Students Get Creative At The Young Innovators' Fair 2007

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1. Looking to replace a missing button but can’t find needle and thread? Darren Foo from Rosyth School has just the solution for your problem, in the form of a novel button that requires no sewing. A team from Nanyang Girls’ High School has also come up with an innovative way to enable the elderly in changing curtains without climbing onto furniture in the form of a modified curtain rod.

2. These two innovations and many other creations are the highlights of this year’s Young Innovators’ Fair. The culmination of seven months of creative problem-solving by students under the Innovation Programme (IvP), the Young Innovators’ Fair serves as a platform for our student innovators to showcase their creativity. Organised by the Gifted Education Branch (GEB) of the Ministry of Education (MOE), the IvP aims to promote and nurture interest in innovation among students.[1] Under the programme, students get to gain first-hand experience in applying principles of science and technology to real-life problems.

3. This year, the IvP attracted participation from 543 Primary 5 and Secondary 2 students from 23 schools. A total of 127 projects will be featured at the Fair, which will be held on 20 Jul 07 at Singapore Polytechnic Convention Centre. A list of some of the projects is provided in the Annex.

4. An Advanced IvP group will be piloted this year, where 21 students whose projects have done well in both local and international competitions will be matched to seven expert-mentors from Nanyang Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The expert training this Advanced IvP group receives will equip them with additional advanced strategies and experiences that will enhance their creativity.

5. This year, the MOE has made 3M an industrial partner of the IvP. Under this partnership, 3M will sponsor two science outreach programmes and run them together with the GEB. This makes 3M the first industrial partner in the IvP. The new partnership with 3M Singapore aims to inculcate a love of innovation in our students through the following science outreach programmes: the Visiting Wizards Programme and the TECH programme. Through demonstrations conducted by 3M’s engineers, the programmes show students how lessons in innovation can be applied in daily life. Students will also be able to participate in experiments and interact with 3M scientists. These programmes are meant to get local students excited about science and engineering. Similar science outreach programmes were successfully implemented in the United States to encourage students to take up science and engineering courses.

6. “This year we are particularly grateful to 3M Singapore for sharing our desire to develop a more innovative mindset amongst our young. We believe that with this added industrial partnership, our mission to promote a love of innovation will be more meaningful for our pupils as they develop an understanding of how their lessons are applied in real-world settings,” said Dr Tan Bee Geok, Deputy Director, Gifted Education Branch, Education Programmes Division, MOE.

7. Mr Donald Chang, MD, 3M Asia Pacific, noted that 3M’s science outreach programmes have been successfully tried and tested in the US. The programmes came about because of the worrying trend of students shying away from science and engineering courses. He said, “It is interesting to note that there is a similar trend emerging in Singapore. I am confident our programmes will similarly get the young in Singapore excited enough about science and engineering at their age such that when it’s time for them to decide which course to elect, they will be inspired enough to pursue a course in science or engineering.”

8. The IvP was first launched in 1993 with 65 Secondary 2 participants from three schools. To date, a total of 5,882 students and 90 schools have participated in the IvP.