Harvard Innovation Challenge South East Asia III

Nine students represented our college at the 2021 Harvard Innovation Challenge South East Asia III (HIC) that was held from 23 July to 25 July. This virtual conference, co-organised by the Harvard Global Education Movement (HGEM) and the Global Citizen Education Group, brought together over 200 delegates from the Southeast Asian countries to discuss important contemporary issues, with Urbanisation & Industrialisation, and Well-being & Equity being the two tracks that were the focus this year.

The aim of this annual conference was to guide delegates through the different aspects of international development and help them understand their roles as citizens of the world. To facilitate greater learning and engagement, delegates were allowed to select one area of focus and participate in discussions and seminar sessions with the relevant influential leaders from the spheres of academia, business and government. After the various workshops, delegates worked in small teams to deliver impactful ‘Solution Proposals’ to tackle real-world problems and generate ideas for future collaborative projects. Throughout the event, delegates also had opportunities to form meaningful relationships with fellow delegates.

Our students who attended the conference were enthused and learnt much from their participation. For some, their participation saw them winning awards in different categories. One of our teams attained First Place for their area of focus, while Ruksana Bi from 21A07 received the Outstanding Delegate award. Elyse Tan Xuanle, also from 21A07, was awarded an Honorable Mention in her conference track. Kudos to our students who demonstrated the spirit of intellectual curiosity, and a keenness to learn beyond the boundaries of the classroom!

Rukhsana Bi, who was awarded Outstanding Delegate and was also part of the team that attained First Place for their conference track shared:

“I definitely widened my knowledge on topics relating to well-being and equity. As I was already interested in these topics, I really enjoyed being able to clarify my doubts as well as listen to other perspectives and experiences. It was also exciting as I was able to make friends with my peers from different parts of Southeast Asia, and even got to know others from Singapore. I felt a sense of belonging when conversing with like-minded students who understood my interests.”

Elyse Tan Xuanle, who was awarded an Honorable Mention for her conference track shared:

“My favourite segment was the talk on cultural intelligence. Although it was brief, I definitely learnt a lot and I also had the opportunity to get an in-depth answer to my question. Overall, HIC was an extremely well-structured and informative event that was clearly driven by the passion for education, and I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to have experienced it.”

Our students had fun participating in the RHD