·        New approach – immersion camps - adopted to reach out to JC students

·        Inaugural camps were held in the first two months this year

·        Games were introduced as a fun and interactive way to learn about IS and SIS

The School of Information Systems (SIS) took a different tack in its outreach to Junior College (JC) students this year.

Besides the usual Open House and talks, SIS decided to help JC students gain a deeper interest in and understanding of Information Systems through fun and games in immersion camps.

Held for the first time, the half-day camps were organised in January and February this year for JC students who have already taken their A-levels and are waiting for the results. More than 80 participants from 20 different JCs and International Baccalaureate Institutions attended.

Other than getting to know what Information Systems is all about as well as the SIS curriculum, the students also got a glimpse of the career opportunities, interacted with SIS staff, alumni and students, and experienced the SIS culture. 

Professor Venky Shankararaman, Associate Dean of Education at SIS said, “The main motivation for organizing the immersion camps is to raise the level of awareness among JC students of information systems degree, and why doing an IS degree at SIS in SMU actually opens up more career opportunities for them. The camps also serve to clear up doubts that the students may have, such as whether they need to have prior knowledge of computing before applying to SIS.

“Having given many talks to JC students, we realised that the traditional approach of lectures about our curriculum does not appeal to the younger generation and also does not really engage them. Most of the information seems to just go past them without being internalised. We discovered that in order for JC students to have a deeper understanding about SIS degree and pedagogy, we need them to engage with the content and interact with SIS students, faculty and alumni. We want to create a highly interactive session where the students work in groups to solve problems, and through this they learn more about SIS. This is the idea behind “learning by playing games”.”

Three new exciting games, designed by SIS faculty, students and alumni, were introduced in the camps.

·                  Clue Cracker explains what is “IS” and how IS innovates the way we live, play, work and study.

·                  Decipher helps students to understand some of the IS topics, such as cybersecurity, analytics and how these are applied in the real world.

·                  JackPot Rush provides a good understanding of the career opportunities available upon obtaining the SIS degree

[Photo: Students from different JCs and International Baccalaureate Institutions were grouped into teams to work together on the 3 games.] 

[Photo: SIS Instructor Prakash Sukhwal (seated, centre) facilitated the game Decipher in which students had to find ways to decipher encoded messages.]

Leong Kah Leng of Anderson Junior College said, “I enjoyed the camp as I really got to know more about Information Systems. The culture and environment at SIS is wonderful, fun and welcoming.”

“The pace is comfortable; the games are interesting and well-planned, and they give insights into IS. What I liked most was the sharing by profs and senior students about the course, the school, and the industry,” remarked Shou Chenyan of Victoria Junior College.

Seah Pei Zhen of Meridian Junior College added, “I learnt more about SIS and how SMU SIS is like through the camp. What I liked most was the interaction with the SIS students.”

Going forward, SIS is working with the counsellors in JCs to hold camps for the current first and second-year JC students.

[Featured photo: Associate Dean of Education at SIS Professor Venky Shankararaman with the winning team comprising (L-R) Nurul Asyiqin Zahrin (Pioneer JC), Ong Suyi (Anglo Chinese JC), Felicia Anto Christy (Temasek JC) and Zhao Zicen (Temasek JC)]