How To Win A $1M Prize And Fixing The Global Education Crisis | Adam Huh Dam of Stick ‘Em - EP682

Is AI actually making our kids smarter, or just better at cheating? In this episode of the BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast, Jeremy Au sits down with Adam (Huh Dam), co-founder of Stick ‘Em, a Singapore-based startup bringing affordable STEAM education to the world. From being rejected by his primary school robotics club to winning a $1 million prize in London, Adam shares his "rebel" journey through the Singapore education system (ACS Independent) and his mission to bridge the digital divide. We dive deep into the "disastrous" impact of increased screen time, the ethics of AI in homework, and why learning how to think is more important than ever in the age of autonomous agents. Discover: Why traditional EdTech might be "useless" for actual learning outcomes. The $1M journey: How two student founders from Singapore beat the world’s best. How to scale a hardware-software startup across Southeast Asia. 00:00 – The Disaster of AI in Schools 01:32 – Meet Adam Huh Dam: The $1M Prize Winner 02:20 – Building a Mars Rover at Age 6 03:22 – Rejected! The Traumatic Entry into Robotics 04:31 – The "Rebel" Years: Finding Character in ACSI 05:40 – Student-Led Learning vs. Corporate Teaching 07:22 – Competing on the Global Stage (Vex Robotics) 08:51 – Meeting Co-founder Kai: The Creative & The Strategist 10:33 – Why EdTech? Choosing Impact Over Boston Dynamics 12:22 – The Reality of Building a Social Enterprise 14:18 – Scaling STEAM Education Across Borders 15:50 – Winning the $1M Prize: Authenticity Over Perfection 20:05 – Why Modern EdTech is Failing Students 23:33 – The "Brain Dead" Era: AI and the Death of Homework 27:39 – Will AI Replace Lawyers, Accountants, and Coders? 30:05 – Being Brave: The Lunch That Changed Everything 32:20 – Closing Thoughts: The Future is Human Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/adam-stickem-steam-education  Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at https://www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter X : https://x.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #Singapore #EdTech #Startup #Podcast #southeastasia #techpodcast