Award
2009 19 and Under: 1st place
Team
Peter ZThe SMIC Private School, China
Jonathan LHwa Chong Institution, Singapore
YubinHwa Chong Institution, Singapore
Andrew EThe Hutchins School, Australia
ZihaoHwa Chong Institution, Singapore
YunhaoHwa Chong Institution, Singapore
Age Range
19 & under
Coaches
Shiau Yean GiamHwa Chong Institution, Singapore
Category
Social Sciences & Culture
Audience
Ages 12 and up
Language
English
Site Features
Online Activity / Game
Quiz
Teacher Resources (Lesson Plans, Worksheets)
Video / Sound
Team Collaboration
Our team consists of 6 members from different parts of the world, each with different talents, skills & perspectives. These individual strengths and differences are what make us unique. For example, Jonathan, who is currently in the Infocomm Society, took charge of the programming and coding aspect of the portal while guiding other team members who are not as tech-savvy. Peter, who is currently in the SMIC Movie Club, made use of his talents and creativity to produce eye-catching multimedia content while the other team members focused on researching content for the portal.
The learning journey of the project is just like a boat in the sea, with many ups and downs. But it was by overcoming these difficulties that we become an even stronger team.
Teamwork is never an easy task, especially when the team is made up of members from different regions. Despite the huge physical barrier, our team was able to work efficiently and productively. Since meeting physically was not possible, most group discussions and collaborations were done online. Instant messaging was also a primary platform for group discussions. Every Saturday evening, our group would have a short meeting to consolidate and review the progress of each individual member, as well as make several decisions as a team. These meetings have shaped our project from a humble idea to what we have today.
Our group also has a web-based project management portal, where tasks are assigned to team members after each weekly group discussion. This saved us a lot of time as we can forget about the administrative stuff, like reminding members of what has to be done, and instead focus on project itself. Additionally, we found that this also helped us to adhere to our deadlines more strictly, giving us a clear idea of each member’s individual progress in their assigned tasks.
We believe that the process of the project is far more important than the actual outcome. Though it may be tough and tiring for each of us, we are constantly motivated and driven by the satisfaction we have when each stage of our project is completed. The experiences we had as we worked with each other are truly a rewarding and fulfilling experience. In our eyes, the completion of this project is already a great achievement itself.
Jonathan, aptly sums up our experience – ‘It was an enriching journey – not only our research and technical skills are constantly challenged, we also had to overcome the obstacle of working across borders. It was great feeling; one I could not describe when the final package was was finally completed.’
Team Diversity
Made up of students from different parts of the world, our team of 6 explored our topic in various perspectives. 4 students from Singapore, together with 2 others from China and Australia, have overcome the physical barrier to work together on this project.
Because of the difference in background and culture, our group has diverse viewpoints, incorporating both western and eastern perspectives and ideas. This enabled us to reach out to a wider audience and hopefully, achieve a greater impact on youths from different parts of the world.
The information collected by our diverse team of members covers a broad scope in terms of Leadership Field (e.g. leaders in political, economic and social fields), Age (e.g. adults and student leaders in interviews and case studies) and Nationality (e.g. we interviewed student leaders from 3 countries!) With this we hope to show how leadership styles might differ in different aspects of life, and in different parts of the world. This will not be possible without the help of team members from other countries. Hence, the contents and statistics collected in our project are not merely based on a single demographic.
In conclusion, the diversity of our team gives us a better scope of the situation in a global aspect. This will give us a better idea of the current project we are doing and maximize the effectiveness of our project.
