The school will be the first of its kind for a polytechnic in Singapore, with a focus on social sustainability, say chairwoman of the board of advisors Lyn Lee and director for Ngee Ann Polytechnic Sandra Toh
In October, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is launching its new School of Humanities & Interdisciplinary Studies (HMIS), merging three units: the School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HMS), the School of Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) and the Office of Service-Learning (OSL).
This marks a new direction for the school, underlining its commitment to social sustainability and development. In August 2024, NP also announced the opening of the new Centre for Organisational Resilience and Inclusion (CORI), a Centre of Excellence spearheaded by HMIS. Its signature offering is a certificate course in Organisational Design and Sustainable Culture.
Sandra Toh, director for NP, explains that this restructuring is a response to a rapidly changing global landscape and the multifaceted social issues it presents. “It’s a confluence of several factors,” she says, emphasising the urgency of addressing these challenges.
Over the years, DEI and social sustainability have become a vital force for businesses today, and it’s no longer a good-to-have. As workplaces evolve and societies become more mature, skills rooted in understanding humanities, psychology, and behaviour are increasingly valuable.
“As a polytechnic, we believe that social sustainability is a growing imperative with the increasing emphasis on the social aspects of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). We are looking at highly complex, highly interconnected issues globally, such as intensifying conflicts and systemic inequities. In Singapore, we’re looking at addressing social mobility challenges and an ageing population. Then, if you look at the smaller microcosm, which is your corporates and organisations, they’re dealing with corporate burnout.”
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NP recognises the limitations of a single-disciplinary approach to multi-faceted issues, and hence is taking an integrative approach rooted in humanities and social science and cutting through all the other faculties and disciplines.
“We realised that the solutions to these people issues cannot be resolved by a single discipline. But at the same time, because they are people issues, there is a need to understand the sociological, psychological, and cultural dimensions of these challenges.”
This school marks a natural evolution to NP’s commitment to service learning, introduced in 2016. While NP has a solid history of working with communities, this new school brings in an added dimension to provide a holistic pedagogical approach: collaborating with corporations.
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To lead this effort, they have enlisted Lyn Lee, Shell’s Global Chief DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Officer (and the first Asian to hold this role) to head the school advisory board as chairwoman.
The idea for the school was germinated two years ago and that is when NP identified social sustainability as one of the key NP2030 strategic thrusts.
“We initially reached out to Lyn to understand what social sustainability meant to corporations. Subsequently, we met with her again to tap her input on the design of our new Psychology and Community Development Diploma before we approached her to lead our new HMIS Advisory Committee,” says Toh.
Lee’s extensive experience leading DEI initiatives at Shell, recognised through numerous awards, makes her an ideal fit.
“[I believe in working with] the future generation and future leaders,” Lee says. “I think that young people are attuned to DEI. You don’t have to sell its importance and its link to ESG.”
She adds “We want to integrate the entire ecosystem, from students to social support. The missing piece was how to form a triangle where all three parts could work well together: the school, the community and the corporates.”
Lee’s experience consulting with the government and working with Shell for 22 years has provided her with a global perspective and a keen understanding of successful strategies and potential pitfalls.
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Toh adds that the school has deliberately chosen corporate partners that strategically champion social good, while achieving economic results. She says, “When they do good, they address people issues and create social value, as well as economic value.”
Interestingly, both Lee and Toh have observed a shift in changing priorities for students. “There’s a lot of interest in our courses in social leadership, community development and psychology,” says Toh. “They have an interest in trying to make a difference. They are looking beyond just earning money and the definition of success is taking on different forms. Young people are seeking to achieve a purpose larger than themselves and hence want to make an impact and do something to be a force for good.”
The School will be launched in October 2024, with the first cohort in April 2025. We speak to Lee and Toh about the new school and its ambitions.
Why is it important to launch this school now in Singapore?
Lyn Lee (LL): When we talk about social sustainability from a global perspective, we assume that more mature western economies have a better DEI approach and framework. But my global experience instructs me that it is not always the case. What is unique about Singapore is that it is an incubator, and we have a group of people who have a global mindset and who understand the impact of social and environmental sustainability.
Additionally, Singapore is technologically advanced and economically strong. The opportunity is right. We are in the right place, we have the right types of people, and the right government: They all are [coming together] and [challenging] this idea around diversifying success pathways.
Sandra Toh (ST): Something we are featuring in our curriculum is managing polarities and dilemmas: Thinking short and long-term needs, as well as national, organisational and individual needs. These are the kinds of polarities which our government has been constantly trying to manage, and understanding that these are intractable realities is what [our students] have to navigate as well.
How do you do that?
ST: We work at the intersection with different communities and corporations and are able to draw multiple perspectives and connect them. The course is experiential, with real-world projects to provide hands-on experiences.
LL: An important part to highlight about social sustainability is [that it is important for students to learn how] to sit in tension, because it is not black-and-white. You actually need empathy, wisdom, which is not something you can teach but something you can experience.
What is your hope for the students graduating from this programme?
ST: Our tagline is Think People, Transform Communities. So we also provide essential transferable skills such as training in the areas of communication, critical thinking, global issues, innovation and interdisciplinary thinking across the whole of NP. Regardless of whether they are working professional, a scholar or citizen of the country, they should be able to think and work across boundaries, able to connect the dots, and approach every question, every problem, every decision from a human angle first.
[We hope] they can apply the humanities and social sciences, the understanding of human behaviours, human dynamics and human needs, and then use that to transform communities.
LL: Success in Singapore is typically defined by money. There is nothing wrong with that, but we want our graduates to also prioritise impact and consider who they can bring along on their journey.
I want [the students] to draw from their own experiences and those around them to understand how they want to transform the community. It doesn’t have to be big, but we want to encourage them to build slowly and help to influence others. We want them to carry the skills, experience and wisdom they gain into their careers and adult lives.
Karishma Tulsidas is an editor and the founder of Contente, a content and PR company.
