This article is from NUS Giving. Full credit to the original source.
Breaking open the classroom. Bold, unconventional and dynamic, this motto is the bedrock of NUS College’s transformative vision for education. Here, impact is not just another classroom buzzword – NUS College (NUSC) students are guaranteed to take their learning into the world.
Since its official establishment in 2022, NUS College has wholeheartedly embraced interdisciplinary learning and experiential education strategies as its modus operandi, promising students an education that well positions them to succeed and overcome the challenges of the 21st century.
A key part of this mission is NUSC’s Impact Experience Programme (IEx). A required capstone course for all NUSC students, IEx is an opportunity for students in interdisciplinary teams to collaborate with non-profit partners and innovate future solutions for the benefit of communities and society, from Singapore to the rest of Southeast Asia.
IEx Philippines students Clement Joshua (Mechanical Engineering, Innovation & Design + NUSC ’28) and Michaela Dela Cruz (Life Sciences + NUSC ’27) discuss their IEx projects with their community partners in Hayag Farm in Davao, Philippines.
To date, NUSC students are working on an impressive 114 projects, tackling complex issues such as elephant ecotourism in Thailand, bamboo-based sustainability in the Philippines, the waste management crisis in Cambodia and Sabah, and even the stigma surrounding menstruation in Singapore.
The Impact Experience Podcast
Inspired by the diversity of student projects from the first IEx cohort in 2023, Director of Impact Programmes, Dr Julius Bautista, decided to launch “Impact Experience: An NUSC Podcast” to spread awareness of the good work being accomplished to both the NUS community and the public.
This follows the rising trend of educators making the most of the podcast medium as a pedagogical approach, especially for programmes with strong community engagement components such as IEx.
“Students told me that they did not have a way to convey the experience of community engagement with their family and friends outside NUS,” Dr Bautista explained, describing the podcast as a more accessible avenue for students to share their experiences beyond classroom presentations.
To date, the podcast has featured several IEx student teams in its first 10-episode season. Subsequent seasons are already scheduled for release in the latter half of 2025.
Fostering a Personal Journey of Growth through IEx
Beyond the local and regional impact of these projects, students also get to embark on a personal journey of their own as they work on IEx. One NUSC student in her third year, Rachel Ong (Psychology + NUSC ’26), describes her IEx journey as nothing short of wonderful. “The experience has allowed me to explore my interests, expand my perspectives and gain greater clarity about my future path,” she shared.
Team CoCoCoral tending to a coral nursery in the Northern Coast of Bali.
As part of Team CoCoCoral, Rachel is currently collaborating with Sea Communities in an investigation of coconut fibres as an alternative substrate for coral restoration. The ongoing project in the Northern Coast of Bali is both ambitious and multifaceted – under the supervision of NUSC Instructor Ms Sam Shu Qin, the team is working on creating a children’s storybook to foster early appreciation of marine conservation, conducting marine education workshops and developing data visualisation tools to analyse the effectiveness of reef restoration methods. More on Team CoCoCoral’s project and Rachel’s experience can be found on their episode feature on the Impact Experience Podcast – Finding Coco: Coral Reef Restoration in the Island of the Gods.
“My close friends often joke that IEx is actually my major,” Rachel quipped. However, despite the time and energy she has had to invest, she has never once regretted any of it. She shared that the interdisciplinary nature of IEx has “greatly enriched [her] university life” and encouraged her to explore fields beyond her own, which has led her to pursue a Minor in Aquatic Ecology and spearhead a new interest group at NUSC – NUSCoastal – focused on ocean education.
“IEx has inspired me to embrace a mindset of curiosity and exploration, not limiting myself to a single field but rather trying anything that sparks my interest,” she elaborated.
Rachel (centre, taking photo) and her Team CoCoCoral enjoying precious moments of bonding while working on their project. From left to right: Tan Khai Yan (Environmental Engineering + NUSC [USP] ’25), Foo Tun Min (Life Sciences + NUSC ’26) and Syakirah Binti Jamaludin (Life Sciences + NUSC ’26).
Rachel is also immensely grateful for the IEx community she has come to deeply cherish. “From fishing at 4 a.m. beneath a sky full of stars to enjoying conversations over fresh coconut water straight from the tree, these moments filled with genuine human connection have profoundly shaped my outlook on life and the world,” she reminisced. “This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”
Supporting Impact that Amplifies
Of course, this transformative impact created by IEx would not be possible without the strong backing of NUS donors.
“Supporting IEx, or similar programmes, offers the opportunity to impact both communities and students themselves,” shared Rachel, whose project was also supported by funding from university donors. “Our strivings should not merely be to produce what ‘looks good’, but rather to innovate, grow as individuals and use our skills to problem solve and bless those around us.”
Thanks to the generosity of university donors who have lent their support to IEx, hundreds of NUSC students like Rachel have the opportunity to break open the classroom and reach out to the world, while also discovering more about what truly drives them. In this way, donors have the meaningful opportunity to seed impact in students, who then amplify this impact across the region, to make the world a better place.
More than anything else, IEx is a story of how collaboration amplifies impact. As NUS College continues to break open the classroom with exciting initiatives that go beyond mere academia, the hope is that more and more like-minded individuals and organisations will come together to support these social impact initiatives that make a difference.
You may listen to Impact Experience: An NUSC Podcast here. The podcast features interviews with university students, faculty, staff and alumni who share their IEx experience, projects and ideas about how the College serves as an incubator and catalyst for positive social change.
