Favourite food: Char Kuay Teow (Malaysian Fried Rice Noodles)
Favourite drink: beer – Coopers, Little Creatures Rogers, Epic, Belhaven Twisted Thistle
Place I want to visit next: Malaysia!
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: David Brent, Michael Scott, Omar
Favourite way to unwind: boxing with Rhys
I like working at Makers Empire because: we get to make stuff!
Official bio: After completing a Bachelor in Computers Science (Hons) and a Bachelor of Law (Hons) at Adelaide University, Jon studied a Master of Science (IT) at Carnegie Mellon University on a full scholarship. He then worked in software development at IBM, Internode and the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Jon also founded a profitable web startup profitable with 60,000 users and was responsible for the IT systems and trading platform of a quantitative hedge fund.
Favourite food: Ferrero Rocher
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Batman, Richard Branson and Julia Roberts
Place to visit next: Brazilian F1 Grand Prix
Favourite way to unwind: the beach
Likes working at Makers Empire because: they are like family
Career highlights: world’s first successful scramjet experiment at Woomera Rocket Range, Guinness World Record with about 1000 students designing in HK. Launching Makers Empire.
Official bio: along with Jon, Anthony and Roland, Lap was a co-founder of Makers Empire. After completing his studies, Lap worked as a management consultant at SMS Management and Technology in Sydney and Hong Kong. He also founded consumer application, nepchin.com and men’s fashion label, lapmen.com.
Favourite food: Dark chocolate
Favourite drink: Depends on the time of day! Favourite bookends are a latte and a glass of shiraz
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Tim Minchin, Sir David Attenborough, Joanna Lumley
Place I want to visit next: The Rocky Mountains
Favourite way to unwind: Ballroom and Latin dancing
Likes working at Makers Empire because: I’m part of a team of innovative and creative colleagues making something special and impactful for teachers and young people.
Career highlights: The privilege of learning from so many people with incredible wisdom and skills, from school leaders, colleagues, learning consultants, scientists and artists to the students themselves. One particularly memorable highlight was taking the Museum on a Roadshow to the APY Lands.
Official Bio – Sharon is a passionate educator with over 30 years of experience as a teacher, school leader, learning manager, curriculum developer and learning consultant. Her diverse career in education has included roles in a wide variety of schools settings, curriculum departments and cultural organisations. She is committed to supporting students to thrive as confident learners and compassionate, respectful people who think deeply, question ideas, try new things and know how to help make their world better.
Food: pizza
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: David Heinemeier Hansson, Pieter Levels, Tim Cahill
Place to visit next: New York
Favourite way to unwind: sleep
Likes working for Makers Empire because: technically diverse, great people to work with, company with HUGE potential.
Career highlights: managed the IT for a film/media company in Adelaide for 7 years. Built a successful website from scratch to manage and measure the performance of University supervisors and students.
Official bio: Andrew has over 25 years commercial experience in the IT industry across a broad range of projects and technologies. He has extensive experience in IT management, web/mobile development, systems administration, hosting, scaling and support
Favorite food: Schnitzel.
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Einstein, Arthas Menethil and Illidan Stormrage.
Place to visit next: Antarctica.
Favorite way to unwind: Sleep.
Likes working at Makers Empire because: it’s fun and challenging.
Career highlights: Making an mobile online RPG from scratch.
Official bio: Puzhi is a Unity Developer of Makers Empire. After completing his software engineering studies at Adelaide University, Puzhi worked as a developer at FoxieGames in Adelaide and participated in the development of mobile game, Horse Riding Tales.
Favourite Food: Laksa
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Ada Lovelace, Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman
The place I want to visit next: the UK – specifically Ireland and Scotland
Favourite way to unwind: Dancing
I’m excited to work with Makers Empire because: I enjoy working with teachers to inspire creativity and innovation with their students. I also value being part of an amazing team that is dedicated to transforming teaching and learning experiences, while having fun along the way.
Official bio: Lee is an accomplished educator, specialising in Design and Digital Technologies, as well as coordinating STEM education in primary schools. She brings a wide range of experience, mentoring and training teachers to integrate STEM across the curriculum, both within schools and with pre-service teachers at universities.
Favourite Food: Chicken Korma & Rice.
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Nolan Bushnell (creator of Atari), Tori Amos, David Fincher
The place I want to visit next: The coast of Western Australia.
Favourite way to unwind: Playing retro video games. Galaga and Speedball 2 are my personal favourites.
Excited to work at Makers Empire because: The chance to work with teachers, students and colleagues and the opportunity to learn from them all. It’s also exciting to be involved in researching and creating a diverse range of Challenge Projects and keeping up to speed with the latest cool technology.
Official bio: Cameron has worked in a wide variety of educational settings including secondary schools, libraries & museums. He was also the Manager of Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria and has been lucky to work with so many incredibly talented educators who’ve shared their expertise with him.
He has a passion for helping others to be creative when using technology, and this has included developing and delivering programs for teachers and students about 3D printing & design, video game coding, and digital art.
Favourite food: Penang Assam Laksa
Favourite drink: Gin and Tonic. Soy Latte.
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Tina Fey, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mindy Kaling.
Place I want to visit next: Japan (again)
Favourite way to unwind: writing, reading, cooking, visiting markets, weekend getaway, Netflix
Likes working at Makers Empire because: I get to do new things every day. The people are nice. I like working with my brother.
Career highlights: running the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. My food and travel blog, The Hungry Australian, winning the Australian Writers’ Centre’s national Best Australian Blogs 2014 competition. Being commissioned to shoot restaurants and wineries for the 500+ page coffee table book, Flavours of South Australia.
Official bio: Christina has worked for over twenty years in senior management and marketing roles for leading arts, culture and education organisations in Australia, Asia and England. She is also a multi-award-winning writer, photographer, recipe developer, consultant and blogger. Her creative work has appeared in numerous international magazines and publications. See www.christinasoong.com
Favourite Food: Chicken Rice
Favourite Drink: Mango Lassi
Place I want to visit next: Galapagos
Three people I would like to have dinner with: Gordon Ramsay, President Obama and Mr Lego
Favourite way to unwind: beach
I like working at Makers Empire because: we help get kids excited about learning!
Favourite food: Cookie Time cookies (a New Zealand delicacy).
Place I want to visit next: Japan: a theme park tour with my family.
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: LinkedIn’s AI chatbot, Anthony Bourdain and Joey from Friends (the character: not Matt LeBlanc)
Favourite way to unwind: drinking a coffee and looking fondly at my chickens: Bok-bok, Frida, Strawberry and Susan.
I like working at Makers Empire because: I love seeing what all the users create in the Gallery, and being part of the process of adding fun new features to the app.
Official bio: Joe’s preferred muppet is Fozzy, he normally picks Ryu in Street Fighter due to habit/loyalty, and he got “the bad ending” in Witcher 3. Which I think tells you all you need to know about this guy. Oh yeah and he’s a designer.
Favourite food: Ramen
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Shigeru Miyamoto, Keanu Reeves and Norman Cook
Place to visit next: Uyuni Salt flat in Bolivia.
Favorite way to unwind: Playing retro video games or listening to music.
Likes to work at Makers Empire because: I get to nerd out with 3D printers and inspire people to design.
Career highlights: Meeting Prof Hod Lipson and Clay Shirkey. Teaching a 3D printing workshop at Intel. Visiting the Bay Area Makerfaire in San Francisco.
Bio: Luke began teaching himself CAD in high school, and then went straight into a career in IT after leaving school. He got involved with 3D printing and maker culture when he moved to Shenzhen, China, in 2013. Over seven years in Shenzhen, he encountered all aspects of the advanced manufacturing industry and became fluent in Mandarin. He started his own 3D printing business and worked for various tech startups with a maker/hobbyist focus. Luke has traveled the world giving workshops and visiting makerspaces. He is an advocate of STEM education and open-source technology.
Favourite Food: Any type of carb shell thing filled with something i.e. dumplings, pierogi, ravioli
Favourite Drink: Pina colada (tropical drink)
Place I want to visit next: Take my kids and partner to Italy to meet the rellies and see the sites
Three people I would like to have dinner with: 3 close friends. I don’t get to see them much these days and I don’t know how to talk to famous people.
Favourite way to unwind: go to a good gig
I like working at Makers Empire because: Great team to work alongside who only sweat the important things
Career highlights: Being pretty multi-disciplinary! Regarded as useful at 2 companies (I think!); Coordinating events for Makers Empire (I like parties!) and working for SA Pathology – I’m also a Medical Scientist at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Haematology, Biochemistry and Transfusion.
Favourite food: Thai
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Michelle Obama, Bentley Dean, Poh Ling Yeow
Place to visit next: Tasmania
Favourite way to unwind: Camping with family and friends and doing night sky photography
Likes working at Makers Empire because: It’s great working with creative and talented people on projects that are making a difference to students’ learning outcomes and the wider world.
Career highlights: Leading environmental projects with students and their communities to raise awareness about the importance of looking after waterways and other natural places. Developing a school-based catchment care website recognised by a national Earthworm Science award. Activating digital technologies to empower students to document and share their learning in innovative ways.
Official bio: Mel is an experienced educator having spent over three decades working in a range of roles and primary school settings across Australia. Mel is passionate about the role that technologies and real-life learning opportunities play in enhancing educational outcomes. In recent years she has turned her attention to educational film making.
Favourite food: Indian and Sushi
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Michelle Obama, Keanu Reeves, Dave Grohl
The place I want to visit next: Switzerland
Favourite way to unwind: organizing, listening to music, watching a series
Likes working at Makers Empire because: I get to be a part of the impact on students’ growth and development of their design skills.
Official bio: Melissa graduated from the University of Florida with a BA.E and M.Ed in elementary education and TESOL. She started her teaching career as a second grade teacher and continued her education by attending Florida International University earning an Ed.S in Curriculum and Instruction. After teaching for 6 years in Miami, Florida, she moved to NC and led as the Summer Programs Director at an independent school for 5 years where she grew the program by 250%. She currently serves as the Technology Director at this school and teaches technology skills to Pre-K through 8th grade students, coaches middle school volleyball and basketball, and serves as a middle school advisor. Melissa joined the Maker’s Empire team after having first hand experience using Maker’s Empire in the classroom, believing in the program’s philosophy, and seeing the positive impact the program has made on the students at her school. Melissa is a mother of 3 teenagers, 1 mini Australian Shepherd puppy, and 2 cats.
Favourite food: Hainanese chicken
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: ak+q, Elon musk, Jiang lingyu
The place I want to visit next: Iceland
Favourite way to unwind: Play rhythm games
Likes working at Makers Empire because: Everyone at Makers Empire is really nice and friendly and I enjoy working with them. I can always learn new things and keep challenging myself everyday.
Official bio: Steve is a recent Computer Science graduate from the University of Adelaide with a strong foundation in software engineering, including coding, problem-solving and machine learning. He is happy to contribute his technical expertise and analytical mindset to the Makers Empire tech team.
Favourite food: Char Siu Bao
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Solanum, Leslie Nielsen, Mick Gordon
The place I want to visit next: Japan in the snow
Favourite way to unwind: Rhythm Games & Sleep
Likes working at Makers Empire because: Great team of enthusiastic individuals, cool piece of software that aids in education internationally and I get to help continue develop it. What’s not to like?
Official bio: Originally born and raised in Hong Kong, Julian attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for his higher education and received a Bachelor of Music in Electronic Production and Design. Shortly after, he relocated to Adelaide and decided to expand his skills, acquiring an Advanced Diploma in Game Development Specialized in Programming from Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE). After graduating from AIE, he spent a year teaching there before joining the wonderful team at Makers Empire.
Favourite food: Sichuan food (hot and spicy)
Favourite drink: green tea
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Xi Jinping, Barack Obama, Bob Iger
Place I want to visit next: Hokkaido, Japan
Favourite way to unwind: reading a book in a cosy place or spa
Likes working for Makers Empire because: it’s nice to be part of a family company. Opportunity to learn lots of new tech from amazing professionals.
Career highlights: becoming part of the team at Makers Empire. Previously, I worked for the China Leather Association, exported South Australian wine to China, and provided admin support for KESAB for our beautiful Australian Environment.
Favourite Food: Mum’s Pasta Bake, nothing else quite comes close!
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Any 3 friends. Life can get in the way sometimes and it can be hard to get everyone together.
The place I want to visit next: Sweden or Norway! The landscapes look incredible and I’d love to see them with my own eyes!
Favourite way to unwind: It’s hard to narrow down to just one, but playing games with friends, making games in Unity and watching shows & movies are some of my favourites!
Likes working at Makers Empire because: It’s fulfilling and fun working on software that will help support and nurture creative passions in kids and give them something other than standard book recitals and maths problems to work on. I wish I had something like this when I was going through school that’s for sure!
Official Bio: I studied for a Advanced Diploma of Professional Game Development and a Diploma of Screen Media at AIE over the course of two years and had an absolute blast doing so. Makers Empire is my breakout role into the development industry and I’m keen to see what the future has in store! Before Makers Empire, I worked at Bunnings for 4 ½ years and no, before you ask, my discount doesn’t work anymore!
Favourite food: Pizza
Favourite drink: Coffee
Place I want to visit next: Maldives
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Dr. Magdi Yacoub, J. K. Rowling and Marie Curie.
Favourite way to unwind: spending time with my family.
Like working at ME because: I enjoy being a member of this remarkable team, where everyone is incredibly friendly. Moreover, It is fulfilling to contribute to the creation of something that inspires children to be creative, and even more rewarding to witness their creations come to life.
Official bio: After graduating from the University of Alexandria’s Chemical Engineering Department in Egypt, Noha obtained a diploma in Software Engineering. She then worked as a software developer for several software companies in Alexandria before branching out into freelancing. In addition to her professional pursuits, Noha takes pride in being a mother of two and enjoys engaging in hobbies such as reading, traveling, and learning about different cultures.
Favourite food: Buttered Shrimp
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Gigi Hadid, Ellen DeGeneres, Catriona Gray
The place I want to visit next: Cedar Point Amusement Park
Favourite way to unwind: Eat and Travel
Likes working at Makers Empire because: Awesome teammates and work-life balance. I love to learn a lot of things while working with amazing people.
Official bio: A graduate of BSBA Management Accounting and landed a job in the private and public sectors. I recently worked as an Administrative Assistant and Trainer in one of the agencies of the government and as an HR in one of the BPO companies in the Philippines.
Favourite food: fried foods
Favourite drink: mango shake
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: My friends from college: Marivic, Mau Wee, Dominique
Place I want to visit next: Baguio
Favourite way to unwind: watching a movie or series, reading a good book
Likes to work at Makers Empire because: People are here so passionate about making things better. I liked how the company makes sure that they are of help to students to learn creatively.
Official Bio: a graduate of Secondary Education and a licensed professional teacher. Her first job was an online English teacher to Chinese learners.
Favourite food: ice cream
Three people you’d like to have dinner with: Sarah Geronimo, Angel Locsin, Catriona Gray
The place I want to visit next: Hongkong Disneyland
Favourite way to unwind: beach
Likes working at Makers Empire because: Great people to work with and I love to learn and experience new things from wonderful professionals.
Official bio: After graduating from my degree in college, I landed a job in outsourcing companies and worked for seven years as a data support, analyst and research specialist. The world of tech and my work experiences led me to online work, which I appreciate and want to explore more.
Three people you’d like to have dinner with: Charlie Chaplin, Rodrigo Duterte, Elon Musk
Favourite food: grilled tuna belly
The place I want to visit next: Japan
Favorite way to unwind: Watching movies and hanging out on the beach or camping in the mountains with friends.
Likes working at Makers Empire because: Exceptional team and a great company helping teachers and students nurture the power of creativity.
Official bio: Studied BS Computer Engineering at the University of Mindanao. For 6 years I worked as Sales and Tech Support for a VoIP company and Document Reviewer for a ride-sharing company based in San Francisco, California.
