In a novel initiative, faculty staff and students of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will participate in more community and social activities with the residents of the nearby areas. They will help in addressing issues and challenges being faced by the residents.
This announcement was made during the networking session at NTU-South West Community Development Council (CDC).
Students of NTU will go to Jurong, Choa Chu Kang and West Coast which is located in the South West CDC.
Laying emphasis on the interaction between the University and people living in the vicinity, Bertil Anderson, NTU president, said, “The University cannot be seen as a closed area and it is important that it interacts with the community and people living around it. It’s important now that we stop and interact more with each other and I think we can do better.”
He added, “Our decision to ramp up our engagement activities in our ‘neighbourhood’ is aimed at better serving the needs of those around us by leveraging NTU’s resources, expertise and research capabilities.”
Lauding the efforts of NTU, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister, who was the guest-of-honour at the event, said, “The most important role that NTU can play … in the community will have to do with developing communities of learning, which naturally tap on the main strengths of universities, not just as repositories of knowledge but as a catalyst of learning outside the universities.”
Students of NTU are helping the residents abounding in the area in different ways. Engineering students of the University are helping in designing a safe and light ramp to help wheelchair-bound residents in Boon Lay access their homes on the ground floor.
Some of the students are developing a device to detect falls, for the benefit of elderly residents living alone.
In addition to this, NTU’s professors will hold public talks to share about their research topics on the last Friday of every month.
Further, NTU’s College of Professional and Continuing Education and the South West CDC will also collaborate in developing programmes for the professionals, managers, executives and technicians, including co-developing industry specific courses for them to transit through jobs and upgrade their skills.