The National Website Design Competition was organised by the National Youth Achievement Award Council. Since Singapore was hosting the IMF/World Bank meetings in September 2006, and to help create awareness amongst the youths, a competition on the following theme was organised: The Significance and Importance of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank
A team of four students comprising students from Business, Design, Engineering and Information Technology Schools came together to work on an entry for the competition. The students had to identify a unique aspect of the IMF/World Bank., do research on it and present it in a creative manner. The team had less than 3 weeks to complete the website, and this was right in the middle of the semester where students had to attend classes and submit assignments.
Mr. Woon Boon Seong (Lecturer from the Diploma in Internet and Multimedia Development) supervised the project and had this to say: 'The students were committed to the task. They worked as a team, consumed pizzas as a team, worked late into the night as a team and deserve much credit for their efforts!'
The website consists of 3 sections:
- Think - which contains information about Poverty
- Learn - which contains information about the IMF and the World Bank
- Contribute - which contains information on the students' learning experience and reflection
The whole exercise was an enriching learning experience for the students. Living in a modern and prosperous city like Singapore and growing up with broadband Internet connections, Play Stations and burgers from McDonalds, the concept of poverty is remote and foreign. Through their research and creation of the site, the students gained much insight into the roles of the IMF and the World Bank in reducing poverty.
Boon Seong had this to say in concluding: 'It was a wonderful experience for me too. It was great that the team consisted of students from different Schools. We learned from each other's diverse backgrounds, and we learned to leverage on each other's strengths.
