https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/70155

Sep - 2026

On Sunday, September 20th, my father and I set out to Nanyang Technological University for a special TEDx event. Our taxi dropped us at the back gate, where a massive crowd was already gathering. We joined the General Attendees line—twenty minutes of waiting before the student volunteers made the smart call to split the queue. Five minutes later, we were checking in, receiving our TEDxNTU tote bags (complete with coffee cups and sealed pouches), and I managed to snag a photo with the mascot lion.

I secured front-row seats. Ninety minutes passed while we waited, and then the lights finally dimmed.

Julien Cayla took the stage first—a Business Anthropologist speaking in vibrant metaphors about something called Emotional Energy. A delicious cocktail, he called it. Made of certain ingredients that move people, shape workplaces, and drive decisions we barely understand ourselves. I found myself leaning forward, curious what these ingredients were, how they worked.

Linfa Wang came next—the "Batman of Science," as he's known. His question grabbed me immediately: Are bats our friends or enemies? The answer was more complicated than I expected. Bats, he explained, live peacefully with humanity's deadliest viruses—COVID, Nipah, Ebola—because of a protein called ASC2 that acts as an inflammation dampener. He'd tested it on mice with stunning results. Human trials, he announced with genuine enthusiasm, begin in 2027. I sat back, processing: we might be closer to a breakthrough than I realized.

Then Marcus Tan shifted something in the room. He spoke about sound—environmental soundscapes—and how most of us have stopped noticing them. Natural sounds are vanishing, he said, replaced by the relentless hum of cities. He engaged us in a two-question survey, and I participated. The data revealed something that unsettled me: half the room barely notices their acoustic environment. Most of us experience sound as mere function or emotion, not as cultural heritage. I realized I was one of those people.

Gemma Calvert jolted me awake with a barrage of flickering social media reels—a deliberate, disorienting assault on the senses. That was the point, she explained. That dizziness? That's exactly how digital media works on us—hijacking our dopamine, fracturing our attention, leaving our brains perpetually scattered. She looked directly at us and asked: Are you still distracted? I was. Her plea was direct and urgent: put the phone down. Think. Use your mind, or lose it. Her words stayed with me.

Finally, Tysha Khan took the stage—an award-winning actor and writer. She closed the event with grace, exploring a theme called "A Body, Possessed." Drawing from her background in intercultural theatre, she spoke about physical autonomy, cultural history, and the profound power of reclaiming your own narrative. Her delivery was poignant, leaving me deeply reflective on how I inhabit my own identity.

I left the auditorium that evening changed in small but definite ways.

Aug - 2026

24 HRS SHORT-FILM CONTEST 2026 - SINGAPORE by SG FILM CLUB

The short film "UNDER THE CARPET" was made for the 24 Hrs Short-Film Contest 2026 by Singapore Film Club. In a high-energy race against the clock, Arvin participated in the SG Film Club 24-Hour Short Film Challenge—taking a project from blank page to finished cut in just one day.

Faced with a strict 24-hour deadline, Arvin contributed across the full production pipeline, including story development, screenplay writing, direct on-set shooting, and post-production editing. The experience was a masterclass in fast-paced storytelling and rapid execution, proving that tight constraints can yield tangible, high-impact creative outcomes.

June - 2026

The world ended on an ordinary afternoon.

One moment Aaron was just a teenager with a backpack and a restless mind. The next, the streets were silent and something was very, very wrong.

He isn’t alone. There’s Charlie, who jokes when he should run. There’s Willow, sharper than anyone gives her credit for. And there’s Max — a German Shepherd puppy who follows Aaron into danger he can’t begin to understand.

Together they’ll cross a world that shouldn’t exist and outrun things that shouldn’t move — and learn that survival isn’t about being the strongest. It’s about who you refuse to leave behind.

But the deeper they go, the more Aaron suspects this nightmare isn’t what it seems. And the truth waiting at the end will change everything.

Dawn of Nightmares is the explosive chapter in the TNT: Teens & Tales series — a fast-paced adventure about courage, friendship, and the moment you stop running and start fighting back.

PURCHASE: @Amazon

May - 2026 

The World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) is a prestigious international academic program that brings together students from over 50 countries to celebrate the joy of learning, debate, and critical thinking. Rather than a traditional memorization contest, WSC challenges students in team debate, collaborative writing, and multimedia knowledge challenges spanning science, history, literature, and the arts.

At the 2026 World Scholar’s Cup Singapore Round, Arvin excelled under intense academic pressure. Working seamlessly with his teammates, he and his team secured a Silver Medal in the Team Scholars’ Bowl—the competition's fast-paced, high-stakes flagship trivia event. Their success contributed to an outstanding showing for One World International School (OWIS), which racked up a total of 8 medals in the 2026 round alone, ultimately earning Arvin and his team a coveted qualification spot for the WSC Global Round.

March - 2025

The FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) is a massive global robotics tournament designed to introduce youth to hands-on STEM engineering and real-world problem-solving. Teams are challenged to research a specific real-world problem and design, build, and program an autonomous LEGO® robot to conquer complex mission tasks on a

competitive playing field.

Arvin’s journey in the league is highlighted by an incredibly impressive debut in the 2025 FLL tournament. Defying the odds as an underdog duo, Arvin and his sole teammate went up against much larger, fully-staffed teams and walked away with the highly selective Best Newcomer Award. Building on that momentum, he returned for the

Sep - 2026

24 HRS SHORT-FILM CONTEST 2026 - SINGAPORE by SG FILM CLUB