Building Tech for Good: CCDS Students Drive Change for Seniors
From deciphering government letters to giving voice to volunteer visits, students from the College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS) are showing how technology can make a meaningful difference in the lives of seniors. Two startups with strong involvement from CCDS students, LetterKey and SeniorSays, emerged from the Sparks x Build for Good Community Hackathon in June 2025 with one shared mission: to use tech for social good.
The Hackathon, co-organised by the People’s Association and Open Government Products, challenged youths to design solutions for community needs. Both teams advanced into an eight-week accelerator programme, receiving $20,000 in funding and mentorship support from industry leaders to scale their ideas.
Among the team members behind LetterKey is Loo Ping Wee, a Computer Science student at CCDS, who contributed as an engineer. LetterKey was born out of conversations with seniors and staff at Senja Fei Yue Active Ageing Centre. Many seniors brought in stacks of letters for translation, taking up to two hours of staff time per case. LetterKey streamlines this process by translating letters into simplified terms and providing audio outputs for seniors who prefer spoken explanations. With pilot testing at Bukit Panjang CC and a feature on The Straits Times, the tool has already served more than 150 users and processed over 300 documents.
Left: Loo Ping Wee (in white) and his teammate engaging a senior with the LetterKey app
Centre: The LetterKey app interface
Right: Group photo of the LetterKey team with participants
“We built the kiosk for pilot testing within a week and rolled out a WhatsApp function just as quickly when seniors said they preferred using their phones,” said Ping Wee. “It was especially heartening to know the seniors were rooting for us every weekend.”
For Goh Jia Hui, also a CCDS computer science student with a passion for technology, the idea for SeniorSays came from hearing stories of elderly residents who lived and sometimes passed away alone without support. That realisation moved her team to create a voice-first note-taking app that helps volunteers document conversations and auto-fill forms during home visits. With the world’s population rapidly ageing, she believes that organisations must find new ways to engage and support seniors meaningfully. SeniorSays aims to close this gap by turning natural conversations into actionable insights, ensuring seniors remain active participants in society.
Left: Goh Jia Hui explaining how the SeniorSays app works
Centre: The SeniorSays team
Right: A snapshot of the SeniorSays app interface
“Technology should not be the end goal, but a bridge to connect with people,” said Jia Hui. “The real power of tech is in helping people solve their problems.”
Both students point to CCDS as a key part of their journey. For Jia Hui, her coursework gave her the confidence to apply technical knowledge directly to mobile development, while CCDS nurtured a culture of curiosity that encouraged her to step beyond the classroom and try new things. For Ping Wee, guidance from CCDS iLab and its Catalyst@iLab mentorship programme helped him chart his path and gain the confidence to join hackathons.
They also acknowledge the people around them who made their projects possible. Both LetterKey and SeniorSays drew strength from teammates with complementary skills, as well as mentors and peers who encouraged them to keep pushing forward. This support helped the teams overcome challenges and remain focused on creating solutions that could truly make an impact.
As these projects grow, they represent more than just student initiatives. They showcase how young technologists from CCDS are building solutions that matter, while gaining real-world experience in leadership, collaboration and entrepreneurship. The journeys of LetterKey and SeniorSays also reflect the wider spirit at CCDS, where students are encouraged to experiment, connect and turn ideas into tangible impact for the community.
