#lastblog

What is a social credit system? according to an article, social credit system is a set of databases and initiatives that monitor and assess the trustworthiness of individuals, companies and government entities. In China, It is where a good rating could offer priority health care or deposit-free renting of public housing, while a negative rating could see individuals banned from flights and trains. The real question leads to, does this only applies in China or that this system has far existed beforehand?

I remember growing up as a Malaysian in high school that credit system are also implemented. Where good behavior are credited with positive point while bad behavior are credited with negative points. This points leads up to what marks your behavior performance and are given in a certificate after graduation. This system is known as Merit/Demerit system and it is commonly use nationally in educational sphere. The purpose behind this system is that student will maintain a high level of discipline and that they will comply to the rules and regulations of the schools. We can also notice this in movies like Harry Potter where the principle would reward points to group of students. In the end, some student were able to maintain a high level of merits and some fail to do so.

Does social credit system ever had a way to instill good behavior and provide safety to citizen? I think social credit system can be viewed as a law system. Having an offence against the law leads to punishment. The only difference is that the credit system goes into two ways, credited for good and punish for bad. On the other hand, does this system provide safety for the citizen? Just as how that laws are there to protect our general safety, and ensure our rights as citizens against abuses by other people, organizations and even by the government itself, so it is with this system. The system is not bias but applies to all individual including bodies of the government. The system may somehow also look scary especially of how that the data collected can lead to governmental control such as to determine a person outcome. Still, does control ever stop a person to do what they wish? In the end, I believe a person behavior is not determine upon the system but to what they choose to act.

Although the Research and Enquiry module has come to an end. The module has helped me understand the sustainable lifestyle in design in depth and has also taught me how to research the core of the subject.

I started the module with interest in Sustainability, and by the end of the module, it has got me quite far enough to practice it in my future. All my blogs show how I have progressed in my research about sustainability starting with materials to furniture and then to complete construction. Dr.Steven Adams has helped me all the way in selecting, editing and increasing my research in my discipline.

My aim in the future as an interior architect is to make the world a better place and use all of my research about sustainability and put it into practice. I chose this topic because I believe that designers can change the world and as our planet Earth is getting harmed, I want to design the world for a healthy living for all the human beings in this planet.

This last week of our technopreneurship journey felt lighter, but also meaningful, because it gave me time to look back at everything we had accomplished as Tukod Innovators. The major requirements were already finished, yet the experience of our final pitch still stayed in my mind. It was the highlight of our work and the moment where all our efforts were tested.

As I reflected on the Final Pitch Deck, I realized how much time and thinking went into shaping it. From the storyline to the slides, from the prototype flow to the validation results, everything had to be clear, organized, and purposeful. Watching our teammates present felt nerve-racking but also fulfilling. Even though I wasn’t one of the main presenters, I still shared the pressure because the pitch represented all of us, not just the ones speaking in front. It was the final chance to show that we understood the problem deeply and that our solution was built with real insights from the community.

This week, I also found myself looking back at how the pitch deck evolved. At first, our ideas were scattered. But through interviews, customer profiling, games, prototyping, and feedback sessions, our story became more connected. The pitch deck wasn’t just a school requirement, it became a summary of our growth. For me, seeing the final slides felt like a timeline of everything we learned: empathy, teamwork, prioritization, problem-solving, and the courage to stand in front of people and defend our idea.

Now that everything has been presented, I feel both relieved and proud. Relieved because the pressure is finally gone, and proud because we made it through all the challenges. The final pitch showed me that we didn’t just build a prototype, we built confidence, discipline, and a deeper understanding of real-world problems.

This week, our team embarked on another series of customer interviews to understand the needs and pain points of university students. We interviewed students from various disciplines and academic levels to gather insights into their university experience. Through these interviews, we discovered a common desire among students for a centralized platform to streamline academic planning, facilitate collaboration, and provide access to resources and support services.

We developed the hypothesis that students would gain from an all-in-one app that combines academic planning, peer support, feedback mechanisms, career services, a student organizations directory, campus navigation, collaboration tools, and an event calendar based on the insights from the interviews.

Findings:

Students' enthusiasm for such an app, emphasizing the efficiency and ease it would bring to their campus life, verified the theory. Features including the ability to create study groups, access academic materials, an event calendar, a configurable academic planner, and career services were stressed as being crucial. They also liked the concept of the app's built-in feedback and peer assistance systems.

One significant decision the team made last week was regarding the design and layout of the app. We had two options: a minimalist design with a clean interface focused on essential features, or a more visually appealing design with additional graphics and animations.

We ultimately opted for the basic design after giving it considerable thought and gathering input from possible users. We concluded that simplicity was essential for an app that sought to maximize output and effectiveness. Users would be able to access functionality more quickly and without visual overload with an interface that is devoid of clutter, which would also facilitate navigation.

Secrets We Kept Three Women of Trinidad - Kyrstal A. Sital

The Bread the Devil Knead- Lisa Allen- Agostini

When We Were Birds- Ayanna L. Banwo

Archipelago - Monique Roffey

From the books I have read throughout the school year I learned that mainly up north in Trinidad has a lot of mountains. Up north in Trinidad is considered to be more rural and is supposed to have more mountains. All the stories I read this year were a mix of rural and suburban . I remember especially in the book “Secrets We Kept Three Women of Trinindad”  by Krystal A Sital the main character Ayra was always talking about running through Shiva’s farm. The story  “Secrets We Kept Three Women of Trinindad” by Krystal A Sital was considered to be more rural. “The Bread The Devil Knead '' the story took place in the city, the capital of Trinindad, Port of Spain. 

One thing that I have learned from these stories is that abuse was normalized back then, especially in foriegn countries like Trinidad. In three out four of the books I read the main topic seemed to be the abuse women faced from family and or loved ones. The three books that showed abuse being a main topic were “The Bread the Devil Knead '' by  Lisa Allen- Agostini, “Secrets We Kept Three Women of Trinidad ''  by Kyrstal A. Sital, and “When We Were Birds” by Ayanna L. Banwo. In  “The Bread the Devil Knead '’ Ayra, one of the main characters, was abused her whole life and she thought the man she married would be her escape but he soon started to beat her too. In “Secrets We Kept Three Women of Trinindad” Krystal learned that her grandfather isn’t as perfect as she thought and learned his history of his abuse once he was sick. Lastly, “When We Were Birds” with Yejide it wasn’t physical abuse it was more verbal from her mother.

One thing I learned about the food is that curry is really big in their food. I remember a quote from the first book I read that said, "Trinis hah de bess curry, ..." in the book “Secrets We Kept Three Women of Trinindad” by Krystal A Sital. I have also learned that they have pride with their food. There is always a competition on who makes the best curry in the Caribbean. Something else I learned about the culture was how important and fun it is to be a part of Carnival. Carnival is a festival they have in Trinidad that is similar to the one in Brazil. It is celebrated in Febuary. Lastly, I learned that they speak a certain way. They speak Trinindadian Patois. Trinindadian  Patois is Trinidadian English Creole which is spoken all through Trinindad. Their accents may be similar to Jamaicans and Guyanese accents but their slang is completely different. 

One thing that I learned from each book was growth in different ways. In the book “Secrets We Kept Three Women of Trinindad” by Krystal A Sital I saw the women in Krytal’s life finally be able to use their voice and speak up about the abuse that her grandfather put them through. In the story “The Bread the Devil Knead '' by  Lisa Allen- Agostini the main character Alethea finally had the courage to run from her abuser and that takes growth and maturity. Lastly, in the book “When We Were Birds” by Ayanna L. Banwo Yejide was able to get over her mother’s death and find love.

Something I learned about myself while reading was that I relate to some of the experiences the characters went through. For example I relate with Krystal finding out her grandfather isn’t so perfect. My grandfather passed when I was in third grade because he was an alcoholic , he hid it so perfectly never even knew he drank. I relate with Alethea not necessarily because I have been through abuse but because I finally built up courage to leave a toxic friend . Lastly, I relate with Yejide. After a few deaths in my family I felt lost but I was able to find self love and that is the best type of love. I grew and I am strong just like these characters.

LAST NA SA WAKASSSSSSSSSS

Unang una nagpapasalamat ako kay Sir Dex kasi napakaglaing niya magturo and salamat din kay Harley kasi siya yung nagtuturo sa akin kung di ko gaano naiintindihan mga topics sa math.

LT1 DI KO ‘LAM NANGYARI BAGSAK AKO AHHAHAHAAHAHAH. ‘Di ko alam pinag-gagawa ko kasi na mindblock ako. 

Pero bumawi naman sa LT2 kaya ok lang yan. Mataas nakuha ko sa LT2 kasi 1 lesson lang naman siya, atleast may pang bawi ako sa bagsak ko nung LT1. 

OMGGG TAPOS NA BUHAY KO SA PISAY!!! (pero mixed feelings pa rin ako sa paggraduate kumbaga bittersweet kasi ayoko pang grumaduate kasi parang hindi sapat yung oras ko sa pisay)

QUICK NOTES

Sir Dex: SIR SALAMAT SA NAPAKAGALING NA PAGTURO!!!

Classmates: SALAMAT SA LAHAT NG NAGING KAKLASE KO SA PISAY SANA KAHIT MAGKAKAHIWAHIWALAY NA MASAYA PA RIN KAYO SA GINAGAWA NIYO

Congratulations, your learning process is completed!

This last blog article shows the potential of the Jobs-to-be-done method from the beginning till the end of an innovation process. Within this real-life example, you can see that giving up on an idea is not a bad thing, it’s progress in the right direction; the one without having biases!