Hi there, I'm Kai!
Storyteller, Journalist, Researcher
I am a junior business reporter at Insider (formerly known as Business Insider), working out of Insider's Singapore bureau. I cover global business news, with a focus on tech, digital culture, and the future of work.
To give a sense of my reporting, I developed a range of stories on topics including: the impact of ChatGPT on classrooms, TikTok personal finance trends, digital legacy platforms, video game culture, AI-driven lay-offs, and international relations.
Always open to opportunities and collaborations relating to tech and sustainability. I can be reached at teokaixiang [at] protonmail [dot] com.
Resume
Insider
Junior Business Reporter
Singapore
2023-Present
Journalism, Tech and Business Reporting
LITMUS PR
Associate Consultant
Singapore
2022-2023
Public Relations, Content Development, Media Relations, Campaign Strategy
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT)
Communication Officer and Research Assistant
The Hague, Netherlands
2021-2022
Digital Strategy, Public Policy, Security Studies, Data Analytics, Public Affairs
Internships
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism; Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict; and Yahoo Singapore
University of Cambridge
MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture (Distinction)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
2021-2022
Computational Social Science, Critical Data Studies, Ethics of Data/AI, Public Policy
University of Leiden
BSc (Honours) in Political Science
The Hague, Netherlands
2018-2021
International Relations, Public Policy, Statistics, Economics, Security Studies
Singapore Polytechnic
Diploma in Creative Writing for TV and New Media
Singapore
2013-2016
Journalism, Filmmaking, Multimedia Design
Journalism and Research
I currently report on business and tech for Insider.
Beyond my journalism, my research interests focus on the social implications of data, and how it influences how we think about fairness, marginalisation and sustainability.
I graduated at the top of my cohort from the University of Cambridge, with a MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture, as a Chevening and Cambridge Trust Scholar.
My dissertation focused on data governance and civic engagement in Singapore, and was awarded the Hart-Marshall Arts and Humanities Prize.
Skills and competencies: quantitative and qualitative research, policy analysis, security studies, economics, interviews, ethnography, computational social science
Highlights
Singapore Samizdat (newsletter)
2021 - present — A newsletter on Singapore's press, internet, and government.
Civil Society Responses to Singapore’s Online “Fake News” Law (journal article)
2021, International Journal of Communication — This journal article marks the first piece of primary and interview-based research on Singapore's controversial law against "fake news".
POFMA'ed Dataset (dataset)
2020-2022, Singapore Internet Watch — This dataset compiles every electronic communication subject to Singapore's law against "fake news", and has been cited by Freedom House, ASEAN Parliamentarians For Human Rights, and the International Commission of Jurists, among others. Here's my breakdown of the law's usage.
Communications
I was previously an associate consultant at LITMUS, a leading boutique PR agency in Singapore for B2B tech clients.
Prior to that, I was the Communications Officer of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), one of Europe's leading security think tanks, where I led the organisation's public engagement and digital strategy.
Skills and competencies: content development, communication strategies, media relations, SEO and SEM, newsletters, podcasts, thought leadership, multimedia design
Highlights
Bridging the Gap Between Counterterrorism Research and Practice Through Game-Based Learning (thought leadership)
2021, Global Network on Extremism and Technology
Counter-Terrorism after 9/11 (podcast)
2021, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism
ICCT Newsletter (newsletter)
2020-2021, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism — Among other editorial responsibilities, curating and developing the ICCT newsletter was one of my duties as communications officer.
Poet rejects arts funding in Singapore amid censorship debate (journalism)
2015, Yahoo Singapore
Sean Lee's The Garden (art writing)
2013, Today Singapore
Data Analysis and Storytelling
Working with data analytics and visualisation has been a core component of my past work. Excel, SPSS and Tableau have been my primary tools, and I am well-versed in working with large datasets and data communication.
Beyond effective data analysis, I love finding creative and innovative ways to use data in storytelling (see highlights).
I was a 2022 fellow of the European Summer School on Internet Governance and part of the Fall 2021 cohort of the Atlantic Council's Digital Sherlocks open-source intelligence programme.
Skills and competencies: Excel, SPSS, Tableau, Python, open-source intelligence (OSINT), data visualisation, data journalism, web analytics, infographics, game design, experience design
Highlights
7 Ways Singapore Has Changed Because of Covid-19, Explained Through Charts (data journalism)
2021, Kopi.co
Flashpoints: an Interactive Game on Counter-Terrorism (game)
2020, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism — Flashpoints is a first-of-its-kind educational game aimed at conveying counter-terrorism research findings to policy-makers and practitioners.
SGForumBot (twitter bot)
2020-2022 — This experiment in procedural generation exclusively uses words found in Straits Times Forum letters to generate parody forum letters.
Choose Your Own Singapore (game)
2020, Heritage Game Jam / Singapore Heritage Festival
Public Speaking and Public Affairs
I have done conference presentations for the Oxford Internet Institute, Institute of Policy Studies, SOAS University of London, and the European Summer School of Internet Governance.
I have also facilitated workshops on a variety of topics, including public speaking, debate, and personal branding. As a competitive debater, I won numerous awards while representing Singapore Polytechnic and Leiden University.
Skills and competencies: event management, conference presentations, workshop facilitation, panel discussions, stakeholder management, networking, personal branding
Highlights
Social Media and Online Spaces Panel, Young Singaporeans Conference 2022 (panel discussion)
2022, Institute of Policy Studies and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy NUS
Civil Society and Data Justice in Singapore, Chevening Conference 2022 (conference presentation)
2022, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London
Comparing Legal and Non-Legal Anti-Misinformation Mechanisms in Singapore, 3rd Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media (conference presentation)
2021, Oxford Internet Institute
10 Years of ICCT (conference/event)
2020, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism
Personal Works
Untitled Train Story, my first ever published short story and one of 11 winners of the 2022 Storytel Epigram Horror Prize.
Paper Trails, a satirical pen and paper game published in the final issue of Mynah Magazine.
How a Reddit Post Sparked a National Conversation on Trans Rights, an article in my newsletter on Singapore's media and politics.
We, the City, a pen-and-paper game about belonging outside belonging, where players define the soul of a city.