IDEA Society: President

I'm standing because I have a strong interest in reducing inequality and making the world a better place on a global scale.

My interest came from studying A-level geography where the scale of global inequality became apparent. Organisations such as the World Bank aim to provide loans to developing countries to build themselves, but unfortunately the help isn't genuine. There are "tied loans" where loans are given but only to be spent on specific goods and services for a certain company. This is usually exploited as it's used as a way for international companies to control and corrupt trade in developing countries

I participated in the HEADLINE hackathon in January where I worked in a team to design a strategy to work with local women in India to improve the health of locals. It was an amazing learning experience where I learnt a lot about project development and what a social enterprise is. It inspired me to learn more about social change and solidified my intent to work in a role that benefits society. I also made a lot of new friends there, whom I can't wait to spend more time with next year

I'm a participant in Hack the Globe for Global Spark, a 2-week hackathon in March that aims to provide a solution based the the UN's SDGs to benefit society. I'm a consultant with LSC where I'm honing my secondary research and teamwork skills, liaising with my teammates and the client to provide effective solution and implementation strategy to expand their service to the UK from Singapore

My name is Tino, and I'm standing for President because IDEA Society represents something rare: entrepreneurial ambition and genuine care for the world, not in conflict, but as the defining challenge our generation will tackle now and throughout our careers.

I've been deeply involved in supporting the main hackathon, being integral to committee plans, and I know firsthand what this community is capable of.

My plan:

Sustainable Venture Fund: members will work with real capital, growing investments while creating genuine social and environmental impact. Start-up ideas within the society will have a serious funding source. This begins with securing sponsors who truly believe in our mission.

Expanded Committee Roles: IDEA will grow into a larger operation with serious purpose, giving each committee member high-level responsibility that builds real skills and strengthens any CV.

One Destination: through a proposed rebranding, our new society name becomes UCL's premium community for students who want finance and entrepreneurial experience with sustainability and social change as their identity.

Bigger Hackathons and Start-up Incubation: more partners, larger scale, greater impact.

UCL has the next generation of serious changemakers. I'm ready to build the highest quality community that brings them together and creates impact on the world starting right now.

IDEA Society has something most UCL societies don't: a direct pipeline into real social enterprise work through IDEAS Globally, plus an EY Foundation affiliation that opens doors most students never get access to. But I think we're underutilising both. Too many members join, attend a few talks, and drift away without ever experiencing the hands-on project work that makes this society genuinely unique.

As President, I'd focus on three things. First, making IDEAS Globally projects the centrepiece of membership — not an optional extra, but the reason people join. Second, growing our visibility by partnering with complementary societies and making our pitch competition a flagship UCL event. Third, building a committee culture where every officer has clear ownership and support. I've seen how good project coordination works through consulting and how social enterprises are built from the ground up through founding ScholarUp in Singapore. But ultimately this role is about serving the society's mission: giving UCL students real experience in emerging-market development, not just lectures about it.