Next generation innovators - 10th Anniversary Book - Temasek Foundation International

The Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) educational framework is growing in Asia. In a regional CDIO exchange in March 2017 hosted by the Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) and Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, educators from around the world witnessed its impact – four years after the institutions adopted the framework with support from Temasek Foundation International. Today, lecturers and professors thrive with a new sense of purpose: empowering students to take charge of their own learning.

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Text by Wong Shu Yun.

*More of such stories can be found in Temasek Foundation International's 10th anniversary commemorative book 'Leading Journeys: Inspirations for Asia and Beyond".

RMUTT Industrial Engineering students giving a demonstration of their robotics model in a workshop.

Thai Traditional Medicine College student Orada Anusakpitaya (left), 20, presents her project, where she used traditional herbs to make tarts. Orada not only conceived the idea of healthier pastries, she also convinced her classmates of it through presentations, which trained her communication skills.

Tarts, using traditional herbs, made by students from the Thai Traditional Medicine College.

Natha Kuptasthien (left), who leads CDIO in RMUTT, interacts with participants at the 2017 CDIO Asian Regional Meeting. Temasek Foundation International, which supports CDIO in Thailand, is a supporter of the framework because of its focus on addressing real-world situations.

Professor Natha sharing her experience of using the CDIO framework, which RMUTT has implemented since 2014. RMUTT together with Chulalongkorn University now take the lead in advancing CDIO in Thailand. In the next phase, RMUTT will develop students who meet – more acutely – the industry’s needs. The goal is to make every RMUTT student highly employable and open to a world of opportunities.

As part of CDIO’s active learning, students design and build real-world solutions. Industrial Engineering students Takonkiat Arirob (centre), 23, and Udomsak Wattanagool, 22, carry out a demonstration of the robotic arm they created with supervision from their lecturer Sakchai Chantasri (right), 54.

A class in session at RMUTT. The university has introduced smart classes equipped with technology, where lessons can be more fun and interactive.

Students in the Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi learn practical skills sought after by industries that make them employable.

RMUTT Industrial Engineering students in a computer lab.

The RMUTT campus.

Wang Bingfei - 10th Anniversary Book - Temasek Foundation International

Having a heart for the elderly

In her free time, Wang Bingfei, 30, likes hiking in the mountains. As a nurse and teaching assistant in geriatrics at Hebei Medical University’s Nursing College, China, she confronts a different uphill task: the number of elderly is climbing rapidly worldwide. Geriatrics specialists like Ms Wang will be at the heart of this challenge.

But if there is one thing that she has learnt from the Programme in Nursing, it is this: there ain’t no mountain too high – with teamwork.

“Nursing schools and hospitals in Singapore are well connected. The teachers and the practitioners work together to educate,” she says. “When the students are in the hospitals to learn from the practitioners, the teachers continue to observe them. The teachers and practitioners then provide feedback to one another. This sort of integrated training is the key for students to connect theory and practice – and it’s what I’m most interested in to carry out in China.”

Ms Wang can’t wait to energise her students and colleagues with the ideas she has gathered. She is also hoping that together, they can explore how hospice, home and elderly day care are vital in geriatrics, even though these aren’t medical treatments. “Geriatrics is multifaceted,” she says. “Apart from medication, providing companionship and understanding to the elderly is important too.” An integrated approach to health means the individual’s entire well-being is considered.

Ms Wang is already thinking ahead. Palliative care has been on her mind. “It’s common to talk about birth, ageing and sickness, but not death,” she says. As she discusses these health care issues with the network of friends gained from the Programme, she feels assured: the future of health care is not in one but many good hands.

Participant from Hebei Medical University’s Nursing College, China, in: Programme in Nursing by Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore, and Temasek Foundation International

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Text by Wong Shu Yun.

*More of such stories can be found in Temasek Foundation International's 10th anniversary commemorative book 'Leading Journeys: Inspirations for Asia and Beyond".

Tjhin Wiguna - 10th Anniversary Book - Temasek Foundation International

Dispelling myths, changing lives

Fresh off graduation from medical school more than 25 years ago, Tjhin Wiguna was part of a medical team that carried out immunisation jabs and health checkups for an aboriginal community residing near West Kalimantan, Borneo. There, he witnessed several health care issues plaguing the community – due to rumour mongering and a lack of education.

Despite the high prevalence of diseases like malaria and typhoid, parents refused to immunise their kids: there was a strong misconception that exposing children to needles caused fever, seizures and even death. Dr Tjhin, 56, decided to pursue child and adolescent psychiatry to better address such issues affecting children.

“The best part about being a child and adolescent psychiatrist is that I get to liaise with both the hospital and the general public,” he says. “It’s a middleman role, where I interact with the people from both sides and understand their perspectives to serve them better.”

Home to over 260 million people speaking more than 700 different languages, Indonesia with its diverse cultures also mean challenges, says Dr Tjhin. “Getting across a message to someone in Aceh is completely different from talking to someone in Lombok or Central Java,” he explains.“We must understand and respect the different cultures, and then reach out to people in the best way possible.”

The Programme in Post-Disaster Mental Health for Communities in Asia for China, Indonesia and Thailand has helped to create awareness among people – mainly on the fact that better mental health are in their hands. Originally focused on five provinces in Indonesia, the Programme was so successful that several other provinces were also roped in over time. “The effectiveness of the Programme in helping to address post-disaster recovery was so impactful that our trainers were invited to other parts of Indonesia to share their experiences,” Dr Tjhin says. “This is what medicine is about: caring and sharing for each other unconditionally.”

Participant from the Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia in: Programme in Post-Disaster Mental Health for Communities in Asia by the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, and Temasek Foundation International

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Text by Prabhu Silvam

*More of such stories can be found in Temasek Foundation International's 10th anniversary commemorative book 'Leading Journeys: Inspirations for Asia and Beyond".

Schools of Opportunity - 10th Anniversary Book - Temasek Foundation International

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools have improved the lives of many around the world. TVET trains people in the skills and knowledge highly sought after by industries. In 2010, Temasek Foundation International started its first Programme in TVET in Cambodia. Today, many TVET graduates are employed in the automotive and hospitality industries. We take a look at some of the participants in a recent TVET course on information technology.

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Text by Prabhu Silvam.

*More of such stories can be found in Temasek Foundation International's 10th anniversary commemorative book 'Leading Journeys: Inspirations for Asia and Beyond".

Piseth Keo (right), 27, an information communications teacher from the Koh Kong Provincial Training Centre, Cambodia, setting up a computer network with three TVET participants. They are in the Computer Technology Lab of Singapore’s ITE College East.

Desmond See (centre), 50, a senior lecturer from Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College East, explaining the steps involved in setting up, configuring and testing a small network.

Kimleng Ly (centre), 27, and his team configuring an intra-network. Through TVET, he hopes to bring the latest skills and knowledge to Cambodia for his students at the Regional Polytechnic Institute Techo Sen Battambang.

Piseth Keo says that TVET motivates young educators. Hands-on workshops and site visits have helped him to address curricula issues. “I’m now able to better structure our curricula alongside colleagues and get immediate feedback. These were the boosters I needed to push ahead,” he explains.

As Cambodia continues to open up, TVET has been important as the country’s gateway to the world, Kimleng Ly says. Cambodian TVET graduates now work in Viet Nam and Thailand as well. More opportunities for his students mean more possibilities for his country, he says.

ITE College East in Singapore, where TVET courses are held.