As a new institution, it is critical to raise awareness of what we are about through outreach activities. Over the past year, immense time and effort were spent organising school talks, exhibitions, meet-the-parents sessions and specialised life skills workshops for the benefit of secondary school students, their parents and teachers.

Reaching out to Secondary Schools

We organised a three-day PBL training seminar in December 2003, to share with teachers how PBL may be adapted to secondary school programmes such as the National Education programme and project work.

On 14 February 2004, the School of Applied Science launched a Scientific Thinking Programme to provide secondary school students with the opportunity to explore the mysteries of science and nature, using the PBL approach. Thirteen schools participated in the five-session programme which comprised talks, discussions and investigations guided by a mentor from RP.

Another new activity introduced by RP was the Innovation Programme launched on 20 March 2004. Attracting over 80 students from 14 secondary schools, the programme encouraged students to tackle head-on, problems that frustrate them in their everyday life. Under the guidance of an RP mentor, the students learnt how to resolve their problems by improving on gadgets or applying creative solutions in a novel way. The final session of both the Scientific Thinking Programme and the Innovation Programme will culminate in RP’s first Scientific Thinking-cum-Innovation Fair later in the year.