Hi there, I'm Kai!

Storyteller, Journalist, Researcher

I am a junior business reporter at Business Insider, working out of the organisation'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.

TwitterLinkedInEmailInstagram

Resume

Business 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 - presentA 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.