Board of Advisors

STS has a prominent and powerful Board of Advisors who truly practice “Leaders Give, Givers Get.” That is why, even as a small group from a tiny red dot, Singapore, we have been able to grow so rapidly and give so much to the world. It is because we have many noble educators globally supporting us to uplift lives through education. Through IJHS and YALA, we will create even more leaders who truly believe – “Leaders Give, Givers Get!”

Click on the images to view more about each Board Advisor.

Henry Ong, Singapore

Dr. Magdalena Stoeva, Bulgaria

Prof. Valentina Dagienė, Lithuania

Prof. Afshin Behmaram, Iran

Professor Parvinder Singh, India

Professor Gurmeet Singh Bhatia, India

Professor Zhang JinBao, Beijing, China

Dato Professor Dr. Noraini Idris, Malaysia

His Excellency (HE) Dr Chan Roath, Cambodia

Dr Chiu Jen Wun, Singapore

Mr Abel Ohene Acquaye, Ghana

Ms Foo Pau Choo, Singapore

Andrew Kang

Singapore

Lee Eming

Malaysia

Dr Chankya Wijeratne

Sri Lanka

Mr Abel Ohene Acquaye, Ghana

Henry Ong, President of STS, Singapore

  • Founded Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO) in 2006
  • Created a team based competition Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC)
  • Led the Singapore Math Olympiad team to compete in international competitions in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore.
  • Invited by Teacher’s Network, Ministry of Education Singapore to train teachers on how to help students develop thinking skills through games and puzzles.
  • Created the Math Magic workshop at the Talent Development Institute for High Ability students for the Gifted Education Branch (GEB), Ministry of Education (MOE).
  • Pursuing doctorate in Education Policy and Organisational Leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Magdalena Stoeva holds Master degrees in Medical Physics, Medical Engineering, Computer Science and a PhD in Medical Physics (Diagnostic Radiology).

She has over 20 years teaching experience in Technical University, Medical University, International Medical Physics Center and the ICTP. Currently as Professor in the Department of Medical Imaging, Medical University – Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Dr. Stoeva is responsible for teaching for of over 300 students (medical physics, medicine, dentistry, medical doctors, post-doc, resident and CPD programs) on various topics related to Medical Physics and Equipment, Physics of Diagnostic Imaging, Radiation Protection, Quality Control.

  • Active participant in 8 International projects under TEMPUS, Leonardo da Vinci EU and other EU programs.
  • Elected member of the governing bodies of the International Organization for Med Physics (IOMP) and the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM).
  • Editor in Chief of Springer Nature’s Health & Technology journal.

Among Dr. Stoeva’s professional activities are: delegate in the WHO 3rd Global Forum on Medical Devices, Geneva 2017; Delegate in the 32nd ICSU General Assembly, Taipei 2017; a delegate at the ICRPM, Vienna 2017; a delegate in the European Parliament Interest Group on Biomedical Engineering meeting, Brussels 2018; a reviewer of the 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report as a nominee of a member organization of the International Science Council (ISC), the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and/or the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP).
Recognitions of Dr. Stoeva’s work are: the  Lenardo da Vinci award; the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) Young Scientist Award for Medical Physics; the Award of the Mayor of Plovdiv, and the FIOMP.

“With her active participation in fields of Medical Physics, Medical Engineering and Computer Science, our students will benefit immensely from Dr Stoeva’s extensive knowledge, contacts and advice as they enter into these fields to make their mark on society.  We are so blessed to have Dr Stoeva to guide our honor students”. – Henry Ong, President of STS”.

Prof.  Valentina Dagienė, VU professor of Mathematics and Informatics, Lithuania

Professor Valentina Dagiene is a leading international authority on Computational Thinking and Informatics.  She is the Founder and President of Bebras, a worldwide organization with over 56 country members.

She is currently teaching at Vilnius University Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Lithuania. Some of her extraordinarily accomplished academic feats include:

  • Publishing over 200 scientific paper and over 100 methodical works.
  • Coordinating more than 50 national and international projects in education, information technology, development of educational software and localization of computer programs.
  • Member of prestigious International committees such as Olympiads in Informatics(since 2006), ACM (since 2005), and IFIP TC3 (since 2003)
  • Founder of two international journals, Informatics in Education and Olympiads in Informatics
  • Author of more than 60 books on teaching Informatics, approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania

“With her immense knowledge in teaching, research work, publications and academic projects, we are privileged to have Prof Valentina Dagiene volunteer to join our Advisory Council, as Head – Informatics Education. We look forward to working with her to bring all of you another world-class competition in Informatics very soon.” – Henry Ong, President of STS”.

Prof.  Afshin Behmaram, assistant professor at faculty if mathematical science, University of Tabriz, Iran

Professor Afshin Behmaram is the assistant professor at faculty of mathematical science, University of Tabriz, Iran in the field of Combinatorics and Graph Theory. He also holds a postdoctoral position at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

  • Founder of “Erdős Institute”, leading Institute for educational innovations , mathematics activity and Scientific competitions in Iran.
  • More than 14 innovations on education of mathematics which  received gold medal in ITEX exhibition(Malaysia -2011) and silver medal in  Geneva invention exhibition, Switzerland (2015).
  • Member of organizing committee of  “Iranian math Olympiad“ for university students.
  • More than 22 research papers in graph theory and 28 scientific talk in International conference in 15 countries.
  • Author of the book :  “ Creative mathematics in combinatorics and Algebra “ , famous book for intelligence students in Iran.
  • Organizing “math Kangaroo “ and Iranian Geometry Olympiad in Azarbaijan State of Iran and member of organizing committee of “kangaroo summer camp” in Istanbul , Turkey

“STS is really honored to have my senior from University of Illinois, Prof Afshin to join our powerful Math council and we are looking forward to having him co-lead our Math and Science camp in 2020.” – Henry Ong, President of STS”.

Professor Parvinder Singh graduated 1st of his class and won the University Medal from Punjabi University, Patiala with a Master of Science, Mathematics.  He received his PhD from Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh.  He has been a passionate educator in secondary school, colleges as well as college administration as principal and many key roles in addition to research work:

  • Rose through the ranks to become Superintendent of Examinations at Panjab University, Chandigarh
  • Within of one year as Principal S.G.G. S. Khalsa College, Mahilpur, he introduced various innovative techniques in the field of academics and sports and made rigorous efforts to introduce solar energy system, water harvesting and organic farming
  • Awarded A grade by the NAAC in 18 months at SGGS College from previous B grade
  • Published over 30 mathematical research papers in academic journals
  • Author of 5 mathematics textbooks
  • Conducted research and lead conferences and symposia on Academic Achievement In Mathematics in Relation With Study-Habits And Home-Environment

“We are delighted to have a distinguished and passionate educator like Prof Parvinder Singh to join our powerful Math council.  We are looking forward to having him advise our team as we expand into India with SIMCC Edu Future Pvt Ltd to lead students and teachers to Acquire Skills and Recognition for SUCCESS.” – Henry Ong, President of STS”.

Prof Gurmeet Singh Bhatia is Head, Department of Mathematics, Khalsa College, Patiala.  His specialty is in Topology, Algebra, Research methodology, Fuzzy set theory, and Geometric Function.

He was also Principal (Patel Memorial National College, Rajpura, Punjab) for two years.  He has delivered 5 Keynote Addresses in Oxford, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Udaipur and Chandigarh) and been invited to deliver more than 20 talks worldwide.  He has published more than 26 books and 46 research papers in his specializations.

He is a life member in several professional organizations such as International Association of Engineers and Computer Scientists (LONDON), ACTA CIENCIA INDICA, Meerut, Indian Society for Mathematical Modeling and Computer Simulation, IIT Kanpur, Indian Mathematical Society, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and RAMANUJAN Mathematical Society, Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

“Prof Gurmeet is a very charismatic leader and active in providing youtube math lessons to help students and teachers Acquire Skills for SUCCESS.  He will be a key member of our math training team in India.  We are proud to have him assist us in the Math Scientific committee as well as advise our team, SIMCC Edu Future Pvt Ltd to lead students and teachers to Acquire Skills and Recognition for SUCCESS.” – Henry Ong, President of STS”.

Professor Zhang JinBao graduated from Beijing Normal University with his PhD dissertation in  “Innovation Diffusion Mechanisms of Educational Technology in K12.”  Since earning his PhD in 2007, he has been teaching at School of Educational Technology, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.  He has also served as Engineer, People Education Press, Beijing, 2000 as well as Lecturer, Tianjin Radio & Television University, 1999.

He is the President of BEBRAS in China and is a leading educator and researcher in ICT education including STEM. He has published 6 books, 27 journal articles and Principal Researcher in 6 major funded research projects with various agencies such as Ministry of Education, Popular Science department of China Association for Science and Technology, Beijing Education and Information Network Center, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Mircosoft and INTEL.  He is fluent in English and Chinese.

“Prof Zhang is a leading educator in ICT and Computational Thinking in China and we are honoured to have him join our powerful Informatics council.  We are looking forward to having him advise our team as we expand into China with SIMCC ICAS Hong Kong to lead students and teachers to Acquire Skills and Recognition for SUCCESS.” – Henry Ong, President of STS”.

Dato Professor Dr Noraini Idris
National STEM Movement (Malaysia), Chairperson
University of Malaya

Dato Professor Dr. Noraini Idris is an educator, consultant, and distinguished mathematics educator.  She was conferred her PhD from Ohio State University, USA and has been entrusted with the position of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) at Sultan Idris Education University as well as well as Dean of the Faculty of Education at University of Malaya.  She published avariety of national and international academics publications to her credit and is a Fulbright Research Fellow.

Subsequently, she presented papers both nationally and internationally and conducted several researches with UNESCO, the British Council, Australian Universities – such as Melbourne, Sydney and the Sumitomo, Japan.

Her research areas are mathematics education, teacher education, computer-assisted assessment, higher education, and comparative education.  She has been the principal investigator for a a government-funded research on Development of A Teacher Education Model for Preparing Quality Teachers for The Future and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).  She is an active research member on Classroom for Teaching and Learning of Mathematics research team comprises of USA, Germany, Italy, Spain, and China.  She is also an International Editorial Advisor/Reviewer for Journal of Mathematics Education, USA and Research Academic Journal, USA.

Among her distinctions are the Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Awards- the only Asian recipient for the project on Minority Young Scholars Project and the Graduate Research Alumni Student Award from Ohio State University, a Gold Medal for ITEX (Geneva, 2005) and Best Award at MTE 2007, 2009 on designing assessment system for school-based assessment and higher education on Gold Medal at ITEX 2011, 2013, 2014 for designing Module of Teacher Education. Most recently, she has been awarded the Leadership STEM 2018 from the Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA) and Visionary Leadership Category from the International Education Award 2018.

The strength of the STEM workforce is often viewed as strong indicator of a nation’s ability to generate ideas towards the creation of innovative products and services as well as to sustain.  “We, at STS and SIMCC, are delighted to partner with Dato Prof Dr Noraini to promote greater interest and capability development in STEM among students, to uplift more lives worldwide.” – Henry Ong

His Excellency (HE) Dr Chan Roath, Cambodia
Manager of New Generation Pedagogical Research Center (NGPRC), National Institute of Education (NIE)
President of Cambodian Mathematical Society (CMS)

Dr Chan Roath received his PhD in Mathematics from
Daghestan State University, Russia in 1994.  He is the Manager of NGPRC, in charge of mentor teachers and master’s degree teacher scholarships for NIE and Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MOEYS).

As President of CMS, he leads a passionate group of volunteers and teachers to improve math education by reaching every province in Cambodia.  He has worked tirelessly to bring Math, Science, and STEM competitions as well as assessments to raise educational standards and open many opportunities for Cambodian students.

Dr Chan Roath is a university lecturer for Mathematics and Mathematics Education for teachers.  He has been Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee of the International Conference on Science and Mathematics Education in developing countries since 2008.  With his success in hosting International Conferences in Science and Mathematics Education, he was appointed as Chairman of Local Organizing Committee of International Conference on Mathematics and Technology in Mathematics Education since 2013.

His publications and research include:

  • Translation 100 Great problem of Elementary Mathematics, 2005
  • Translation Famous Problems of Geometry and How to Solve Them, 2006
  • Translation Math Wonderland, Author Jin Akiyama, Japan, 2011
  • Translation 15 articles from Klein Project Blog, leader of working group, 2013
  • STEM Education in Cambodia: Opportunities and Challenge, Seoul, Korea Conference, 2018
  • Impact of Education Reform into Education Sector since 2014, Siemreap, Cambodia Conference, 2018
  • Cambodia’s strategies on Human Resource Development for IR 4.0, Siemreap, Cambodia Conference, 2019

Besides, his expertise in Mathematics, Dr. Chan Roath is multi-lingual in French, Russia, Khmer, and English.

Dr Chan Roath brings a wealth of experience to our Board of Advisors in:

  • Teacher Education and Management
  • Management of New Generation Schools (NGS), an initiative by MOEYS to transform education in Cambodia
  • Managing a powerful network of math volunteers through CMS to reach all students throughout Cambodia
  • Managing International Conferences for MOEYS
  • Teaching, publishing, and researching in STEM to identify talent and nurturing them for national development of Cambodia and neighbouring countries
  • Partner with SIMCC to run CMS, so we can also play our part in developing Cambodia on a non-profit basis

 

“I am truly blessed to have a true friend, generous contributor, and partner to help students and teachers worldwide to Acquire Skills and Recognition for SUCCESS.” – Henry Ong

Dr Chiu Jen Wun, MBBS, MMed, DEAA,

Consultant Anaesthesiologist,

Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre

After spending 17 years in the public sector hospitals, Dr Chiu has been in private practice for the past 16 years. He completed his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery & Master of Medicine (Anaesthesiology) degrees at the National University of Singapore. He also attained his Diploma in Anaesthesiology & Intensive Care (EU), and is professionally registered at the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (USA) and the General Medical Council (UK).

Dr Chiu was awarded a post-graduate government scholarship to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre to train as a Clinical Research Fellow. He was mentored by the world-renowned Professor Paul F. White (who was expert defence witness in the Michael Jackson trial) in state-of-the-art fast-tracking protocols & paradigms for day-case anaesthesia.

On the academic front, Dr Chiu was appointed Course Coordinator, Tutor & Examiner for the Master of Medicine (Anaesthesiology) professional degree. His sub-specialty interests are in obstetric and day-case anaesthesia and in these fields, he has published more than 30 peer-reviewed medical journal articles, over 80 conference abstracts and a chapter in an authoritative anaesthesia textbook. Dr Chiu has also been Editorial Board Member & Reviewer for local and international journals.

Dr Chiu’s last public service appointment was Consultant Anaesthesiologist & Director of Ambulatory Anaesthesia at the KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital (KKH), Singapore. He received awards for top clinical performance as well as being the leading contributor of ideas for improvements in workflow/patient services at KKH. Recently, he has also been appointed as a Visiting Consultant to hospitals in Bhutan & Vietnam.

Dr Chiu believes that good parenting should go hand-in-hand with excelling at one’s job. He has encouraged his teenage son, Curtis Aaron to participate in various SIMCC competitions (SASMO, SMKC, AMO, AIMO, VANDA, DOKA) since 2014, from which he has garnered multiple medals & honours. Having been brought up in a holistic manner, Curtis Aaron has also distinguished himself in public speaking and represented both Singapore and North Wales in competitive tennis.

“We look forward to recruiting professionals like Dr Chiu to help more of our students and teachers to acquire skills & recognition for career SUCCESS. He could provide those who are keen on a medical career with an insider’s insights and offer parenting tips on raising more balanced kids. He and Aaron are strong believers in the benefits of SIMCC competitions and STS has also matched their sponsorship of needy students with our (1+1) x 2 = 4 program.” – Henry Ong

Mr Abel Ohene Acquaye
Founder and Executive Director, AB Review, Ghana

With close to a decade’s experience spanning media, innovation, and education, Abel Ohene Acquaye is a seasoned social entrepreneur and education enthusiast. A graduate of the Voronezh State University, Russia with a magna cum laude in Economics, he returned to Ghana and worked with the Deputy Minister of Education as an Executive Assistant.

In 2015, he founded AB Review, an education hub that prepares students in Africa for global educational opportunities and the future of work. Since its inception, the start-up has guided over ten thousand students in making informed school and career choices while assisting them to study in fifteen countries with local and global scholarships worth millions of US dollars.

Abel has led his social enterprise to develop initiatives that create a link between the classroom and the field. These initiatives include the award-winning Sharks Academic TV show, the Academic Talent Development Program for high achievers and the “I Too Can” high school tour.

Abel has worked with Microsoft Africa, POV Africa, Extramarks South Africa, and the Singapore International Mastery Contests Center (SIMCC) to facilitate unique educational technologies and new learning methods in Ghana to raise the standard of education in the country.

Abel loves to debate and plays tennis or cooks in his spare time. His vision is to help Africa build a competitive human resource for the future.

‘“We are delighted to have found a like-minded partner like Abel to spearhead our expansion into Africa, as we help students and teachers to Acquire Skills and Recognition for SUCCESS.” – Henry Ong

Ms Foo Pau Choo
Dean, Scholastic Trust Singapore Teachers’ Institute (STSTI)

Ms Foo Pau Choo is a very experienced educator with more than 20 years of teaching in English, Mathematics, and Science and supervising experience as a Subject Head and Head-of-Department in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Health Education, and School Leader with the Ministry of Education, Singapore and International Schools.

Her experience also includes supervising teachers in the marking of Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) Mathematics paper. The PSLE is Singapore’s National Exam for all Grade 6 students.  She has won many accolades accorded by Singapore Ministry of Education and Singapore Teachers’ Network for being an outstanding resource person and trainer for teachers.  She was a finalist for the 1997 President’s Award for Teachers.  She served as Associate of Teachers’ Network (1999 -2006), Executive Committee Member of East Zone Centre of Excellence for Mathematics (2003 – 2006), and Advisor of South Zone Centre of Excellence for English (2007).

Ms Foo completed her BSc in Mathematics with Economics.  She was awarded Diploma in Education, Certificate in Physical Education, and Diploma in Department Education from National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU).  She has presented in numerous Mathematics & Science Education Conferences and conducted academic & pedagogical workshops for teachers and parents.

“In 2017, after one of my trips to Myanmar, where I had met many teachers and principals sharing with me how they yearned for professional development like Singapore, as they were not getting any from their Ministry of Education.  I immediately thought of Pau Choo, whom I have known for over 20 years, and asked her to help me to train teachers.  She volunteered her services and has shared her expertise in Mathematics and pedagogy with teachers. Last year, as requests increased, we appointed her as Dean, STSTI.  She is truly passionate in grooming both students and teachers and was a superb YALA Camp Director helping students and teachers worldwide to Acquire Skills and Recognition for SUCCESS.” – Henry Ong

Andrew Kang Resume
Lee Eming Resume
Dr Chankya Resume