A proposal to develop a medical and wellness tourism event was selected as the winner of the 2019 Singapore MICE Challenge, an annual competition among Singapore students interested in becoming business events professionals. The winning team, Team Voyage from SIT, will present their ideas at the 2020 PCMA Convening Leaders, a premier annual event for the business events industry, in San Francisco next January.

Team Voyage, made up of four SIT Hospitality Business students – Wong Lik Hung Dalton, Bronte Bernadette Santa Maria, Uzen Tan and Emmaline Woo Suci, were among the six finalist teams in the 26 July 2019 live competition, the fifth year of the PCMA Foundation sponsored event. Two other teams from SIT were amongst the finalists as well.

Medical and Wellness Tourism

Team Voyage (from left to right): Emmaline Woo, Uzen Tan, Bronte Bernadette, and Dalton Wong presenting their medical tourism event at the finals of 2019 Singapore MICE Challenge.

For the Challenge, Team Voyage has conceived an event named “Singapore Medical and Wellness Tourism 2020” with an aim to showcase Southeast Asian medical and wellness offerings to the global market.

“This entire journey took us over four months from the start till the finals. We had some doubts about joining the competition initially because it would take place during our Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP) and we weren’t sure if we would have the time to take on both responsibilities,” said team leader Dalton, who is currently in Year 3. “We decided to join as the MICE Challenge was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase our ideas to the industry and to represent SIT.”

The quartet conceptualised the idea in March, and with the help of their SIT supervisor, Assistant Professor Eunice Yoo and their industry mentor, Mr Ian Wu, morphed their idea into a proposal. Thereafter, most of their efforts were spent on the presentation slides and the delivery. “We have rehearsed the lines so many times that we could even recite the script in our sleep!” remarked team member Uzen.

Besides honing their presentation skills, what the SITizens gained was an understanding of teamwork, as well as critical thinking and confidence. “By learning how to receive critical feedback from our mentors, it allowed us to grow, especially when our ideas were challenged. It also gave us better insights into the industry and taught us to think critically,” said the SITizens.

Esports Conference & Exhibition

Another team who made it to the finals was Team SIT Squad, comprising Year 3 Hospitality Business students Chua Boon Kuan, Debbie Tan Qiu Yu, Hazel Lee Jun and Joyce Tan Sin Hwee. The team’s proposal was to organise an Esports related event in Singapore. Their proposed “Esports Confex” focuses on promoting the collaborations between endemic and non-endemic brands within the Esports industry. To differentiate their event, the team has included a B2C segment to engage with the Esports community, including people with disabilities.

Team SIT Squad (from left to right): Joyce Tan, Chua Boon Kuan, Debbie Tan, and Hazel Lee presenting their Esports event proposal.

“We were honoured to progress into the top three finalists. Through this competition, we have learnt that on a level platform, it is very difficult to determine what is unique and special among the event proposals. It eventually boils down to whether we could bring across our creativity to the audience and judges and capture their attention. This experience will be a learning point for our future work because in the events industry, brainstorming within a team occurs frequently and it is important to capture the essence of our event concept and sell to our clients,” said team leader Boon Kuan.

The Singapore MICE Challenge, held annually in conjunction with the Singapore MICE Forum, is an initiative created in 2015 by Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) and supported by PCMA Foundation. More than 43 teams from tertiary institutions in Singapore have participated in the competition designed to provide a platform for hands-on experience and teamwork.

Assistant Professor Eunice Yoo remarked: “It was SIT's very first attempt at the Singapore MICE Challenge, and I am proud to have the top three finalists, all representing SIT. This indicates how SIT's applied learning approach is effectively meeting industry expectations. It was a challenging journey for all SIT student teams as they prepared for this competition while working full-time for their IWSP. Nevertheless, it was a hugely worthwhile and invaluable learning platform for them to be exposed to the real-world business issues, as well as to work closely with industry partners in transferring their ideas into feasible work proposals. Regardless of the results, all four SIT teams have put in enormous effort over the last few months, thus I would like to cheer for all the students who did their best!”

The winning team – Team Voyage – receiving their prize from Ms Meredith Rollins, Chief Community Officer, PCMA (left) and Mr Aloysius Arlando, President, SACEOS (right).