Climate change is no longer a problem to be solved by future generations – it is a reality today as its social, environmental and economic effects are increasingly evident. 

And at the centre of the climate change conversation lies the energy sector, a key contributor that will determine the impact on our planet. In today’s episode, guest Dr Jemma Green, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Powerledger, dives into the role of technology in overcoming the challenges faced by stakeholders in the energy ecosystem.

Jemma and her team aim to transform the energy sector by leveraging blockchain to allow tracking, tracing and trade of every kilowatt of energy. The company has over 30 clients and projects across 12 countries. 

Please tune in to hear from Jemma, who shares with Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ),  and Global Digital Cities, Dell Technologies, and Danny Elmarji, Vice President of APJ Presales, Dell Technologies, on how companies can play a part in enabling a more sustainable and strategic energy network.

Find out more on the amazing work of Powerledger here.

Our world is starting to become our browser, and we will become the cursor – as observed by Manoj Saxena, Executive Chairman of Responsible A.I (RAI – pronounced as ray). From regulatory bodies to consumer advocacy, more and more people are concerned about our dependence on AI. 

In part II of the conversation with Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales, Dell Technologies, we discuss how we can navigate our way with the data we readily have to design human-centric decision-making systems. 

Listen to part I of the episode here. 

Learn more about RAI and their efforts in making AI a safer tool for the world here.  

“AI is not a 50-year trend. It’s a 500-year trend.” So says Manoj Saxena, Executive Chairman of Responsible A.I (RAI – pronounced as ray), our guest on episode 10 of Future Extraordinaire.  

In part I, we take a closer look at the current challenges organizations face in justifying AI-backed programs that will affect society in the long run. Manoj breaks down the need for AI systems to be transparent, accountable, fair and unbiased.  

Join Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales, Dell Technologies, to hear how RAI is taking action to ensure AI systems are ethical and how we are only just starting our journey with AI. 

Listen to part II of the episode here.

Learn more about RAI and their efforts in making AI a safer tool for the world here.  

How many litres of water would you need to produce 1kg of chocolate? The answer is 17 196 litres of water.

And do you know, zeoponics, a type of agriculture once practised by NASA in space, might hold the answer to the future of farming? 

In part I of this episode, our guest Dr Sam Morris shares more interesting nuggets of info, and breaks down how zeolites take on challenges from indoor farming and urban agriculture from a different perspective through science. 

A Research Fellow from the Nanyang Technological University, Dr Morris speaks with Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales, Dell Technologies, on how we are only scratching the surface with microbiomes and the potential it has in promoting a circular agriculture.

Listen to part II of the episode here.

If you’re curious and want to learn more on the challenges of urban farming today, here are some resources to supplement your reading. Alternatively, feel free to reach out to Sam on his LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]. He is more than happy to connect for scientific consulting, grant writing or just for a friendly chat:

• Environmental Impact of Key Food Items in Singapore: https://www.ecosperity.sg/content/dam/ecosperity-aem/en/reports/Environmental-Impact-of-Key-Food-Items-in-Singapore_Oct2019.pdf
• Singapore’s Current Food Intake: https://www.sfa.gov.sg/docs/default-source/tools-and-resources/yearly-statistics/per-capita-consumption.pdf
• Learn About How Much Water is Used to Produce Your Food: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/10/how-much-water-food-production-waste
• The gut microbiome: Relationships with disease and opportunities for therapy: doi: 10.1084/jem.20180448
• Hydroponic water savings for tomatoes: https://www.rockwool.com/group/about-us/our-thinking/sustainability-and-circularity/water-management/
• CO2 emissions for various farming sources: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/5ab9f633207d13d38f431dfcf/files/de58fece-2e71-40cb-bf56-22684276a800/OneFarm_CO2_Report_20181102.pdf

You are what you eat, and our guest Dr Sam Morris, says eating microbial content (otherwise known as the good bacteria) is the way to a healthier gut. 

In part II of the conversation with Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales, Dell Technologies, we examine how we can relook, relearn and rethink how our lifestyles and food intake to leave a positive impact on the planet with the aid of technology and science.

Listen to part I of the episode here.

If you’re eager to find out more about microbial content or environmental impact from food production, you can read it here below. Alternatively, feel free to reach out to Sam on his LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]. He is more than happy to connect for scientific consulting, grant writing or just for a friendly chat:

• Environmental Impact of Key Food Items in Singapore: https://www.ecosperity.sg/content/dam/ecosperity-aem/en/reports/Environmental-Impact-of-Key-Food-Items-in-Singapore_Oct2019.pdf
• Singapore’s Current Food Intake: https://www.sfa.gov.sg/docs/default-source/tools-and-resources/yearly-statistics/per-capita-consumption.pdf
• Learn About How Much Water is Used to Produce Your Food: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/10/how-much-water-food-production-waste
• The gut microbiome: Relationships with disease and opportunities for therapy: doi: 10.1084/jem.20180448
• Hydroponic water savings for tomatoes: https://www.rockwool.com/group/about-us/our-thinking/sustainability-and-circularity/water-management/
• CO2 emissions for various farming sources: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/5ab9f633207d13d38f431dfcf/files/de58fece-2e71-40cb-bf56-22684276a800/OneFarm_CO2_Report_20181102.pdf

In this episode, our guest Nurul Hussain helps us to decode diversity in the tech industry.

Founder of The Codette Project, a non-profit ground-up initiative that aims to get more minority women into technology, she once said this about her mission: "It matters to me because women matter. Talent and capability are equally distributed across different communities – it is access and opportunity that create gaps in success."

Tune in to hear from Nurul, who shares with Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales, Dell Technologies, on how we can empower more minority women to join the tech industry and how she’s abandoning traditional business models to build an impact-focused community. Do support The Codette Project here: https://www.thecodetteproject.com/donate/ 


1:10 – 3:43 Introduction to Nurul and The Codette Project (TCP)

3:43 – 4:53 TCP beginnings

4:53 – 7:30 Milestones achieved while redefining diversity in tech

7:30 – 11:09 Why are women not achieving their full potential?

11:09 – 14:00 How has COVID impacted women?

14:00 – 18:09 How can we help achieve a woman’s full potential in society and tech?

18:09 – 20:00 What would TCP do differently?

20:00 – 22:41 What values does TCP look for?

22:41 – 26:01 What’s next for TCP?

26:01 – 30:04 This time in BizTech – Heroes that have inspired you

30:04 Future plans

In August 2020, Amit and Danny had a chat with Andy Ridley, Founder of Earth Hour & Chief Citizen of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, who shared about the 2020 Great Reef Census and how it was designed to help fill critical gaps in our knowledge of how individual reefs are coping with stresses. Today, the team returned with a huge success. 

With hundreds of volunteers’ hours committed from scientists, dive crew, tourists and conservation groups,150 reefs from the tip of Cape York to the remote southern Swains have been surveyed. With their help, 13,000 images have been captured and uploaded to the Great Reef Census platform for analysis. Now, the project is recruiting citizen scientists from all around the world to help analyze the images – a huge trial to determine how best to utilize everyday people as part of the major conservation effort. 

If you have five minutes to spare, we urge you to please visit greatreefcensus.org. All you need to do is to select a reef image and ‘color-in’ where you see key elements including coral, sand and rubble. 

Find out more in our chat with Katie Chartrand, Senior Researcher at James Cook University and Lead Science Coordinator, for Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef’s launch of the Great Reef Census. Katie shares with us her work on this project, what’s next for the team and what sparked her interest in marine ecology. 

Our guest, Simin Liu, is an inspiration to all of us. She is a young entrepreneur who feels passionately about running a meaningful business that aligns with her values to positively impact communities. Recently, Simin co-founded Light of Hope – a social enterprise based in the Philippines providing the under-served with light sources and electricity to improve their quality of life.

Join us as Simin talks with our co-hosts, Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales, Dell Technologies, on how technology helped to launch the initiatives that Light of Hope planned, the rise of social entrepreneurship and why we need to double-down to make a difference in this world.

Digital banking is the now and the future. How are consumers embracing the digital transformation of our traditional banks? We know it’s happening, but what is the real value of technology in the finance industry?

In the second part of this series, Siew Choo Soh, Managing Director and Group Head of Consumer Banking and Big Data / AI Technology at DBS, along with our co-hosts from Dell Technologies, Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales, examines the rise of digital banking, the value of technology for the financial services industry and how technology is reshaping the future of work.

See part I of the discussion with Siew Choo here.

1:53 –  5:26 Using technology as a game changer

5:26 – 7:50 How can organisations make incremental changes to adopt technology?

7:50 – 9:30 Addressing Technophobia and the future of AI

9:45 – 11:30 Banking on the growth of technology

11:30 – 13:46 Bitcoin and emergence of blockchain technology

13:46 – 15:30 Adapting to the data era

15:30 – 17:35 Finance as a service

17:35 – 18:43 Balancing accessibility and innovation with Fintech

18:43 – 20:05 Fairness of AI models

20:05 – 21:22 Achieving AI efficiency

For organizations, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) is no longer just a check in the box. A research by McKinsey suggests that the Asia Pacific region can add a collective annual $4.5 trillion by 2025 – adding significant growth to growth – if we address gender diversity. This week, we invite Siew Choo Soh, Managing Director and Group Head of Consumer Banking and Big Data / AI Technology at DBS to discuss how we can improve D&I in the workplace and support women in the workforce. Must know: Siew Choo has been recognized on the inaugural Singapore 100 Women in Tech List, 2020. 

In part I of the episode, Siew Choo shares her stories growing up and what led her to pursue a career in banking and technology. She also discusses how we can improve D&I in the workplace in the workforce with our co-hosts from Dell Technologies, Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) and Global Digital Cities, and Danny Elmarji, APJ Vice President of Presales.


1:52 – 3:39 Siew Choo’s career journey: pursuing computer science and working in banks

3:39 – 6:31 Why there is a need for Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) 

6:31 – 8:48 Is D&I a business imperative?

8:55 – 12:29 Encouraging more women and girls to join the STEM industry

12:30 – 16:07 What can corporations do to improve D&I?

16:07 – 18:30 Reception towards hiring women in tech

18:30 – 19:56 How does Siew Choo reach full potential?

19:56 – 21:59 Building the next generation

22:05 – 23:50 Can technology be the solution to gender equality?

23:55 – 24:32 Advice to aspiring women in tech

24:33 – 25:57 This moment in BizTech