2 December 2019 – NUS Computing alumna Guan Dian was one of thirteen young alumni conferred the NUS Outstanding Young Alumni Award on 27 November this year. A total of 21 exceptional NUS alumni were honoured at this year’s NUS Alumni Awards ceremony for their outstanding achievements and contributions to their alma mater and society.
The Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognises alumni aged 40 and below who have distinguished themselves in their chosen field. Ten young alumni and a three-member team received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award this year.
Guan Dian received her Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems in 2010 and is currently the co-founder and Vice President of Patsnap, a patents search engine for users to find and analyse millions of patents worldwide. Patsnap’s global database of patents is currently used by over 8,000 organisations globally, including NASA, MIT, NUS, GE, Lego, Vodafone, Siemens, Xiaomi and China Mobile. The company has a headcount of about 700 employees spread across six offices in China, UK, USA, Canada, and Singapore.
While building PatSnap in China, Guan Dian raised more than $100 million in venture funding and the business, under Guan Dian’s leadership, has earned titles such as the “Top 100 Start-ups in China”, “King of Enterprise Software”, and “The Best IP Intelligence Provider”, in recent years. The former software engineer and Credit Suisse analyst also received impressive titles – she was named as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2016.
Beyond her sharp business acumen, Guan Dian is also actively involved in helping other people. She led a team to raise $400,000 for a fellow undergraduate diagnosed with acute leukaemia to undergo treatment. She is also involved in running mentorship sessions and networking events to connect students with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
