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Service-Learning

Lead SL pic

Service-Learning is an extension of our Problem-based Learning approach towards teaching, and combines hands-on learning with community service.  

Through our service-learning projects, SOH students use – and practise – the knowledge and skills they learn at school, such as events management and F&B operations, to address genuine community needs.  

In addition to enriching our own students’ learning experience, our service-learning projects also cater to the needs of the poor, the elderly, the handicapped, and even the environment.    

Local Service-Learning Projects (LSPs) 

Jive Fiesta

The School of Hospitality (SOH) organises several LSPs each year. One of them is Jive Fiesta, a yearly fundraiser for RP’s Needy Student Fund which has been spearheaded by SOH students since 2008. In 2014, Jive Fiesta raised close to $10,000 which benefited over 150 needy RP students. Every year, students plan and co-ordinate a five-day carnival, running a myriad of events and activities which include: 

  • Live performances 

  • Food carts 

  • Flea markets 

  • Haunted houses and other attractions 

Other LSP beneficiaries and partners include Campus Impact and Yishun Family Service Centre.   

International Service-Learning Projects (ISLPs) 

International Service-Learning Projects (ISLPs) were first introduced by RP as a response to the catastrophic events that unfolded as a result of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004. In 2005, fifty RP students and four staff members embarked on what would be the polytechnic’s first ever ISLP, to Sri Lanka.   

ISLP

We organise ISLPs to countries like Cambodia and Vietnam, where students get the chance to connect their classroom knowledge to real life and contribute meaningfully to the local community through activities such as: 

  • Teaching English to Thai orphans 

  • Installing solar power systems in Cambodian schools 

  • Designing and constructing an op shop for the Women’s Development Centre in Yangon, Myanmar 

Students will additionally get the chance to interact and discover different cultures and enhance their own world views through these ISLPs.