Experience

The Straits Times

• Newspaper Publishing
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Correspondent

  • Jan 2016 - Present

  -Notable stories include a 30-year anniversary special package on the Gifted Education Programme in Singapore, getting an exclusive interview with the director-general of education at MOE, and being part of a team that commissioned a survey of parental attitudes towards tuition. -I have also kept track of changes across many areas from early childhood education and curricula revamps by the Ministry of Education to law schools and vocational training. -A key project was working with The Lien Foundation on a 2018 feature about how Finland integrates students with special needs in mainstream schools. - Produced premium content for education-focused packages and supplements. Worked extensively with agencies such as SkillsFuture Singapore, and universities like SMU and SIM on content and video production that brought in extra revenue for the company. These also involved finding human interest stories and providing coverage for Straits Times Education Forums.

• Journalist

  • Jun 2011 - Present

  Reporting on education issues that affect Singapore, from higher education and skills training to general education policies. This includes writing analyses on topics like social mobility and meritocracy, and how Singapore's renowned education system has evolved.- I also regularly work with polytechnics and universities on stories to highlight issues, source for human interest stories and profiles, and suss out trends for audiences from school admissions processes. -Besides accumulating a pool of contacts and academics based in Singapore, I have also visited schools and universities across the world, from Germany and Sweden to Finland and Australia, to understand education and skills training in other contexts, as well as to develop contacts. -Won several awards for enterprise journalism and interactive online graphics. -Digitally savvy with mobile journalism skills: fast writing, able to take video clips on the go and use mobile applications to produce videos for social media posts and help boost viewership for content-Had an earlier stint at The Straits Times' Art Desk where I worked with artists to conceptualise infographics on a variety of topics including healthcare, science and environment, historical trails and museum exhibitions. The job included developing accurate, catchy and audience-centred content, while interpreting data and technical information, and transforming little-known narratives into highly-readable and visual graphics.

• Sunday Times Assistant News Editor

  • Jun 2019 - Jun 2020

  Assign and manage Singapore stories and features for The Sunday Times Work with a team of reporters to shape stories for both online and print platforms