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| Polytechnic
students showcase innovations |
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| The
exhibition featured an array
of projects by students. |
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In
February 2003, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) hosted
its annual Innovation
Exhibition or Innovex. The polytechnic’s
largest annual exhibition featured some 237 projects
by over 1,000 final-year students from the School
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.
In
his speech at the opening ceremony, Mr Ong
Eng Chan, Director of the School of Mechanical
and Manufacturing Engineering, said, “The
exhibition is the culmination of eight months
of hard work by the students. They apply theoretical
concepts and practical knowledge to create innovative
products or solve real-life problems.”
The students work in teams of up to five persons
under the guidance of teacher-supervisors. They
consolidate all they have learnt from the 14
different modules over the last three years,
and apply the knowledge in their final-year project.
The two engineering schools place great emphasis
on the inter-disciplinary aspects of project
work. Consequently, the schools work together
to make all their resources available to students,
so as to provide them with the flexibility to
exercise their creativity.
Biweekly sessions during which the groups and
their supervisors can exchange ideas is another
way to encourage innovation. Ultimately, the
supervisors leave decision-making to the students,
so as to foster confidence and independence.
They also maintain that in order for students
to do well, they need to enjoy their work.
The positive results of SP’s teaching philosophy
and methodologies is evident in the array of
projects that have been developed by its students.
They fall into categories as diverse as automation
technology, rehabilitation engineering and environmental
engineering. They include
a rehabilitative breathing
device for hospitals, an incubator to hatch chicken
eggs for an orphanage in India, and a vacuum
underground refuse system.
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By PS21 Office
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