Giants of MindChamps


"Education is the toolbox for building the future."

David Chiem
MindChamps’ Founder, Chairman and Group CEO


“David Chiem is a man who has crossed many bridges of success to achieve a remarkable synthesis of art, education and entrepreneurship!”
- Professor Allan Snyder FRS

From an early age, David Chiem was destined for success as a creative artist and a visionary entrepreneur. The key to his success has been his ‘champion’ mindset, the mental ability to stay positively focused amidst all adversities and challenges, making him a role-model for anyone aspiring to succeed in any field.

His natural ability to inspire his audiences has made him an invaluable and highly sought after speaker. His amazing energy and positive mindset have taught many to venture out of their comfort zone, igniting new passion and potential.

Arriving in Australia at the age of nine and without being able to speak a word of English, David understood the value of education. During his graduating year in Junior College he became the first ever to be awarded three medals of honour in the diverse fields of English, Mathematics and Art, and his successes since have shown a similar versatility.

Beginning in the Arts, David at the tender age of 14 became the first Asian to be given a leading role on mainstream Australian television, in the internationally acclaimed drama series “Butterfly Island”. David went on to study acting at the prestigious Theatre Nepean. He has since played leading roles on mainstream television, film, radio and theatre. He graduated with a BA (Communication) at the University of Technology, Sydney and a Master of Film-making from the world-renowned Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS).

He has also published, with internationally-recognised author Brian Caswell two critically acclaimed novels, ‘Only the Heart’ and ‘The Full Story’ which were nominated for three prestigious Australian literary awards between them. ‘Only the Heart’ is a best-seller in its 16th print run and is studied in both the New South Wales Higher School Certificate and the Victorian Certificate of Education. He has written; two bestselling parenting books, Deeper than the Ocean, hailed as the ‘parenting bible of the 21st century’ and its follow-up, The Art of Communicating with Your Child; the recently launched The 3-Mind Revolution; and the soon to be released Talking with the Sky.

As the Founder, Chairman and Group CEO of the education training institute MindChamps, David has demonstrated an ability to draw together and inspire an impressive team of professionals with backgrounds in education, psychology, neuroscience and theatre to develop and deliver revolutionary cutting-edge mind-training programs.

David’s ability to creatively ‘cross boundaries’ is best exemplified by the association he has forged between MindChamps and world-renowned scientist Professor Allan Snyder – the founder and director of Centre for the Mind, (University of Sydney). To quote Professor Allan Snyder, “David Chiem is a man who has crossed many bridges of success to achieve a remarkable synthesis of art, education and entrepreneurship.”

In 2008, David was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year by Rotary~ASME, while MindChamps was awarded Rising Star Brand by Brand Finance, a leading international brand valuation firm and Promising Brand at the Singapore Prestige Brand Awards. In 2009, MindChamps PreSchool was awarded Promising Franchisor by the Franchising and Licensing Association.

David Chiem has achieved more than what most people would have wished for from a lifetime of work, and this is only the beginning. From a childhood of hardship and challenge, he has built a career of diversity and success. David is indisputably a man whose personality and achievements encapsulate the very concept of the ‘champion mindset’.



“I deeply value my collaboration with MindChamps. We share a vision that the great minds of the future will be those with the Champion Mindset and we are passionate about making this dream a reality.”

Professor Allan Snyder FRS
MindChamps’ Honorary Chancellor

Professor Allan Snyder is recognised internationally for groundbreaking discoveries covering the fields of biology, communications, optical physics and neuroscience.

He received the world's "foremost prize in communication and information technology", the Marconi International Prize, in 2001 – a prize previously bestowed on the inventor of the Internet and the founders of Google.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society (the prestigious academy of science that counted Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein as its distinguished Fellows.) and the recipient of its 2001 Clifford Paterson Prize for "contributions which benefit mankind." He was awarded the International Australia Prize by the Prime Minister of Australia.

His discoveries in brain science are hailed in the prestigious journal Nature as "breaking a 19th century mindset", while his advances in physics are described in Science magazine as a "giant step forward" and featured in the Economist.

His intriguing hypothesis that everyone possesses the extraordinary skills of savants, is declared “startling” by Nature, “a breakthrough that could lead to a revolution in the way we understand… the functioning of the human brain” by The New York Times, “brave and original” in a New Scientist cover story, and is featured in The Times of London, the BBC, CNN, and Barbara Walters ABC 20/20.

Professor Snyder holds the 150th Anniversary Chair of Science and the Mind at the University of Sydney. Previously he was a Guggenheim Fellow at Yale University’s School of Medicine and a Royal Society Research Fellow at the Physiology Laboratories of Cambridge University. He is a graduate of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University College London. He has several books, including “What makes a Champion!” (Penguin) and more than 300 papers in international peer reviewed journals.

Professor Snyder is the founder and director of Centre for the Mind (a daring venture of the University of Sydney). In 2000, he awarded Nelson Mandela the Centre for the Mind’s millennium medal. In 2003, he awarded Sir Richard Branson the Centre’s distinguished fellow medal.

At the Olympics in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008, he conducted his trademark 'What Makes a Champion?' forum, assembling champions from all walks of life, including Nelson Mandela, the late Sir Edmund Hillary and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. His studies into their lives provided him with an all-encompassing understanding of the ‘Champion Mindset’, a term which he coined.

The ‘What Makes a Champion?’ forum is now an official Olympic Cultural Event and will also be held at in celebration of Singapore 2010 under the name ‘What Makes A Young Champion?’



“The truly intelligent person is not the person who knows everything. Rather, it is the person who can find out anything.”

Brian Caswell
MindChamps’ Dean of Research and Program Development

Mr Brian Caswell is an internationally-acclaimed award-winning author and a respected educationist with over thirty years experience in the areas of public and private education – including over a decade as an examiner of the NSW Higher School Certificate. For the past twenty years, he has been in constant demand as a speaker and literary consultant. During that time, he has visited hundreds of schools, libraries and universities and has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people on three continents, including being an international guest-speaker at the famous Hay on Wye Literature Festival in Wales.

He has been appointed to the Australian Council Literature Board's Register of Peers. He has held the post of Writer in Residence at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) and has judged numerous writing and literary awards, including the prestigious NSW Premier's Literary Awards, the national Nestlé Write Around Australia Award and the UWS Young Writer's Award.

His novels and short-stories have been recognised internationally, both in English and in translation. ‘Only the Heart’ and ‘The Full Story, which he both co-wrote with Mr David Chiem, were nominated for three NSW Premier’s Literary Awards between them. ‘Only the Heart’ is a best-seller in its 16th print run and is studied in both the NSW Higher School Certificate and the Victorian Certificate of Education. He also co-wrote, with Mr David Chiem, the bestselling Deeper than the Ocean, hailed as the ‘parenting bible of the 21st century’ and its highly anticipated follow-up The Art of Communicating with Your Child; The 3-Mind Revolution, a new world-view for Parents, Educators and Leaders; and the soon to be released Talking with the Sky for parents of preschoolers.

Brian is also one of Australia's most innovative thinkers and an acknowledged expert on today's youth and their response to the modern environment and the demands of the school system, as well as the link between the development of students' creativity and academic success.

As Dean of Research and Program Development at MindChamps, the world’s leading specialist in mind development, Brian has dedicated himself to creating programs that enhance students' learning, active recall and thinking processes - and their social development - using creativity, whole-brain learning strategies and mnemonic structures which take into account the latest research into how the brain learns and stores information.



“I am excited to be working with MindChamps - David Chiem is a positive, energetic visionary who is committed to changing the world of education. I want to be a part of it!”

Mr Eric Jensen
MindChamps’ Education Collaborator (Eric Jensen @ MindChamps)

Eric Jensen MA (Psychology) began his teaching career in San Diego, California. He has taught at the elementary, middle school, senior high school level as well as at three California universities. His love of learning has been a lifelong passion. His academic background is in the English language, and he is currently completing his PhD in Human Development.

A leader in the field of brain-based learning, Eric is an educational neurobiologist, staff developer and an active member of the Society for Neuroscience and New York Academy of Sciences.

In 1982, Eric co-founded SuperCamp, the first international brain-compatible learning program that has now produced over 45,000 graduates. He has helped introduce brain-based learning to Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden and South Africa. A prolific author, he has written 24 books on the brain and learning including Arts with the Brain in Mind, Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Environments for Learning, Enriching the Brain and Fierce Teaching.

Eric is also the founder of internationally renowned brain conference Learning Brain Expo.



“MindChamps is a delightful place to expand brain-power and learning capacity based on scientifically validated cognitive research.”

Mrs Carmee Lim
MindChamps’ Mentor Principal

Mrs Carmee Lim, MEd (Early Childhood Education) is a visionary educator who is committed to making a positive and significant difference in the way we learn. She is a pioneer in applied brain research and an advocate for music and gymnastics in early childhood. She is the founder and chief education officer of Jumpstart Kidsports Pte Ltd, which offers a multi-sensory KidzGym program for pre-school children. Carmee is also the founder of Aoede Music Enterprise, which aims to give children the "Gift of music for a Lifetime" by integrating music with technology to make music-making fun and enjoyable.

Carmee's background includes serving as a science and mathematics teacher, a principal, as well as a Senior Inspector of Schools in the Ministry of Education, Singapore. She was the Principal of Raffles Girls' School for 12 years before being drawn to the field of mind/body research and breakthroughs in learning and performance enhancement.

Carmee was the first Executive Director of the Academy of Principals AP, (2003-2004), and was instrumental in setting up the Principals Academy Inc, a Joint Venture with EDB, as the business arm of the Academy of Principals.

Carmee facilitates innovative professional and personal development workshops on brain-based learning, educational kinesiology and creativity. She is the author of "Bright Brains - fun activities to unlock your child's potential", a curriculum handbook "KidzGym - A fresh approach to gymnastic play for pre-school children" and launched her book of action songs "Learning with Get Active Songs for Pre-schoolers" in December 2005.

As Mentor Principal of MindChamps, Carmee will continually bridge MindChamps' ground-breaking learning strategies with that of the nation's educational system and its curriculum, creating a synergistic link that will benefit all students in Singapore.



“Having served as a Teacher, Principal, Inspector and a Director of Schools in the past 25 years, I can definitely say that the MindChamps team is exceptional – it has expertise, passion and dedication in full measure.”

Mrs Louise Mulligan-Andrews
MindChamps’ Director General, Education

Mrs Louise Mulligan Andrews, MA (Sociology of Education and Mass Communications), PGCE (Infant education), BA Hons (Sociology, Philosophy and Educational Research) is a highly experienced educator, leader, manager, and adviser at school, city and regional levels. She has an established record of success in school leadership and in raising standards of achievement across schools.

Louise was the Principal of the highly regarded Ferrers High School in the UK which under her leadership, achieved 17% increase in GCSE and A-level scores. She was also the County Adviser for School Development in Hertfordshire, where she implemented highly regarded training, coaching and mentoring programs in all aspects of educational leadership, management and pedagogy.

Louise was also the Principal Adviser/Inspector with regional responsibility for improving schools and student achievement. As Director of Schools for Nottingham City, she oversaw over 100 schools and was responsible for reducing to zero the number of failing schools and improving test and examination results at double the national rate.

As Director General of Education at MindChamps, Louise heads the Education Arm of the institute, overseeing all aspects of the training department; management of training staff, program development, training programs for teachers and students.



“MindChamps provides a comprehensive and unique approach to the core of learning”

Dr Tan Sie Keng
MindChamps’ Dean of Mathematics

As the Dean of Mathematics in MindChamps, Dr Tan oversees the mathematics module of the Exam Content Mastery program. Dr Tan is a highly experienced Professor of Mathematics, having lectured at the former Nanyang University from 1966 to 1979, and subsequently at the National University of Singapore in the Department of Mathematics from 1980 to 2000. While at the National University of Singapore, he was voted as one of their best lecturers.

Graduated from Nanyang University with a BSc degree in Mathematics, he pursued and obtained a MPhil from the University of London, UK and then a PhD in Mathematics from Nanyang University.

During his long and distinguished education career, Dr Tan gave numerous lectures on modern algebra, calculus, as well as engineering mathematics. He was a Research Associate in Berkeley, University of California on two occasions, a Visiting Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics in Aahrus, Denmark and also visited various universities in Japan under an exchange scheme.

Dr Tan has a keen research interest in graph theory and fuzzy logic. He published various papers in international journals such as Fuzzy Sets and Systems, Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems and Congressus Numerantium.

A co-author of a series of text books on mathematics for secondary schools in Singapore, Dr Tan strongly believes that learning mathematics can be fun and enjoyable – he says that the word mathematics in Greek means fond of learning.