to the Institute. 
  2. The Institute shall be entitled to, without limitation, publish the essay (or part(s) thereof) in print or digitally on its website or any other publication or platform (with due acknowledgement to the author), and edit the essays for publication and make use of the essay or extracts thereof in its promotional materials (among others), without permission from or further notice to the participant.

Disclaimer Statement

  1. Under no circumstances will the Tech For Good Institute and its partners be held responsible or liable in any way for any claims, damages, losses, expenses, injury, costs or liabilities whatsoever (including, without limitation, any direct or indirect damages for loss of profits, business interruption or loss of information) resulting or arising directly or indirectly from your participation or inability to participate in this competition, or from your reliance on the information and material in these submission instructions or from the Tech For Good Institute’s website, even if the Tech For Good Institute has been advised of the possibility of such damages in advance. 
  2. The Tech For Good Institute reserves the right to amend, vary or modify these instructions and terms at any time, without giving prior notice to entrants. Such amendments shall be effective immediately upon inclusion/publication of such amendments on these submission instructions or the Tech For Good Institute’s website.

Dr Ming Tan

Founding Executive Director

Dr Ming Tan is founding Executive Director for the Tech for Good Institute. She is concurrently a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore. Her research interests lie at the intersection of technology, business and society, including sustainability and innovation.

 

Ming was previously Managing Director of IPOS International, part of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, which supports Singapore’s future growth as a global innovation hub for intellectual property creation, commercialisation and management.

 

Prior to joining the public sector, she was Head of Stewardship of the COMO Group, a Singaporean portfolio of lifestyle companies operating in 14 countries worldwide. Her portfolio covered sustainability, brand and data privacy. She was concurrently the founding Executive Director of COMO Foundation, the private philanthropy of the owner of the COMO Group.

 

As a company director, she lends brand and strategic guidance to SuperNature Pte Ltd, COMO Hotels and Resorts (Asia) Pte Ltd, COMO Club Pte Ltd, and Mogems Pte Ltd. In the not-for-profit space, Ming is an Advisor to Singapore Totalisator Board and serves on the boards of Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s national performing arts centre, St. Joseph’s Institution International and COMO Foundation.

 

As part of her commitment to holistic education and the arts, she also sits on the Advisory Panel of the Centre for the Arts of the National University of Singapore.

 

Ming was educated in Singapore, the United States, and England. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and her doctorate from Oxford.