You will get to think beyond disciplines and evolve your skills to develop creative and innovative solutions for real-world challenges through XLab, TinkerLab, and InnoLab, using MAD’s transdisciplinary framework
Creating engaging user experience requires both creativity and understanding of users. You will learn ideation techniques to generate innovative ideas and identify entrepreneurial opportunities for your creative solutions. Basic concepts in psychology and research will also enable you to better understand yourselves and others.
Tinkering with technology goes beyond play. It’s about using your creativity and tech skills to create solutions that make a difference. Experiment, prototype, and collaborate to inspire innovation with purpose and make a real-world impact through your creations.
In your final year, you will apply what you’ve learned from Experience Lab and Tinker Lab, together with your specialisation skills, to tackle complex real-world challenges for industry partners. Working in transdisciplinary teams, you will develop innovative and impactful solutions that go beyond a single discipline. This is where you’ll grow your creative confidence and shape your future pathways in the creative industries.
Take a look at what our industry partners and students have to say about Innovation Lab.
Back In Town is a three-phase integrated marketing campaign that invites youths to rediscover Chinatown through music, movement, and sensory storytelling. Students began by identifying a gap, while many young people want to feel emotionally connected to heritage, existing activities often feel outdated and distant from their digital and social worlds. Their solution blends a lively music video and dance, immersive “Phone-to” booths, and a social media UGC campaign. Five themed booths: Tea, Medicine, Jewellery, and Pastries, reveal stories from ten heritage shops when youths pick up the receiver. To earn special tokens, they interact with shop owners through song and dance. Back in town reimagines heritage as a living, shared experience that builds connection and belonging.
Students:
Transdisciplinary group of students from Digital Media & Communications (DMC) and Creative Community Engagement with Psychology (CCEP).
Convollations is an immersive interactive relaxation pod designed to spark meaningful conversations and emotional connection among families. Inspired by constellations as symbols of relational bonds, students envisioned a serene, reflective space within the bustling Science Centre where families could pause, share, and reconnect. The 360° ceiling-mounted installation surrounds visitors with ambient visuals, soothing sounds, and guided storytelling prompts that invite both children and adults to open up. Interactive touchpoints allow families to shape their experience together, making each encounter unique. This approach blends design, technology, and emotional storytelling to reimagine rest as a shared journey, strengthening family ties through moments of reflection, wonder and warmth.
Students:
Transdisciplinary group of students from Digital Media & Communications (DMC), Sound & Music (SM), and Creative Community Engagement with Psychology (CCEP).
Heritachi is a gamified mystery hunt set in 1930s Chinatown, where history comes alive through mascots, storytelling, and play. Students began by identifying how Gen Zs often find heritage experiences static and unrelatable. Their solution reimagines heritage exploration as an interactive adventure, blending mystery-solving, character lore, and tangible rewards. Players step into the role of detectives, visiting real heritage shops to solve mascot-led clues, collect map pieces, and unlock stories hidden in familiar places. Through a mix of visual novel gameplay, gacha mechanics, and collectable rewards, the project turns Chinatown into a playful, social, and shareable playground. This idea bridges the past and present, inviting youths to explore, play, and connect with heritage in new ways.
Students:
Transdisciplinary group of students from Animation & Games (AG), Story & Content Creation (SCC), and Experience & Product Design (XPD).
"What excites me most is the variety of ideas that emerged from the students’ diverse backgrounds, from music videos to games to zines and more. This cross-disciplinary creativity brings fresh energy to every proposal, and it’s truly heartening to see such innovative interpretations coming together."
Tan Jeng Woon
Manager
Outreach
National Heritage Board (NHB)
"What stood out for me was how beautifully designed everything was. From the games to the projects, each was aesthetically pleasing, thoughtful, and easy to understand. It’s always a challenge to translate stories and ideas into visuals that resonate with people, but these students did it with clarity and impact."
Amaryllis Puspabening
Manager
Education & Community Outreach
National Heritage Board (NHB)
"This transdisciplinary approach is a powerful way to prepare students for the future. In today’s world without boundaries, cross-collaboration is not just valuable, it’s essential. The students are learning to embrace fluidity while staying rooted in their disciplines, and I truly see them as the driving force that will set new standards in the workforce."
Mr Harith Fadhirlah
Deputy Director
Gallery Exhibitions
Science Centre Board (SCB)
Singapore Polytechnic
500 Dover Rd Singapore 139651
