SINGAPORE, 18 August 2016 (Thursday) – Singapore Management University (SMU) and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) have organised a two-day Financial Literacy Awareness Day on 17 and 18 August at ITE College West to increase the level of financial literacy among ITE students. At the event, SMU and ITE also officially announced a renewal of the Letter of Collaboration to extend their cooperation for another three years to deliver a series of financial literacy training and pedagogical support for ITE students and staff. A mobile game app, co-developed by volunteers from SMU, Citi and ITE that seeks to teach the basics of personal finance through a simulation of an individual’s financial journey, was also launched.

The carnival attracted large and enthusiastic participation of 1,400 ITE students from the three ITE Colleges - College Central, College East and College West. Participants were able to partake in eight interactive games that are infused with important financial concepts such as budgeting, insurance, and fixed deposit. There were also exhibition panels on commonly encountered financial topics such as Inflation, Needs vs Wants, Online Shopping, and How to reduce household expenditure. 

One highlight of the carnival was the participation by more than 460 students from the three ITE Colleges in two classroom games designed by SMU students. Grouped into teams of five students each, the teams competed against one another in Street Cred-it, a board game themed on credit card debt with the objective of reducing their debt to zero. The other game, Financial Investigation Unit, is an interactive activity which requires each team to walk through a maze-like formation within a classroom setting. The students will learn about various topics on financial literacy and apply what they have learnt at each checkpoint through quizzes.

Another highlight was the launch of the mobile app 1 Million Dollar Journey, which was put together by a team comprising SMU faculty and student trainers, Citi staff, ITE lecturers and students. The app is a fun and educational financial management learning game targeting young adults with an emphasis on budgeting and saving. During the course of the game, players will have to make financial decisions which will affect their wealth and well-being, their job performance, and their eventual net worth. The app is free for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

ITE student, Low Kar Jin, who is in the app development team, said, “Before I played the game, I assumed it to be very boring with little replay value. It actually turned out to be more entertaining than I initially thought it was. The best thing I like about the game is it allows me to strategise and make decisions to purchase things and react to life events based on my needs and wants.”

Citi-SMU financial literacy student trainer Wilson Teo added, “The game lets you compete with your friends while learning the important financial concepts together!” With regards to the collaboration between SMU, ITE and Citi, he shared, “I find the experience of working with all the entities very enriching, especially during the play testing session, where they gave their feedback to improve the application.”

Patrick Sin, Head of Portfolio Advisory, Citigold Private Client, Citibank Singapore, who is the advisor of the development team, commented “The mobile app is a launchpad to greater financial awareness and literacy. It helps young adults cultivate healthy financial habits and make sound financial decisions through a fun and light-hearted game that simulates real-life situations. The best time to learn and start financial planning is when you are young, given that time and opportunity is on your side!”

The carnival was held in conjunction with the decision by SMU and ITE to extend their cooperation to deliver a financial literacy programme for ITE students and staff for another three years. The collaboration, which started with ITE College West in 2013, was a success, and will be extended to ITE College Central and College East over the next three years.

Under the terms of the Letter of Collaboration, both parties will develop an engaging and meaningful content and pedagogy on financial literacy, engage students in financial literacy through peer-to-peer coaching and related activities, as well as train ITE staff and selected ITE students as trainers and facilitators for the Financial Literacy Programme. A Financial Literacy Student Club in ITE will also be established, and it will be affiliated to the Citi-SMU Financial Literacy Student Club in SMU.

This collaboration has been made possible by the Citi-SMU Financial Literacy Programme for Young Adults, a collaboration launched in 2012 between Citi Singapore and SMU’s Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics. Supported by the Citi Foundation, it is the first structured financial literacy programme targeted at young adults between 17 and 30 years old in Singapore to gain financial knowledge and make positive changes to their financial behaviour. 

Professor Gerry George, Dean of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business said, “The programme is very much student-driven and it empowers our students who are equipped with the financial knowledge to reach out to their peers. Our student trainers have creatively combined different delivery methods to suit various learning styles, for example through interactive workshops, classroom and carnival games, as well as the mobile app, 1 Million Dollar Journey, which we are launching today. This learning model has proven to be successful. We are pleased to extend the collaboration with ITE for another three years, with greater engagement from ITE College Central and ITE College East.”

Ms Teo Mui Eng, Chief Financial Officer, Citi Singapore, said “The Citi-SMU Financial Literacy Programme for Young Adults is a unique peer-to-peer financial literacy programme that has become increasingly relevant in today’s environment. With the rising complexity of financial products and longer life expectancy, it is critical to equip the young adults in Singapore with strong foundations in personal finance, to minimise costly financial mistakes and set them on the right path to financial independence in their silver years.  We are pleased that the ITE is extending the partnership with SMU for another 3 years and that speaks to the effectiveness of the programme”

Dr Goh Mong Song, Principal of ITE College West said, “We are delighted to renew the collaboration with SMU and Citi Foundation on this Financial Literacy Programme. As we prepare students to step into the working world, this programme would be useful in teaching students personal financial knowledge, budgeting and responsible spending habits. The peer-to-peer coaching, activities, mobile app and the financial literacy race organised and developed by ITE, SMU and Citi Foundation are age-appropriate and are engaging and useful to students.”

Since the commencement of the collaboration in 2013, SMU has provided inputs to the development of a Personal Finance elective module at ITE, supported ITE staff capability development in pedagogy and curriculum delivery, and implemented various student engagement activities on financial literacy.

To date, over 140 SMU student trainers have completed the train-the-trainer programme to deliver the financial literacy outreach curriculum to young adults. They have in turn trained over 8,000 young adults from ITE on financial literacy concepts and knowledge.

For more information, please contact

Teo Chang Ching (Mr)

Senior Assistant Director

Corporate Communications

Singapore Management University

DID: 6828 0451

Email: ccteo [at] smu.edu.sg