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29 April 2010
World Cities Summit 2010 Widens its Doors to Students
1 The World Cities Summit 2010, to be held this year from 28 June to 1 July, will see greater participation from students in Singapore. For the first time, the WCS Expo will showcase displays from various student groups, and these include architectural and planning designs, as well as digital games on sustainable development and environmental awareness. In addition, the winners and grand finalists of the 2010 NUS Chancellor’s Challenge Shield will get to meet high-level Summit speakers to discuss issues of interest to today's urban youth. Meanwhile, the doors to the WCS Expo will be widened to include visits from selected student groups. 2 The Expo, created to complement the proceedings at the World Cities Summit, will showcase the latest and most innovative solutions devised to meet the most pressing challenges faced by cities today. Besides the contributions from leading companies and business, pavilions from Singapore agencies and from top international cities will be erected as well. The exhibition space will cover an floorspace more than three times the area set aside in the inaugural Expo at WCS 2008. 3 "Our youths will shape the cities of the future. Hence, we wanted WCS to reach out and involve local tertiary institutions that are nurturing the vision, passion and attitudes of our youths towards sustainable urban development,” said Mr Lionel Yeo, Dean and CEO of the Civil Service College and also the Co-Chairman of the WCS. “Students will be given the opportunity to showcase their ideas and creativity around the theme of liveable and sustainable cities. Through interactions with key speakers, we hope to engage students in conversations on the cities of the future." 4 Mr Yeo added, "Educational institutions are placing greater emphasis on the issue of sustainability, and a good example is the recently launched Diploma Plus Certificate in Sustainability introduced by Singapore Polytechnic." Diploma Plus Certificate in Sustainability5 From academic year 2010/11, all Singapore Polytechnic students with good results can apply for the Diploma Plus Certificate in Sustainability to value-add to their specific diploma course. "Last year, the Government launched the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, and earmarked $1 billion for sustainable development efforts. This year, the focus of the World Cities Summit Exhibition is on urban solutions. The signal, locally and internationally, is clear, and the demand for expertise in sustainability issues will only grow," said the Principal of Singapore Polytechnic, Mr Tan Hang Cheong. 6 Mr Tan further noted that Singapore Polytechnic was proud to be amongst the earliest educational institutions to recognise these important trends, and to include components of sustainable development in its educational programmes. Fifty students out of more than 200 applicants have been selected to take up this inaugural run, commencing on 19 April 2010. 7 Mr Choo Xin Wenn, 18, is a student studying for a Diploma in Architecture who has been selected to take up the Diploma Plus in Sustainability. He said, “I relish the opportunity to explore a new area, and Singapore Polytechnic has made it possible for us to pick up relevant skills, and better prepare ourselves for the job market. We also look forward to our visit to the WCS Expo, and to interact with leaders from all over the world.” 8 Additionally, at the WCS Expo, students from Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment will be showcasing their architectural designs for an imagined new Islamic cultural centre in Singapore, a joint conceptual project undertaken in conjunction with MUIS. Visualized to be located next to the Jamae Mosque in Chinatown, the design of the Centre will also fit well within the rich multiracial diversity of the area, which includes the Sri Mariammam Temple, a Buddhist temple, and a predominantly Chinese community First WCS and NUS Digital Games Project9 For the first time, WCS is collaborating with the NUS Communications and New Media programme to design digital games related to issues of sustainable development and environmental awareness. Three games, titled “Green Roof”, “Trash Frenzy” and “Energy vs Waste” have been devised. When fully developed, the games will be launched online at the WCS Expo. Through the light-hearted and interactive game-play, WCS hopes to generate a better awareness of the sustainable development cause amongst youths and Expo visitors alike. 10 Mr Ang Yan Ning, 24, an NUS student working on the project, commented, “Through the process of research to designing the mechanics of the game, we have learnt a lot about sustainable development. We have compiled many facts about Singapore that we previously never knew, such as the landfill area off Pulau Semakau. Given the land and resource limitations of Singapore, sustainable development is the key to our future.”
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For media queries, please contact: Lance John / Chng Sue-Anne Chen Jingxuan
Annex A – Singapore Polytechnic Diploma Plus Certificate in Sustainability The Diploma Plus Certificate is a new programme specially designed to facilitate Singapore Polytechnic (SP) students to value add their education during their 3-year diploma training, and is offered to selected students with GPA 3.0 and above. With global warming and rising tides, rapid depletion of natural resources and increase in population, the earth may not be able to sustain itself without concerted human efforts in sustainability. There has been widespread environmental pollution which caused adverse climatic changes. Natural calamities, pandemics, poor harvest and a host of social and environment issues compounded the problems. There is a need for responsible consumption of energy and other resources and to restore the bio-diversity of the natural environment. Every individual and enterprise is responsible and can contribute to a more sustainable future. The Diploma Plus Certificate in Sustainability has been developed to inculcate students an understanding in the concepts and principles of sustainability and the awareness of the green issues facing the planet earth. Students can be motivated and become more responsible to apply the knowledge in their everyday lives as well as look beyond their field of study and reflect upon innovative solutions that support a more sustainable future. The Diploma Plus also provides opportunities for students from different fields of studies to interact and collaborate in the search of ideals and ideas in sustainability. They have to take 3 modules, which are (i) introduction to sustainability and green issues, (ii) environmental sustainability and (iii) social and economic sustainability. The first intake will be in April 2010. The course will be conducted with lectures and tutorials in-campus as well as using e-learning mode to allow students to learn at their own pace and to encourage students to communicate with their peers and lecturers in virtual discussions. It will have 100% in-course assessment with a diverse of assessment activities such as quizzes, case studies, tests and reports. Annex B -WCS and NUS Digital Games ProjectGreen RoofEver wondered how the green roof on a building can enhance the quality of the environment around you? Manage and beautify your roof top with pretty flower pots, cute shrubs and trees with your monthly allowance. Start earning credits by buying solar panels, see how they lower the temperature and filter the air, keeping the air clean and fresh! Green roofs are an excellent way to transform our concrete structures into one that plays a part in reducing some of the environmental problems that plague our air today. Win the game by reducing the temperature to 28 degree Celsius, but beware, heat waves and smog descend menacingly and threaten to roast your roof! Trash FrenzyIn the past, it may have been easy to dispose of our trash. But as villages developed into towns, and towns into cities, the amount of trash and the speed at which it is generated increases rapidly. In this game, you are the sole waste management company in Singapore. You need to maintain control over the means of Singapore’s rubbish disposal and treatment, as the country develops. Do you collect the trash, dump them into land refills, incineration plants or even into the sea? You need to weigh the effects of your actions quickly before the waste produced by houses clogs up the whole country. Decide on the pros and cons of using different methods of waste disposal in this game of sustainable development, and try to survive before the rubbish piles up and chokes Singapore! Energy vs WasteIn a society where time and money is everything, should you be using a garbage trunk to clear up the pollution by mankind or continue managing oil tankers to transport more energy and speed up industrialization and economic growth? Using your keyboard, prevent the houses from becoming overloaded with waste by navigating the garbage truck around quickly, to clear the generated waste. But you need to top up the fuel tank of the truck by getting fuel from the oil tankers. However, the rubbish is piling up quickly! Everything is happening so fast. What should you do? Challenge yourself or your friends to see who can maintain a balance between the two tasks without causing substantial damage to the environment!
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