IdEas@Work in Nanyang

Department/Committee/Team: CCE + GCP + Regional Studies Leader(s): Aloysius Foo Member(s): Annie Koh, Delphine Tan, Norazlina binte Abdul Jalil, Liew Chiat Siang 1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing? The project addressed a gap in how International Friendship Day (IFD) was traditionally commemorated, which was typically through Kahoot quizzes or student-led presentations on other countries. While informative, these activities were largely passive, surface-level, and lacked authentic engagement with peers beyond Singapore. As a result, students had limited opportunities to develop deeper cross-cultural skills, global orientation, and an appreciation of Singapore’s geopolitical realities. Our rapidly evolving global landscape demands more than factual knowledge; it requires students to practise openness, empathy, and international collaboration. In other words, there needs to be a deeper effort to ensure that the IFD objectives are attained. 2....

Department/Committee/Team: Accounts Leader(s): Joo Yee & Gina Soh Member(s): Jeslin Wong, Loh Wennie 1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing? Previously, the school disbursed meal subsidies to parents' GIRO accounts on a half-yearly basis — $760 in February (for Jan–Jun) and $760 in July (for Jul–Dec), totaling $1,520 per year. This amount was based on the MOE rate of $3.80 per meal for 10 meals per school week over 40 weeks. However, this method posed several challenges: 1) Fixed subsidies didn’t reflect actual consumption. The disbursed amount was based on projected meals, not the actual number of meals consumed by students. 2) No control over how the funds were used. Once funds were disbursed to parents, there was no mechanism to ensure the money was spent specifically on students' meals. 3) Some eligible students may have missed out on the intended benefit. Although $760 was disbursed to a student's parent, families facing financial stress ...

Department/Committee/Team: Accounts Leader(s): Joo Yee & Gina Soh Member(s): Jeslin Wong 1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing? The existing process for collecting parental consent for Edusave-related payments and programme participation was manual, paper-based, and time-consuming. Forms had to be printed by parents or accounts staff, physically distributed and collected by form teachers, and manually tracked against class registers. This resulted in delays, incomplete submissions, and added administrative workload for both teachers and accounts staff. There was also a risk of forms being lost or misplaced. These inefficiencies highlighted a clear need for a more streamlined, accurate, and sustainable solution to improve the consent collection process and reduce reliance on hardcopy documentation. 2.  How had it been experimented and enacted? The digital consent collection process was first piloted in 2024 with the Secondary 1 cohort, us...

Department/Committee/Team: Accounts Leaders: Gina Soh, Joo Yee Member(s): Jeslin Wong, Mahesh & Ricky Yeo 1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing? 1) Manual and Paper-Based Process: The existing process relies heavily on paper forms and manual data entry, leading to frequent delays, higher error rates, and increased administrative workload. 2) Lack of Real-Time Authorization: Parents often wait at least two weeks for their GIRO arrangements to be processed and activated. This delay is mainly due to manual coordination and the back-and-forth between banks and billing organizations. 3) Application Rejection and Resubmission: Rejections from banks are common due to issues such as mismatched signatories or incorrect bank account information. As the process depends on hard copy submissions, any rejection requires the entire application cycle to be restarted, causing further delays and frustration. 4) Inconvenience and Environmental Impact: The process of prin...

Department/Committee/Team: Accounts / ICT Leader(s): Gina Soh, Joo Yee Member(s): Chee Yeen, Jeslin, Puey Hoon 1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing? A significant amount of manpower is required for collecting orders and cash from staff and students. Handling cash also increases the risk of loss and potential discrepancies. 2.  How had it been experimented and enacted? A website has been developed to facilitate order placement and submission of payment proof via PayNow. Accounts staff will be responsible for verifying each payment against our bank's PayNow transaction records. 3.  Which group(s) had benefited? Students (Entire Cohort), Teaching Staff (Selected Groups) 4.  What was the positive impact? Form Teachers are not required to collect cash from students who have placed their carnival coupon orders and submitted payment via PayNow. i.e. reduce the admin load of form teachers. This approach also reduces the need for cash hand...

Department/Committee/Team: Accounts Department & Chee Yeen Leader(s): Gina Soh, Joo Yee Member(s): Chee Yeen, Shanny Yong, Stanley Ong 1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing? Inefficiency and Time Delays Hardcopy: Manual handling, physical transportation, and long processing times. E-submission: Immediate delivery, automated routing, and quicker processing. High Operational Costs Hardcopy: Printing, postage, storage, and administrative labor. E-submission: Reduces or eliminates printing and shipping costs. Data Inaccuracy and Manual Errors Hardcopy: Human error in data entry and document management. E-submission: Use of templates, validations, and autofill options minimizes errors. Limited Accessibility Hardcopy: Requires physical access; difficult for remote collaboration. E-submission: Accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. Lack of Tracking and Transparency Hardcopy: Hard to trace the status of submissions. E-submission: Offer...