Inaugural batch of 2,500 NTU students embark on service learning in the community

Over 2,500 students from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) will embark on their first service-learning projects this month, having acquired foundational knowledge in community service and social work since August.

Today, the inaugural cohort of the university’s Care, Serve, Learn curriculum participated in NTU’s first Skills2Serve session, a new cross-sector learning platform. The day-long training programme provides students with practical skills, real-world perspectives, and valuable community insights by bringing together leaders from the people, public and private sectors.

Students will pick up skills ranging from financial literacy and STEM literacy to technology, healthcare, project management and career exploration from partner organisations spanning diverse sectors before applying what they have learnt to community service. This enables students to work effectively alongside community partners to address authentic societal needs.

Care, Serve, Learn combines a credit-bearing curriculum with structured skill tracks and cross-sector partnerships. Skills2Serve marks the first step for the pioneering cohort as they prepare to move from the classroom into the community, applying their knowledge and skills in collaboration with organisations across different sectors.

Guest of honour Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Trade and Industry, graced the Skills2Serve opening ceremony today.

NTU Vice Provost (Student Experience) and Care, Serve, Learn Director Professor Andy Khong said: “Care, Serve, Learn represents a new approach to service learning at NTU, where community engagement is integrated with a structured academic curriculum. By bringing together partners from the people, public and private sectors, we create a learning ecosystem where students are equipped with the knowledge, skills and perspectives they then apply to serve real societal needs. We hope these experiences will nurture graduates who are not only capable professionals, but also empathetic, responsible and engaged members of society.”

NTU Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education) Professor Gan Chee Lip said: “By connecting people-sector organisations and community groups, public agencies and private-sector partners with the University, Care, Serve, Learn allows knowledge and expertise to be shared across sectors. Students gain a broader understanding of how different stakeholders can work together to address societal challenges. Through sustained engagement with community partners, students develop a deeper understanding of societal issues, strengthen their sense of civic responsibility and gain the confidence to contribute as changemakers.”

 

Serving different areas of the community

Under the inaugural Care, Serve, Learn programme, students choose to serve one of four community pillars: children, youth, seniors, or persons with disabilities. Three additional community pillars will be introduced in January 2027.

As part of Skills2Serve, students select applied focus areas that complement their chosen community pillar. They then receive training from organisations with expertise in their chosen area before applying these skills to serve the community.

The Skills2Serve partners include:

• Access Singapore, a social mobility charity, will equip students with insights into career exploration and ways to support beneficiaries in exploring different professions;

• Praxium, an education and career guidance social enterprise, will help students develop approaches to support community members in building self-awareness and mastery, including understanding their values, strengths and aspirations;

• Youth Corps Singapore will equip students with project management skills, covering the planning, organisation, execution and evaluation of community initiatives;

• Singapore General Hospital and TriGen will help students understand Singapore’s healthcare, community and population health systems, and how care is delivered across hospitals, communities and homes;

• UOB will equip students with financial literacy knowledge and skills, including budgeting, resource planning and managing costs for community programmes and activities;

• The James Dyson Foundation will develop students’ STEM literacy and show them how STEM concepts can be applied to real-world community challenges;

• Tata Consultancy Services will equip students with technology literacy and explore how digital tools and emerging technologies can enhance service delivery and social inclusion.

For instance, students who choose to work with youths and support their career aspirations may undergo career exploration training by Access Singapore before working with youth-serving organisations to facilitate career exploration workshops or mentoring sessions. Students will be expected to adapt their approach based on the needs, circumstances and aspirations of the youths they serve.

Similarly, students undertaking financial literacy training with UOB will be able to apply their learning when supporting community programmes, helping beneficiaries or community organisations better understand budgeting, resource planning and financial decision-making.

One such student, Gabrielle Lim, said she hopes to give back the community in a practical way by educating others about financial literacy. The second-year materials engineering student added: “Through Care, Serve, Learn, I can gain a better understanding of the needs of the different communities around me – not just the elderly but those who frequently interact with them like caregivers, for instance – and become more confident in engaging with them. I believe education always goes a long way in benefitting society as a whole in the long term.”

Mr Benny Chan, Managing Director, Group Channels and Digitalisation, UOB, said: “NTU’s Care, Serve, Learn programme enables UOB to multiply our efforts in promoting financial literacy to the community. By equipping NTU’s undergraduates with practical financial knowledge and empowering them to transform that knowledge into meaningful service, they complement our efforts in strengthening the financial resilience of the community as a whole. Through the programme, we also hope to inculcate the Bank’s spirit of service in them, so that they will be inspired to continue caring for and serving the community as they learn and grow throughout their academic and working life following graduation.”

 

Building on NTU’s culture of volunteerism

All NTU undergraduates admitted from Academic Year 2025/2026 onwards are required to complete the Care, Serve, Learn curriculum, which carries academic credits that count towards graduation.

The initiative builds upon the diverse community engagement efforts that NTU’s undergraduates have been part of over the years and weaves them into a structured curriculum with clear learning outcomes.

It is underpinned by NTU’s vision of nurturing graduates who learn with empathy, serve with purpose and lead responsibly. The programme is supported by a range of community and private partners, including funding via an endowed gift from UOB and the Wee Foundation in April last year.