Tembusu Alumni, Tan Ming Jiang & Youk Keunhee, win at SMRT & NUS Enterprise hackathon

September 08, 2014

From the 29th till the 31st of August, this year, Youk Keunhee and Tan Ming Jiang -- both alumni of Tembusu College -- alongside 2 other teammates participated in a hackathon organized by SMRT & NUS Enterprise. This being their first hackathon, they joined with the hope of learning more about hacking for solutions. As part of the contest, they were given problem statements by SMRT in five categories -- Buses, Trains, Taxis, Commercial and Open -- and had to solve any one of these over that weekend. Since the issue of taxis is very close to their hearts, their group decided to devote their energies to that problem.

Even though neither Keunhee nor Ming Jiang are coders, they pitched in not just in the technological aspects, but also in the marketing aspects. All of their work culminated in a 3 minute presentation of their prototype. The results of their work will soon be felt by us all, as the group will soon be working together with SMRT on implementing their idea.


The Tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) is a large evergreen tree in the family Gentianaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia. Its trunk is dark brown, with deeply fissured bark, looking somewhat like a bittergourd. It grows in an irregular shape from 10 to 25m high. Its leaves are light green and oval in shape. Its yellowish flowers have a distinct fragrance and the fruits of the tree are bitter tasting red berries, which are eaten by birds and fruit bats.