GO-FAR: WKWSCI Students Reporting Around the World

Since 2005, WKWSCI’s GO-FAR (Going Overseas for Advanced Reporting) programme has given students a chance to step beyond the classroom and report in real-world international contexts. Over nearly two decades, GO-FAR students have travelled to 19 countries across Asia, Europe, and beyond, covering stories of social, cultural, and humanitarian significance, from post-tsunami Aceh and Sri Lanka to environmental and human-interest issues worldwide. 

What sets GO-FAR apart is not just the destinations, but the challenges students face along the way. In the field, they must find compelling stories on their own, gain the trust of local communities, navigate unfamiliar environments, and overcome logistical, technical, and cultural obstacles. These experiences help students develop professional skills such as research, multimedia storytelling, and investigative rigour, while also cultivating personal qualities like empathy, resilience, and critical thinking. 

GO-FAR 2025: Stories from Mae Sot 

The 2025 edition brought 13 students to Mae Sot, a Thai border town sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people from Myanmar. Over 12 days, they produced 14 stories and three documentaries that captured the social, cultural, and humanitarian realities of the community. 

Fieldwork in Mae Sot was demanding. Students waded through calf- to waist-high floodwaters, adapted to basic living conditions, and overcame language barriers, all while ensuring their reporting remained ethical, thorough, and nuanced. Reflecting on the experience, final-year student Sara Bapat shared, “My partner and I interviewed a well-drilling worker about water safety issues using only Google Translate after meeting him spontaneously in Mae Sot. Without a translator, we spoke back and forth through the app. The interview took nearly twice as long, but it reinforced the importance of speaking directly to locals on the ground and accurately attributing our sources.” 

^{GO-FAR students wade through floodwaters while filming their documentary.} 

The students’ reporting reached wider audiences, with several stories featured by major media outlets including The Straits Times. Their work was also compiled into the 2025 edition of the annual GO-FAR publication, Displaced, which was launched at Temasek Shophouse, continuing the programme’s tradition of sharing student work with industry professionals, alumni, and the wider community. 

_{The book launch of Displaced held at Temasek Shophouse.}  

Through programmes like GO-FAR, WKWSCI students do not just learn to report. They learn to tell stories that matter, navigate uncertainty, and engage with communities meaningfully. The programme transforms classroom knowledge into real-world impact, while empowering students to become thoughtful, skilled journalists capable of telling stories that resonate across borders. 

2025 GO-FAR stories featured in the media: 

• Myanmar refugees on the brink as funding cuts bite: ‘I feel so anxious’ 
  

• Murder of the Salween: Pollution, dams and destructive fishing practices affect Karen communities 

• Migrant communities at Thai-Myanmar border turn to water filters to quench thirst for safe water 

• New overseas flavours sweeten the deal as Mae Sot’s economy stirs back to life 

• The Doctor Who Left Singapore to Build Emergency Care on the Thai-Myanmar Border 

• The return of lethwei, Myanmar's brutal bare-knuckle sport 

• In Thai border town, a Singaporean doctor helps build an emergency care unit 

• Free 3D-printed prostheses put hope in arm’s reach for Myanmar war amputees in Thai border town 

• No hope, false hope: Myanmar youth hit educational dead ends in Thailand 

• Reporting from the shadows