This is part of a series of YouthSpark profiles where we highlight young people in Asia who are dedicated to changing the world through technology, and inspiring others along the way.
| NAME: JOSHUA SIM |
Bio
Joshua Sim excelled in the Imagine Cup 2012 Worldwide Finals, the world’s premier student technology competition, being the only polytechnic student to finish in the top three of the competition. The second-year student at the School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) in Singapore, plans to pursue his interest in cloud computing and use technology innovations to address some of the world’s leading social challenges. Joshua believes in contributing to the community, especially through improving the quality of life for senior citizens, and spends his weekends volunteering at residential homes for the elderly. Most recently, he helped the residents of an elderly care center in Singapore lead a more active lifestyle.
Tell us one exciting thing that you have been working on in the past 3 – 6 months.
My friends and I are currently working on a project that manages vehicular traffic for the city. We plan to realize this through IPv6 — the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the primary communications protocol upon which the entire Internet is built. By leveraging the benefits of IPv6, we aim to create applications for real-time analytics and congestion management. We see this as a good opportunity to learn and experience how we could alleviate real world problems through innovation and IT.
What are some of the challenges facing youth today that concern you the most?
Young people today often find their sense of creativity stifled, having been burdened with too much stress and academic pressure in their formative years to enjoy their childhood. To me, this is a major concern as I believe that creativity and innovative ideas are essential to the development of new products and services to drive economic advancements.
If you had the ability to create one change in the world, what would that be and how can technology help you achieve this change?
I would ensure that there is Internet connectivity available in every home. Studies have shown a strong correlation between Internet access and economic growth, as the Internet not only connects people but is also a great avenue for knowledge and innovation. Overcoming the digital divide around the world would be a positive step for humanity and progress.
I aspire to... learn something new every day. With the knowledge gained, I want to help the world progress.