Desmond Kao

An aspiring mountaineer, Desmond tries to climb as much as he can, whether in the climbing gyms, out in the crags, or on whatever mountain he can find time to escape to. Self-sufficient multi-day treks/hikes are a close second. He loves to sail but is limited by his ability to keep the gut from spilling over in large swells. In general, as long as he gets time out of the office, he is happy.

Desmond is formally trained as a classroom teacher. He joined the teaching service in 2001, and moved into outdoor education when he joined Outward Bound Singapore in 2012, where he has remained since. During his time with schools, he had the opportunity to work with a wide range of students from the ages of 13 to 18 years. He believes in learning through experience, the importance of teaching for the future, inculcating a strong curiosity for the world outside the classroom, and a love for learning. He loves a good conversation in educational pedagogy and hopes to return to academia in the future.

At OBS, Desmond is currently co-heading the Training unit, and is responsible for the growth and deployment of all operational instructors within the organization. He still conducts courses but with a larger focus on corporate and train-the-trainer programmes for OBS.

Desmond is passionate about the outdoor and aspires to introduce the outdoors to the uninitiated and vice versa. He hopes that through the outdoors, with its vast potential, he can help others learn more about themselves, realize that they are more then they believed, and how they are part of an intricate ecosystem. He is not a tree hugger but believes in sustainable living so that we will always have the outdoors to escape to, and so that future generations can do likewise.