For one university, a drive to improve how students learn – by encouraging more interaction and discussions – has been gaining momentum.

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) now has more than 280 “smart” classrooms on campus for such learning. Each is equipped with multiple LED screens, flexible clustered seats and wireless communication tools.

Since 2015, NTU has done away with traditional classroom layouts so that students can learn more proactively and in groups, to keep up with the changing demands of workplaces.

Yesterday, NTU launched its latest learning hub, The Arc, a six-storey building with 56 smart classrooms.

The building, which cost $41.5 million, is designed by local firm DCA Architects. It has 13 project discussion rooms, a room for quiet reading and a 108-seat lecture theatre. Its two lower levels have rooms that serve as workshops for engineering students.

The facility, which has a gross floor area of 18,113 sq m, also houses most of NTU’s Singapore Centre for 3D Printing facilities, which will conduct research in smart technologies such as printable electronics, lightweight aircraft components and 3D-printed medical implants.

NTU president Subra Suresh said The Arc is designed to create avenues for students to discuss ideas and interact across disciplines.

Facilities and infrastructure are important as “the way a classroom is designed influences the style of teaching, the delivery of knowledge and the effectiveness of the whole learning experience”, he added.

With the new learning arrangements, termed the “flipped-classroom” model, NTU students access materials online before class.

Class time is then used for deeper learning activities such as tackling problems in teams of five or six and engaging in more discussions with professors as guides.

Third-year mechanical engineering student Edward Lim said that with the redesigned courses, students can take more ownership of their learning.

“We can learn at our own pace… we can fast-forward the recorded lectures or backtrack, compared with physical lectures – once (a physical lecture) is gone, it’s gone,” said the 23-year-old.

“Lessons are also more engaging and there’s more interaction with professors.”

Other universities such as the National University of Singapore are also moving towards more interactive and in-depth learning in classes. Singapore Management University also employs seminar-style teaching in smaller classes instead of huge lectures.

The Arc is NTU’s second learning hub, after its first, The Hive, was launched in 2015. The Hive, which has been nicknamed the “dim sum basket building”, has 55 smart classrooms with similar features.

At the event yesterday, Professor Suresh gave an update on NTU’s target to redesign at least 50 per cent of its undergraduate courses to use the flipped-classroom method by 2020. To date, 32 per cent – or 314 courses – have been converted, with another 170 courses in the works.

“The Arc is an integral part of our Smart Campus approach – adopting digital technologies to support better learning and discovery, and to improve the sustainability of resources,” he said.

The building incorporates eco-friendly features such as energy-saving LED lighting, motion sensors and solar-powered systems.

Instead of walls, it comes with an aluminium sunscreen that reduces solar glare and heat, and keeps rain out while allowing ventilation throughout the day.

Its air-conditioning system saves energy by using passive cooling coils to chill the air without the use of fans. These coils cool the air as it sinks downwards, which moves warm air upwards.

Last year, The Arc was awarded the Green Mark Platinum, the highest award for sustainable building design in Singapore from the Building and Construction Authority.

Article & Photo from Straits Times

Those applying for a place at NUS will be given 1.25 bonus points for their first choice – equivalent to going from C to B or B to A in an A-level H1 subject.

This applies only to courses where entry is based purely on converting a student’s grades into points, and not to courses such as medicine and law where students are assessed on their aptitude and interests through interviews.

NUS senior deputy president and provost Ho Teck Hua, who announced the move at a press conference on Monday, said NUS analysis of admission data showed the bonus point can make a difference.

“Let’s say one student with 81 points applies for communications as his first choice, and another with 82 points applies to the same course as his second choice. With the 1.25 points, the student who lists the course as his first choice will get ahead of the person with 82 points,” he said.

On why NUS decided on the move, he said: “If you have done well and are passionate about a career in business or computing, for example, then we want to say to you that we support your passion.”

Professor Ho revealed that, currently, 65 per cent of students given a place in their first-choice course take up the offer, while only 45 per cent of those given their second-choice course do so.

Noting NUS graduates’ good job prospects, Prof Ho also announced that NUS will be increasing the number of double majors to increase career options for its graduates.

“The nature of work is changing very rapidly, and we need to prepare students for a lifetime of diverse careers,” he said.

He said NUS, which currently offers 94 double major and major-minor combinations, will add another 86 such programmes. “Someone doing data science and entrepreneurship, for example, can go and work for a range of industries in data science, and also go and do a start-up.”

On top of the double majors, NUS also offers 71 double degrees, 33 joint degrees with partner universities and 24 concurrent degrees. Adding all this, currently 15 per cent of NUS students are trained in more than one discipline.

Prof Ho said he hopes half of all NUS students will graduate with knowledge and skills in two different fields, so they will have more job offers to choose from.

He also announced three new degree programmes for this year, including one in veterinary science.

Students taking up the 5 1/2-year concurrent veterinary degree programme will graduate with an NUS degree in life sciences and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Melbourne.

Prof Ho also revealed that the NUS Overseas Colleges programme will expand to Jakarta and Toronto.

NUS, which now offers 230 bond-free merit scholarships, will add 200 more scholarships for the new academic year.

Ms Geraldine Tan, 19, welcomed the move by NUS and said it is important for young people to get into a field that excites them. She said: “I really want to study business and maybe go on an overseas college stint as I want to start a social enterprise. Business courses are hard to get into, so I am hoping the bonus points will help me get the edge.”

Hwa Chong Institution student Hannah Ganesh, 18, said increasing double degree options is good as students can diversify their learning and “challenge themselves”.

Article & Photo from Sandra Davie

These are some of the questions that speakers and participants will explore on Feb 3 at a forum, Disruptions in Education (DisruptED), co-organised by The Straits Times and the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM).

The event, at the SIM Global Education campus in Clementi Road, will feature panellists such as Ms Kristina Kaihari, counsellor of education at the Finnish National Agency for Education, and Mr Ben Nelson, the entrepreneur who founded Minerva, a company whose goal is to reinvent higher education by stripping it down to its essence, eliminating lectures and tenure for faculty.

They will be joined by seasoned education administrators – Dr Lee Kwok Cheong, chief executive of SIM Global Education, and Dr Charles Zukoski, provost and executive vice-president for academic affairs at the University at Buffalo, New York.

The half-day forum will be moderated by The Straits Times’ head of training and development, Ms Lydia Lim.

It will end with a discussion on young people taking the path less travelled in higher education, to be led by Ms Sandra Davie, The Straits Times’ senior education correspondent, and Mr Oswald Yeo, who dropped out of the University of California, Berkeley, to start Glints, an online talent recruitment and career discovery platform.

Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Education, and Communications and Information, will be the forum’s guest of honour.

Said Mr Warren Fernandez, editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings’ English/Malay/Tamil Media Group and editor of The Straits Times: “Just about every industry is facing major disruption, from airlines to banks, hotels and taxi companies, to media and even universities. So, how do we prepare our young for the future? This is a major challenge, not only for students, but also parents and educators to ponder.”

Dr Lee said it is time for the education industry to rethink its goals, adding that SIM has been proactive in monitoring external developments and reviewing its offerings to meet the needs of its students.

He said: “To stay relevant, incumbents need to rethink the goals of education so that we remain a the forefront of producing people who can lead society in a positive manner.”

Article & Photo from Straits Times