Faculty of Architecture, Building & Real Estate
The Millennium Project:
Exploring the Frontiers of Space

As part of its celebrations of the advent of the new millennium, the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre recently invited the School of Architecture to exhibit 41 life-sized prototypes. Launched on 23 November 1999 with Mrs Goh Chok Tong as Guest of Honour, this Millennium Project had the theme of Constructed Spaces. The objective of the project was to investigate the role of construction principles, materials and systems as generators of form through experimentation in the design and making of artefacts. Each prototype resulted from a five-week long project in the course, ‘P2: Constructions’, undertaken by 146 students from the Year 1 Architecture and Industrial Design course. Under the tutelage of their respective studio design tutors, small groups of 3-5 students experimented with ideas ranging from the abstract aspects of machines and mechanisms to the extraterrestrial prospects of imaginary space colonies in exploring the frontiers of space. By carefully crafting and assembling these abstract prototypes, students displayed their creative energy and youthful enthusiasm as well as developed their appreciation of aesthetics and design sensibilities.

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
Civil Service Internship Programme for Political Science Students

Since 1993, the Department of Political Science has participated in the Civil Service Student Internship Programme, under which students are attached to a Ministry for six weeks during the long vacation. So far 80 Political Science students have participated in the Programme. The Ministries to which they have been attached include Communications and Information Technology, Community Development, Defence, Education, Environment, Finance, Home Affairs, Information and the Arts, National Development, Manpower, and the Prime Minister’s Office.
The students perform professional duties which are challenging and interesting. They include doing research projects, designing and carrying out surveys, writing papers, reviewing plans, preparing exhibitions, analysing media reports, and developing web sites. The Internship helps to increase the students’ knowledge of the Civil Service, and gives them a greater understanding of the practical side of public administration, to supplement the knowledge they gain from their studies as Political Science majors in the University.

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
Innovative Teaching in the
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is characterised by a diverse array of disciplines, focused on making sense of a complex social world. Teaching in the Faculty facilitates an evolution of meanings about life events so that informed choices can be made. To initiate students into this scholarly activity, several innovative teaching methods are currently being deployed.

With the increase in lecture and tutorial durations, from one to two hours, more teachers are using buzz groups, competition formats, and debates to encourage students to look for their own answers, instead of waiting for a teacher-provided position.

In areas like social work, geography and history, students are encouraged to link theoretical concepts with real-world societies and landscapes by going out into the community to make first-hand discoveries. Such field trips expose students early to primary research skills, such as generating a viable research question, conducting (in)formal interviews, observing clues in a landscape/interaction, and drawing well-evidenced conclusions.

Faculty of Business Administration
Some Strategies for Sustaining
Student Interest in Course Web Sites

The Internet is an effortless way of disseminating information, but students have high expectations. An educational web site should go beyond provision of course outlines, schedules, project assignments and PowerPoint presentations that are available in hard copy. In our Faculty, we have tried out several things to sustain interest (c.f. http://137.132.232.238). We post articles and transparencies, some featured in class and others meant for additional reading, to encourage students to continue with the class discussion. Each week, we update the ‘What’s New’ page variously with appropriate Q & As and external web links related to the course. As the semester progresses, we encourage student diligence by posting their PowerPoint presentations for all to view. Finally, we can also upload short video clips of their class presentations. This will increase their interest in learning and making good presentations. Taking cues from the world of e-commerce, there is no end to improving the visuals and content, but IT tools are terrific for enhancing the learning as well as teaching experiences.

Faculty of Engineering
Internet Learning in Manufacturing

In manufacturing, the timely capture, sharing and management of information is growing in importance, compelling companies to change the way they organise and operate. To pre-empt this future working environment, research is underway in the Mechanical & Production Engineering Department to share manufacturing resources over the Internet.

In a research project, Internet Manufacturing (IMAN), the development of a distributed rapid prototyping (RP) system using the Internet to support effective product development by sharing global resources and research using Java and web tools has been completed. The approach was based on object-oriented programming and client server communication to invoke the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) rapid prototyping equipment remotely over broadband network. Since the equipment concerned did not have direct Internet connection, web-enabling techniques were developed so that the FDM machine can be treated as a node in the network.

Tests were successfully carried out with a number of collaboration partners:

• Indiana University, November 1998, Bloomington, Indiana
  
• Super-computing ’98, December 1998, Orlando, Florida
  
• Internet Workshop ’99, February 1999, Osaka, Japan
  
• SingAREN, March 1999, National Computer Board (NCB), Singapore

The tests allowed the remote client to take control of the host, share and collaborate with the host slicing software and uploading the sliced files to the host controller for manufacturing. The host and client held discussions with each other through video conferencing. A web cam was also attached to continuously monitor the fabrication process. Similarly, NUS design and manufacturing students are able to use equipment in Temasek Polytechnic remotely.

Faculty of Medicine
Changing Trends in the NUS Undergraduate Medical Curriculum

The NUS undergraduate medical curriculum is undergoing major revisions aimed at integrating the teaching of the basic medical sciences from a highly discipline-based to a systems-based approach, supplemented with problem-based learning (PBL). The key objectives are: to reduce factual overload; to build a solid basic science foundation in the clinical context; and to promote active and self-directed learning (e.g. through 20% curriculum time for PBL, increased use of an IT support system and opportunities for research). The teaching program will be faculty-directed, including the implementation of integrated examinations that will focus on core knowledge and principles and conceptual understanding. The new M1 curriculum was successfully implemented this academic year and the M2 will follow next year. Medical education in NUS will prepare today’s medical students for the rapid changes in medicine and medical science in the years ahead and to better serve the needs and expectations of our community.