We spoke with Addison Tham, inventor of the Workpal App. Workpal is a mobile application that enables users to choose a response when the phone rings. Read on to find out how Addison built resilience through his journey of inventing.
Why did you invent Workpal?
Addison (A): I invented Workpal to silence phones from time to time with a timer, so that only emergency calls can get through. I created it for my mum as I often find myself calling her at the wrong timing, like when she is in a meeting.
How does it work?
A: With this app, callers can end a call knowing that the person they are calling is really busy. At the same time, it allows emergency calls to be put through when the caller indicates it as an emergency. This will help people attend to the emergency immediately when it is triggered.
What was your favourite part of inventing?
A: [exclaiming] This is easy! It’s putting my ideas into the app. Modifying it was my favourite bit as it was also fun as well.
Share some of the challenges you faced.
A: I had 2 primary challenges in inventing the Workpal programme. I had difficulty in finding a suitable website for building my app, as there were many others in the world. It took me 2 weeks to finalise my decision, which was the iBuild app website. It was easy to use as I did not need to learn how to do any coding to get my app to work.
My second challenge was a global concern. I had to research so that I would not infringe om any international copyrights before I could even start my project.
How did inventing benefit you?
A: There were many benefits I gained in inventing Workpal. I am poor specifically in resilience. Normally some people give up after difficulties, but I realised an inventor is only one step away from the solution and must stay the journey.
Creating Workpal also forced me to think more laterally and outside the box, and I’m sure my creative thinking heightened.
Last but not least, an important benefit was learning how to learn. I had to rethink the way I was learning. Fundamentally, I learnt how to learn.
Did you enjoy it?
I certainly enjoyed researching, exploring, and developing Workpal. This opportunity provided me feelings of personal achievement where I did what I did not think I could do. It’s important that people never underestimate their undiscovered skills and interests.
IDE Academy would like to thank Addison for taking the time to interview with us!
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