Students Going Social with Designs that Inspire the Greater Good

18 Mar 2013

Singapore, 19 March 2013 – Edition 13.7, a design showcase featuring creative works by graduating students from Singapore Polytechnic’s (SP) School of Architecture and The Build Environment, and SP Design School, kicked off today at The URA Centre.

This year, the showcase features close to 140 outstanding designs in areas such as space, game, landscape, visual and media. These works are not only commercially viable, but they also serve to create a positive impact in different communities. This reflects the teaching and learning approach where students acquire skills to develop concepts that can meet real world needs.

Social Cause

For instance, a group of Diploma in Visual Communication and Media Design students conceptualised social campaigns for Urban WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), a project by UNICEF Indonesia that aims to improve the sanitation condition of residents residing in a Jakarta slum.

To better understand the situation, the students spent some time on-site at the slum to conduct interview with the locals, while observing the environment, before embarking on developing the concept.

Ian Chia, one of the students involved in this project said “Not only did I have the opportunity to put what I had learnt in visual communications into good use, I hope that my ideas can be adopted and subsequently, bring positive impact to the slum dwellers in Jakarta. This project has also made me realised how fortunate we Singaporeans are, and that there are others who do not have access to basic necessities such as a decent toilet.”

Social Cohesion

SP students have also created projects that seek to promote a more cohesive community. For instance, the Bonfire Bench, a bench with an interactive lighting that emulates the red and yellow flame of a campfire, is designed by Diploma in Experience and Product Design student Zhou Yang. Crafted using wood, the bench aims to be a conversation starter between people in a public space, with the use of glowing LED lights that glows brighter each time a person takes a seat on the bench.

Drawing his inspiration from campfires, Zhou Yang said “I want to bring back the fond memories of the interaction, fun and cheer that I have as a child in a campfire night. I have observed that people are so used to communicating over their mobile device, and I find that lack of personal touch in our attempt to reach out to the people around us. With this bench, I want to remove the barrier that everybody might have, and to get people to start a conversation between each other.”

Challenging the Norm

Mr Woo Ming Wei, Chairperson of the organising committee of Edition 13.7 said “Many people have a stereotyped impression that design is limited to just the arts, and lifestyle. But we want our students to think, design and implement ideas that not only engage people, but also influence them to do something for the greater good. Edition 13.7 is a compilation of these efforts by our graduating students who have evolved their concepts to reality.

Details:

Event : Edition 13.7

Date : 19 - 23 Mar 2013

Time : 9am to 6:30pm daily

Venue : The URA Centre

45 Maxwell Road

Singapore 069118

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For more information, please contact:

Tan Jiunn Ngee Frank Chua

Corporate Communications Dept Corporate Communications Dept

T: 6772 1347 T: 6870 7043

M: 9841 4206 M: 9771 7871

E: tan_jiunn_ngee@sp.edu.sg E: frank_chua@sp.edu.sg

About Singapore Polytechnic (www.sp.edu.sg)

Established in 1954 to meet the manpower needs identified by the government, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is Singapore’s first polytechnic. Its 10 academic schools offer 50 full-time diploma courses for its 15,970 students and courses are kept relevant through close links with industry and government bodies, as well as with various overseas institutions.

SP offers broad-based, multi-disciplinary and flexible curriculum dedicated to hands-on experience. It is committed to the development of its applied research and development capabilities to enhance the quality of teaching and commercialisation efforts. Through Design Thinking, SP offers a revolutionary approach to education, allowing its students to look at problems from different perspectives, and strike a dynamic balance between intuitive and analytical thinking to provide impactful solutions.

Among SP's 166,800 graduates are successful entrepreneurs, top executives in multinational and public-listed corporations, and well-known professionals, many of whom are captains of industries, university professors and researchers, and leaders in government.

SP is the first polytechnic to be awarded the President’s Award for the Environment in 2010 and the President's Social Service Award in 2011.