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| MOE
ExCEL Day 2003 |
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Mr
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Acting Minister for
Education, opened MOE ExCEL Day 2003 held
on 27 September at Hwa Chong Junior College.
This year’s theme was “ExCEL Fiesta:
Celebrating Innovation
and Learning”.
The new innovation landscape
In his opening address, Mr Shanmugaratnam
said that the WITS movement has helped to
raise the quantity and quality of innovative
ideas and improved work processes. More importantly,
it has helped to inculcate a culture of continuous
improvement and learning amongst
officers at all levels in the Education Service.
This spirit of seeking continuous improvement
is crucial, because innovation is a continuous
search for new value so as to maintain our
competitiveness and relevance in the new globalised
world.
In
view of the need to broaden our repertoire
of innovative tools and principles, MOE introduced
a pilot project called InnoWITs in eight schools
and two HQ divisions this year. InnoWITs applies
a new process methodology called the Innovation
Protocol. The Minister shared the key principles
of the Innovation Protocol:
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Re-perceive
— By redefining an existing
problem, we open up possibilities
for solutions that are very different
from those used in the past, and
these new solutions have the potential
to produce leaps in progress.
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Ideate
and evaluate — Divergent
thinking ensures that we leave
no stones unturned in our search
for possible solutions. It is
important to be comfortable with
ambiguity in order to find new
patterns and connections; the
key is not to rush to judge and
evaluate. The ideas and possibilities
that emerge from initial brainstorming
are necessary for developing potential
breakthrough solutions. |
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Prototype
— Space is needed to experiment
and fail. Try out untested ideas
that are unusual. There will be
some level of risk but this should
be managed and not avoided because
of a fear of failure. |
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Collaborate
— The sharing of ideas,
whether across departments or
schools or with external parties,
is invaluable for “cross-fertilisation”
to take place. We need to go beyond
sharing best practices to achieving
greater focus on value creation. |
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Innovations
galore!
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| A
student explaining the ecology
board game to Mr Shanmugaratnam. |
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The ExCEL Fair showcased projects by the winners
of the National IQC Carnival GOLD Award, 2003
Innergy Awards, MOE and School Innovation
Fund Awards. Exhibitors were engaged in describing
their
projects to the guests and giving live demonstrations
of their prototypes.
At the classrooms, the guests were amazed
and inspired by the sheer array of displays
and gems of ideas that the InnoWITs and the
Innovation Journey teams had developed.
Using the Innovation Protocol and its related
tools, the InnoWITs teams produced many innovative
ideas and products for schools. Three teams
shared about their innovation journey during
the ExCEL Day launch ceremony.
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A
team from Hai Sing Catholic and
Temasek Secondary first set out
to tackle the challenges teachers
faced when teaching Normal (Technical)
students by focusing on the issue
of self-discipline. However, they
soon found their problem morphing
into that of finding ways to make
the students feel valued and to
make learning fun for them. This
change in perspective led to novel
solutions. |
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A
group of teachers from Meridian
and Park View Primary Schools
wanted to develop entrepreneurial
skills in their students. Initially,
they focused on teaching them
core skills like finance and economics.
Later, they realised it was more
important to focus on some values
of entrepreneurship, such as passion,
perseverance and responsibility.
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A
team from Springfield Secondary
wanted to improve the cleanliness
and efficacy of the school canteen.
When they began to see that the
canteen was more than just an
eating place, they changed their
approach and started looking into
how to create a utopian canteen
for the enjoyment of both students
and staff. |
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The Innovation Journey teams, which learnt
the Innovation Protocol experientially, also
developed solutions for their schools. Many
found their problem statements changing in
the process, and this helped them to come
up with unconventional but effective solutions.
Exciting activities
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from Starbucks were invited
to help out at the fiesta.
The friendly Baristas shared
their corporate culture with
the crowd. |
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This
year’s activities were distinctly
experiential and involved private companies
as well. Popular café Starbucks and
design firm Phylia-Lilian
Design were roped in to help out with the
programme.
While Starbucks’ Baristas shared about
their innovation culture, the design experts
conducted a workshop which saw participants
having a hand at designing beautiful and functional
items, including signages, lockers, lounge
chairs and a collapsible rubbish bin.
Through these two activities, the participants
drew relevant connections with their own work
contexts and brought valuable insights back
to their respective schools and divisions.
More highlights
Over at a little cosy theatre, participants
viewed a group of students coming
up with original and innovative ideas as
they were guided along
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| One
of the many vibrant booths. |
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with
the Innovation Protocol.
Another highlight was a talk by Dr Kirpal
Singh, who teaches creativity and innovation
at the Singapore Management University. He
shared his thoughts on the need for the right
mindset for innovation and creativity based
on his experiences overseas and his many
years
of experience. Those who attended the session
left feeling recharged and inspired to make
innovation work in their respective schools
and organisations.
A feast for
all
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Mr Shanmugaratnam and Director
of Organisation Development Chan
Tee Miang (first and fourth left)
viewing an InnoWITs exhibit. |
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Undoubtedly, the ExCEL Fiesta offered a buffet
of activities that provided much food for
thought. This grand feast opened the hearts
and
minds of visitors, MOE officers and educators
alike to new perspectives. With this, we can
look forward to likely benefits in schools.
Indeed, our Acting Minister, Mr Shanmugaratnam,
said, “It is this spirit of learning
and innovation that will excite our students
and inspire them to develop their own ideas.” |
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By
Kelly Chng, MOE
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| Related
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| “Our
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audacious improvements.”
— Mr
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Acting
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