CCEB Class of 2026: Rachel Sherafin Korompis

Huge congratulations to our CCEB graduate, Rachel Sherafin Korompis, on receiving the prestigious Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award! This special honor is reserved for graduating students who combine stellar academic excellence with exemplary leadership and a deep commitment to making a positive impact on society. 

Rachel embodies CCEB's multidisciplinary spirit and is graduating with a bioengineering degree with a specialisation in Machine Learning and Data Analytics. We sat down with Rachel to reflect on her memorable journey, her key takeaways from her time at CCEB, and the cherished experiences she will miss the most as she embarks on her next chapter. 

Q: What made you choose bioengineering at CCEB and what did you specialise in? 

A: After high school, I knew I wanted to go into bioengineering because of how versatile it is. I’ve always been passionate about sustainability, and back then, I read a news article about a lab at NTU CCEB working on a plastic-eating enzyme (PETase). Growing up in Indonesia, plastic pollution was an issue I desperately wanted to help solve, so finding out a CCEB professor was actively researching this exact enzyme was my lightbulb moment—I knew this was where I wanted to be! 

But once I got into the labs and started hands-on practicals, my path took a surprising turn. I realised I preferred the computational side of science over the wet lab. That led me to specialise in machine learning and data analytics, which opened up a whole new world for me. I fell in love with data science in the biological field, dove into bioinformatics, and eventually found my niche in using artificial intelligence (AI) to transform healthcare and bioengineering. 


Q: Could you describe your time in CCEB in one word? 

A: The word that encapsulates my time in CCEB is formative. My time at CCEB has completely reshaped who I am—not just as a student, but as a person. Entering NTU as an international student was a massive leap; I had to adapt to a completely new country while navigating a university system that felt incredibly challenging at first. But looking back, those initial hurdles were exactly what taught me resilience and adaptability. They pushed me to step out of my shell, build deeply meaningful connections with my peers, and learn from professors from all walks of life. I used to be quite introverted, but CCEB gave me the supportive environment I needed to find my voice, grow my confidence, and become outspoken. 


Q: Something about your time at CCEB that will stay with you for a long time? 

A: If you ask me what the absolute highlight of my bioengineering degree was, it had to be our year-long capstone project: Medical Device Design (MDD). The challenge was massive – working in a team of eight to design and build a complex medical device from scratch, ending with a fully working prototype. 

To be honest, at the start, I had absolutely no clue how we were going to pull it off! But that initial uncertainty turned out to be the best lesson of all because it forced us to be incredibly resourceful. We essentially had to teach ourselves everything on the fly – from using CAD for the device enclosure and designing biosensor circuits, to coding and deploying a web app using various APIs. Every single hurdle was just an opportunity to learn a brand-new skill. 

Our team ended up building 'RAVEN' – a smart, integrated solution for patients managing Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Managing POTS usually means manually tracking vitals alongside daily fluid and sodium intake to prevent fainting spells. Our device completely automates this. RAVEN combines an ear set, a wristband, and a smart bottle boot to continuously monitor physiological signals and track dietary intake in real time, giving patients an early warning before a dizzy spell or fainting episode even happens. 

Looking back, I am incredibly proud of what we built. It was a humbling journey that constantly pushed us way past our comfort zones, but easily one of the most rewarding and enriching things I’ve ever done! 


Q: What will you miss most about your time at CCEB?  

A: What I'll miss most is how supportive everyone is, from my peers to the professors. I always felt that people in CCEB genuinely want me to succeed, which is really assuring as a student. While there is a culture of being competitive, I realised that it can be a good thing when your peers are competitive in a way that pushes you to be better, in a supportive way. I feel like CCEB is a community where people are willing to help, and it's very wholesome.

 

Q: Congratulations on being awarded the Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award, which is awarded to students with strong leadership abilities. Could you share about your leadership journey at NTU? 

A: Thank you so much! I am incredibly honored to receive this award. My journey with the CCEB Club started all the way back in my freshman year as an academic welfare officer. From there, I stepped up as the honorary general secretary and eventually had the privilege of serving as the club's president in my third year. With each step up, I realized I had a greater platform to create meaningful, lasting change for our community. 

As president, my mission was straightforward: support our students academically, professionally, and socially. To kickstart their careers, we launched senior-led sharing sessions on internships and overseas exchanges. It was a wonderful way for seniors to pass down their own 'tips and tricks' on navigating the workforce and securing global opportunities. 

Academically, we ran peer study sessions and distributed welfare initiatives to keep spirits high during exams. But we also knew everyone needed to let loose, so we organized everything from kayaking and cycling trips to CCEB Day and our annual Dinner & Dance! At the end of the day, I wanted the CCEB Club to be far more than just an event organizer—I wanted to build a lasting support system where juniors could always rely on seniors, feel cared for, and truly feel at home. 


Q: Did you do any internships?  

A: I was fortunate to complete two incredibly rewarding internships during my time at NTU. For my credit-bearing professional internship, I worked as a bioinformatician at the Evonik Research Hub here in Singapore—a global specialty chemicals leader headquartered in Germany. Joining their applied epigenetics team, I used statistical analysis and machine learning to search for genomic biomarkers linked to rheumatoid arthritis. By building the computational backend to detect these disease-associated patterns early, the goal was to help doctors diagnose patients sooner and kickstart early treatment for this chronic condition. It was during this stint that I realised just how much I loved data analysis and building predictive models! 

That passion led me to pursue a second internship during my year-three summer break as a research assistant under Assistant Professor Liang Kaicheng. Working as a machine learning research intern, I focused on fine-tuning AI foundation models for cancer diagnosis. My role was to train the model to analyse microscopic images of cells and accurately classify them as malignant, benign, or borderline. I absolutely loved my two months in the lab—it was an incredible opportunity to apply artificial intelligence directly to clinical challenges. 

 

Q: Any advice for current students of CCEB? 

As for advice, I would advise my current CCEB juniors to take as many opportunities as possible to explore! I wish someone would have told me not to worry about having a linear career path and to simply just explore as many of my interests as I can during university. You will never know unless you try. Exploring different passions, hobbies, and career interests is a way you can find out more about yourself and makes you a heck of a more interesting person in university! 


Q: What are you looking forward to next? 

A: I’m incredibly excited to be starting my career at Micron this August as a planning engineer! While it's a bit of a pivot from healthcare to the semiconductor industry, I can't wait to apply the data analytics and machine learning skills I developed at NTU and during my internships. 

If my time at CCEB has taught me anything, it’s that challenging myself pays off. Navigating a rigorous curriculum and stepping into leadership roles has given me the confidence to know I can handle whatever comes my way. I am so grateful for the journey, the hurdles, and the triumphs, and I’m ready to carry the invaluable lessons I’ve learned here at CCEB straight into this next chapter! 

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Story by Sumita Thiagarajan, NTU CCEB