Azizah Zakaria: Stroke Guard’s Journey – From Student Innovation to Award-Winning Impact
Azizah Zakaria, Assistant Director in Office of Entrepreneurship Development at Republic Polytechnic, reposted from Republic Polytechnic on LinkedIn:
”Stories like Stroke Guard remind us that the most meaningful solutions don’t start with technology. They start with lived experiences.
For us, at the Office of Entrepreneurship Development, we’re really glad the team took the leap to embark on a full‑semester journey through the Entrepreneurial Immersion Programme (EIP), and even more so to see them complete it and continue working on their product beyond the programme.
Huge congratulations as well on their win at the iDare Challenge.
A well‑deserved milestone for a purpose‑driven team. So proud to see how the team has grown through the year.
And next month, they will be graduating!
Big thanks to their business mentor, Paul Singh Gill, and colleagues, Tan Zhen Ling from School of Engineering, as well as Wilson Chen, for supporting the team throughout the semester. It truly takes a village.
This is student innovation fuelled by purpose, teamwork, and the courage to keep trying.
Well done, and keep up the momentum, Jolin Tan, Sarah Beegam, Ashwin Manikandan, Sasindren Jaya Sanger!”
Republic Polytechnic shared on LinkedIn:
”’Within our team, we’ve watched family members go through strokes, exposing us to how sudden and overwhelming these events can be for families and caregivers,’ shares RP School of Engineering student Jolin Tan.
‘We realised how easily early warning signs of serious medical conditions can be missed, especially outside of hospitals.’
This lived experience motivated Jolin to launch her startup, Stroke Guard.
Alongside her teammates Ashwin Manikandan, Sarah Beegam, and Sasindren Jaya Sanger, the four students from the Diploma in Engineering Design with Business (now Diploma in Engineering) developed an AI-powered system that detects early warning signs of stroke in home and community care settings.
‘Using AI, machine learning, and computer vision, Stroke Guard picks up visual indicators such as facial asymmetry and arm drift,’ explains Sarah, the team’s designer. ‘When the system detects something, it alerts caregivers immediately so they can respond quickly.’
The team met through RP’s Entrepreneurial Immersion Programme, which gave them hands-on entrepreneurial experience.
It was also where they met their business mentor, Mr Paul Singh Gill, who guided them in developing critical thinking and decision-making skills as emerging founders.
‘Initially, AI didn’t interest me at all,’ Ashwin admits. ‘But through my course and projects, I saw how AI could meaningfully help people. That’s what drew me to join the team – this solution could potentially save lives.’
‘RP opened doors I never anticipated,’ Sasindren reflects. ‘During a School Overseas Trip to Bangalore, getting to see startups and hear their backstories really pushed my interest in business to another level.’
By enabling faster recognition of stroke symptoms, Stroke Guard contributes to a greater impact by saving lives.
Congratulations to the team on recently clinching the Champion title at the i-Developing Aspiring Ready Entrepreneurs (iDARE) Entrepreneurial Challenge.”
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