This is the second in 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: LIM ZUI YOUNG
TWITTER: @ZUIYOUNG
COUNTRY: SINGAPORE
OCCUPATION: STUDENT
Bio
A second-year student at the Singapore Management University (SMU), Lim Zui Young believes in the power of technology to empower individuals in overcoming communication barriers, and delivering innovative solutions that help enrich lives. His strong interest in information technology (IT) has not only fueled his academic studies — Zui Young is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems Management — but has also kept him focused on his research on mobile applications that revolve around assistive technology. During his free time, Zui Young enjoys playing the piano and violin to nurture his creativity and passion for the performing arts.
Tell us one exciting thing that you have been working on in the past 3 – 6 months.
Assistive technology is one of my great interests, and I have been researching how to create mobile applications and make services such as telematics and voice-activated notifications more accessible for the “silver generation” aged 65 and above. I have also been researching on technologies that can be deployed on personal devices such as tablets and smartphones to help individuals with visual disabilities communicate more effectively.
What are some of the challenges facing youth today that concern you the most?
I believe young people today are faced with challenges related to academic pressure and uncertain job prospects that are quite different from the bread-and-butter issues of past generations. We need to find a better way to help them better cope with increased competition in their daily lives. There is also a pervasive trend that the youth of today tend to spend less time with their parents and the older generation, due to the amount of time spent on the Internet — which leads to growing concerns that the younger generation is losing touch with their own roots and cultural values.
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?
There remains great potential in harnessing the power of computing technology to improve how we communicate, such as through social networks and virtual communities. Beyond that, technology can also be used to transform business processes and empower organizations to achieve greater efficiencies. I would like to see more advanced technologies being used to enable effective work communications in order to reduce the need for extensive business travel — which in turn may potentially help to reduce traffic congestion and alleviate pollution caused by air transportation.
I aspire to... create innovative solutions that transform the way organizations conduct business, including applications that take advantage of next-generation computing capabilities.
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