In this masterclass episode, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Prof. Jennifer Rudolph — a political historian at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) — to explore a question that challenges our assumptions about innovation education: what role do the humanities play in building great innovators?

The answer, it turns out, is everything.

WPI is no ordinary university. For over 50 years, it has pioneered project-based learning (PBL) — a radical curriculum in which students tackle real-world, open-ended problems with no single correct answer, and in which every undergraduate must complete three major projects before graduating. It is precisely this culture of ambiguity, hands-on inquiry, and interdisciplinary collaboration that makes WPI the ideal home for Jennifer's unconventional mission.

When WPI sent its first pilot group of engineering students to Beijing, they returned dissatisfied and disoriented — not for lack of technical skills, but because they lacked the cultural understanding needed to navigate the real world. That moment became the catalyst for Jennifer to reimagine innovation education, embedding Asian history, culture, and humanistic thinking into the PBL curriculum through unexpected entry points: China's mega-infrastructure projects, K-pop, and Asian pop culture.

Her driving conviction? That the "wicked problems" of our time — complex, ambiguous, with no single right answer — demand far more than technical expertise. And that the secret sauce most innovators overlook has been hiding in the humanities all along.

In this Master Class episode, you'll discover:

· Why project-based learning is far more than a pedagogy — and why sitting with ambiguity is the foundational skill every young innovator must develop

· Why "wicked problems" have no single correct solutions — and why that very ambiguity is the most powerful wellspring of creative thinking and innovation

· How humanistic inquiry trains the very same perspective-taking and empathy skills that every great innovator depends on

· Why WPI's radical 7-week sprint terms forced a historian to abandon chronological teaching — and how that constraint became her most liberating teaching breakthrough

· How a failed Beijing pilot project exposed the cultural blind spots among technically skilled students — and what Jennifer did to fix them

· Why weaving history, culture, and the liberal arts into innovation education isn't a "soft" addition — it's the secret sauce that separates good innovators from truly great ones

Whether you're a young innovator just starting out, an educator reimagining your curriculum, or simply someone curious about what it truly takes to solve the world's most complex challenges, this is your invitation to look beyond the formula and discover the human thinking that makes real innovation possible.

Guest: Professor Jennifer Rudolph, Professor of Asian History and International and Global Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)

Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan

Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan

Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

In this special NUS Open House 2026 episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Tristan Voon, a student from the NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) leading the Galassia-5 CubeSat payload project.

At its core, Galassia-5 is a Singapore government-backed Earth observation mission designed to revolutionise data delivery by cutting latency from hours to just 5 to 10 minutes. Confronted with the critical bottleneck of delayed satellite imagery for applications like piracy surveillance, Tristan and his team are leveraging an onboard AI Neural Processor Unit (NPU) to run edge AI. This enables the satellite to process images in space and transmit only the most vital information directly to users via a downlink.

What makes this mission even more remarkable is its origin. Bypassing traditional routes, Tristan reached out cold to industry experts during his very first semester to pitch the mission concept. Today, Galassia-5 holds the unique distinction of being the best-funded Final Year Project (FYP) at NUS, with more than $1 million in external funding.

Tasked with delivering on this massive investment, Tristan now leads an interdisciplinary team of 20 people. His journey highlights the gritty reality of navigating unknowns, complex engineering, and the power of lateral innovation.

This episode uncovers:

· Why latency is the biggest bottleneck in real-time Earth observation and how edge AI solves it.

· How a freshman secured over S$1 million in funding to build the best-funded FYP in the school.

· The hidden realities of leading an expanded 20-person team and the importance of delegating complex technical tasks.

· Why stepping out of your academic comfort zone and embracing knowledge from a variety of fields is essential for true interdisciplinary growth.

· Why the NUS iDP offers the ideal ecosystem for students to transform wild ideas into funded, space-bound realities.

Whether you're a prospective student attending the NUS Open House, an aspiring engineer, or someone fascinated by space tech, discover how Tristan’s journey exemplifies the ultimate university experience.

Guest: Tristan Voon Zhi Kai, Final-Year iDP Student and Team Lead for Galassia-5, National University of Singapore (NUS)

Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan

Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan

Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)

In this candid episode of Intrigued to Innovate, host Dr Jovan Tan sits down with Guhan Ashok Kumar, a recent graduate of the NUS Innovation and Design Program (iDP). Guhan recounts how he turned his childhood challenge with a speech impairment and the mockery he endured into EasyConvo, a startup that offers a space for students to practice speaking daily—an essential step toward achieving fluency.

Daily speaking practice is the most effective way to learn a language. However, traditional classrooms and popular apps often keep learners stuck in vocabulary drills, preventing them from truly finding their voice.

Guhan notes that while research shows learners need 20 minutes of daily speaking to improve, traditional methods can't meet this demand at scale. What started as a Korean-language chatbot called Chingu went through relentless iterations, team breakups across three continents, and a pivotal moment when a professor's blunt critique led to a complete rethink of its mission. Instead of the common startup goal to replace teachers, Guhan’s team developed a "teacher-led AI" model that amplifies the educator's impact while allowing teachers to retain full pedagogical control.

Within a year, Guhan and his co-founder, Kedrian Loh, achieved several milestones: they secured the EDIC Entrepreneur Fellowship, came in 1st Runner-Up at CDE Innovation Day Challenge, and acquired their first revenue-generating clients—all while Guhan was in his final semester.

This episode reveals:

· The "Green Mascot" Fallacy: Why earning streaks and vocabulary drills fail to improve speaking skills compared with authentic conversation.

· The Power of the Pivot: How the team shifted from attempting to replace teachers to developing an AI "twin" that continuously supports students without replacing the human educator.

· Interdisciplinary Advantage: How a "data scientist at heart" employed design thinking to create tools that people genuinely need instead of merely "cool code".

· Mental Resilience: Managing the "vampire schedule" of a startup founder and the courage needed to demo live features just 10 minutes after coding them during a global pitch.

Whether you are a student engineer, language teacher, or aspiring entrepreneur, learn how empathy for learners and respect for teachers can transform a simple project into a groundbreaking innovation.

Guest: A.Guhan S/O Ashok Kumar, proud young alumnus of NUS iDP, National University of Singapore (NUS)

Hosted by: Dr Jovan Tan

Produced by: Low Tse Han & Dr Jovan Tan

Presented by: NUS Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at the NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC)