Samsung’s global competition, Solve for Tomorrow, is back with for its sixth edition in Singapore. Themed ‘Be the Change, Shape the Future’, starting from 5th October 2022 until 20th November 2022, the competition is open to all Singapore full-time students, aged 16 and above.

Aligned with Samsung’s global vision for CSR efforts – ‘Enabling People’, the competition aims to encourage students to think deeply about the social issues affecting their community and act on it.

The competition is held in support of the Digital for Life movement, launched by President Halimah Yacob in February 2021, and managed by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Solve for Tomorrow 2022 aims to galvanise Singapore’s next generation of leaders to innovate and use technology for good to build a better and more inclusive society. It aligns with the Digital for Life movement in the mission of empowering youths to be more active in addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges.

“Whether you are a dreamer, problem-solver, or inventor, this is the platform where we enable young people to bring to life their dreams and aspirations for the future. The competition allows youths to express their creativity and passion, which will improve the lives around them,” said Mark Kim, President, Samsung Electronics Singapore. He added, “This is the platform that will enable them to apply their knowledge and skills across multiple disciplines – including critical and design thinking, marketing and communications skills, technological expertise and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) knowledge”.

Last year’s winning team, Team Adustio, shares their takeaways – “We are so thankful to Samsung for allowing us to express ourselves through our ideas. We took home more than the prizes. The competition gave us the confidence and experience to pursue our ambition and make an impact on our community,” said Alyssa Cheok. “We would like to encourage all our peers and aspiring changemakers to participate in Solve for Tomorrow 2022. It will definitely broaden your horizon and unleash your potential.”

Addressing Singapore’s Present and Future Challenges

Samsung has identified four broad themes for this year’s competition. Participants can develop their ideas around any one of these themes:

	1.      Environmental Sustainability Sustainability remains a critical challenge today. Our society need bold ideas to address our most pressing environmental issues and build a sustainable future.
	2.      Health & Wellness Technological innovations hold the key to unlock better quality of life, physically and mentally, for Singaporeans. It will also play a vital role in battling pandemics and other health risks in our society.
	3.      Learning & Education Innovation and creative application of technology will play a pivotal role in transforming our youths’ learning journey and prepare them more effectively for the evolving future workplace.
	4.      Singapore’s Digital Future As Singapore continues its digitalisation journey, there are tremendous opportunities for the next generation of innovators to create future solutions that are uniquely Singapore, such as digitalising our hawker culture.

Competition Details

From 5^th October 2022 until 20^th November 2022, students can participate in the competition by forming groups of two to four and submitting their innovative ideas or solutions on the Solve for Tomorrow 2022 website.

There are two categories for Solve for Tomorrow 2022.

• Category 1 – Post-Secondary Level: Full-time students aged 16 years old and above, enrolled in any Junior College, Polytechnic, Institute of Technical Education or the Millennia Institute in Singapore
• Category 2 – University Level: Full-time undergraduate students aged 18 years old and above, enrolled in any of the six publicly-funded autonomous universities in Singapore, namely
  • Nanyang Technological University (NTU);
  • National University of Singapore (NUS);
  • Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT);
  • Singapore Management University (SMU);
  • Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS); and
  • Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

Prizes

A total of 20 teams (10 from each category) will be shortlisted. Each of these teams will receive a S$600 cash prize to develop and refine their ideas and/or develop their prototype.

Out of these 20 teams, 10 teams (five from each category) will be selected to present at the finale event in January 2023, where the top three winners from each category will be announced.

• First Prize for Category 1 and Category 2:
  • S$12,000 worth of Samsung products
  • S$5,000 cash prize
• Second Prize for Category 1 and Category 2:
  • S$7,000 worth of Samsung products
  • S$3,000 cash prize
• Third Prize for Category 1 and Category 2:
  • S$4,000 worth of Samsung products
  • S$1,000 cash prize

For more information visit https://www.samsung.com/sg/solvefortomorrow or reach out to the team at samsungsolvefortomorrow@infom.asia.

From left: Mohammed Khambhati, Ti Kyi Kyaw, Keeret Singh and Toh Siew Hean with the prototype of their biofilter to tackle carbon dioxide emissions from vehicle exhaust

From left: Yuan Hai Shu and Alyssa Cheok with the prototype of their organic solar battery

The team from National University of Singapore developed an integrated two-part solar energy system that combines an organic solar battery with a mobile app-assisted asset management system.

The organic solar battery cell is made from seaweed carrageenan, which is a binder for high energy and low-cost lithium-sulfur batteries. Additionally, an integrated mobile application with sensor devices and an asset management system enables the solar panels to be tilted according to the sun’s position throughout the day, maximising its ability to harness solar energy.

According to Alyssa Cheok, team leader of Team Adustio, “There is an urgent need for renewable energy to catch up with the rising energy demand. Our integrated two-part solar solution will not only increase solar energy output, but it is also biodegradable and has a low production cost.”

“We hope this will incentivise more companies to implement it at scale. Solve for Tomorrow is an ideal testbed for refining our solution and conceptualising a potential business model. The journey has been rewarding as it broadened our horizon and encouraged us to push the boundaries to create something impactful,” she added.

Did the above ideas spark any inspiration and innovative ideas in you? Do check out the post-event highlights video below, and keep a lookout on our socials for details of this year’s edition of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition.