Do dioramas fascinate you? Exploring the land of the rising sun and creating dioramas is topmost on Eugene’s favourite to-do list. Read on to get to know more about Eugene and what got him enjoying the work he does at DID!
1. Hi Eugene, please tell us about your professional background:
I graduated from university with a Marketing and Media major. My first stint was at a FMCG, marketing consumer products like Scott’s Emulsion and Ribena. Then I moved to Cable Television and was responsible for promoting the programmes that premiered on AXN and Animax channels. I was the ‘digital’ guy and focused on digital and mobile channels having done my fair share of OTG (on-the-ground) events across Southeast Asia as well – the largest being the first Animax event for Anime fans in Malaysia which was attended by over 60,000 fans.
I wanted to expand my career options and the opportunity came along at an SI (System Integrator). I found myself navigating the confluence of business and technology at NCS, and eventually moved into doing strategic consulting work with clients to help them meet customer and business needs through digitalisation. UX skills came in handy. I applied Content Strategy, Design Thinking, Service Design and Design Sprints methods at work. The watershed 'skills upgraded' moment came when I realised that I had forgone unproductive meetings and facilitated effective design workshops instead. As the saying goes – the rest is history.
2. Could you share more about the modules/courses which you teach at NUS-ISS?
I teach Innovation Bootcamp and Service Design courses at NUS-ISS. Design Thinking is the cornerstone for both courses. Innovation Bootcamp helps the learner appreciate what Design Thinking is – which is to understand deeply the problem and how to solve it creatively.
Service Design is the application of Design Thinking to the design of services. Now all digital products are essentially services (think Software as a Service) so these are critical skills that are vital for every digitalisation and transformation initiative that aims to create and/or capture value from customers.
3. Why did you choose to teach at NUS-ISS?
Having been through a journey of skills transformation I wanted to help others do the same. NUS-ISS is at the forefront of driving transformative change through effective learning and application. NUS-ISS also has the support of many key players in the industry. It is probably one of the best platforms to make a difference and give back to the industry.
4. What do you enjoy most about your work?
Connecting the dots across disciplines through research and application, and helping learners make the same associations and create the ‘a-ha’ moments. It leverages my signature themes of Ideation and Strategic based on the ‘Clifton Strengths’ assessment i.e., my natural fascination to learn about, connect and apply ideas; and my ability to sort through clutter and ambiguity to find a path forward.
5. How do you keep up with the industry?
Keeping up with the industry is important and it can be easily done by following various subject matter experts on social media. More importantly, we should be keeping up with our customers. The greatest source of insight and inspiration for innovation is right under our noses. I strive to communicate and to teach methods to extract criteria for innovation to all the learners I have the pleasure of supporting.
6. What are your favorite activities when you are not working?
I like to Netflix and chill. It helps me to unwind and recharge.
7. Tell us something about yourself that very few people know.
I enjoy planning holiday trips for the family, especially to destinations like Japan that allow for serendipitous exploration and am hoping to travel there again with my family after the pandemic. We have explored central Japan and was planning to visit the southern part of Japan before plans were put on hold. One of our family ‘rituals' is to collect trinkets from various places we have visited and to create mini dioramas to commemorate the trip. An example is pictured below.
