Besides earning a diploma, Republic Polytechnic students to learn to design career, life goals

SINGAPORE - Students entering the polytechnics yearly have more than a hundred diploma courses to choose from across the five polytechnics.

But at 16 years of age, not many of them have a good understanding of their unique strengths and talents and many end up picking a course that does not match their education or career aspirations later.

Republic Polytechnic (RP) is looking at solving this problem of “mismatch” by putting its students through a programme that will help them discover their strengths and interests earlier.

From 2025, under the Designing Your Life (DYL) programme, incoming RP students will be guided by their lecturers who will use a design thinking approach developed by Stanford University in the US to explore and plan their personal and career goals.

The programme will take students through the process of figuring out their life goals and job preferences by approaching the challenge the way a product designer would. They will be taught to approach problems with curiosity, reframe dysfunctional beliefs and prototype ideas to figure out what would be the right fit for them.

Once they have identified some fields that interest them, students will then be guided to tailor their three-year diploma course to explore their interests and hone their natural talents.

By April 2025, about 800 RP lecturers will be trained as mentors, and they will continue to engage students for two years after they graduate, guiding them in the formative years of their career.

RP principal Jeanne Liew said the polytechnic, which takes in 4,000 students a year, is in the process of updating its curriculum to offer a wider range of learning options, so that students can tailor their educational pathways based on their aspirations and strengths.

The options, which include 19 minors across a range of disciplines, will help the students acquire both subject-specific knowledge and soft skills, such as in problem solving, critical thinking and communication. RP will also provide more opportunities for students to take up industry certifications, be it in cyber security or artificial intelligence.

Ms Liew said at the heart of these changes is the “Becoming Greater Me” paradigm – which aims to encourage students to discover their purpose and go on to reach their fullest potential.

She said: “Academic success alone does not define one’s success in life. Aspirations, perspectives and world views have changed, especially for Gen Zs and Gen Alpha.” Generation Alpha refers to those born after 2010.

Noting the broader emphasis laid out by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to refocus education and redefine success, she said: “A lot of us, including our students, define success quite narrowly – such as going to a top university and getting an honours degree, and ending up with a well-paying job.

“RP, through these bold, new initiatives, is committed to encouraging our students to become their best selves, free from societal stereotypes or narrow comparisons, with greater opportunities to explore, experiment, and pursue unconventional paths beyond the beaten track.”

From April 2025, RP will allocate one day a week and two additional weeks per semester for students to pursue their interests outside the academic, particularly in community engagement.

Said Ms Liew: “Under Designing Your Life, our students will be encouraged to consider a life with purpose and under Designing Your Impact, we aim to encourage them to think beyond themselves – not just finding purpose and success for yourself, but also the wider community.”

Summing up the slate of initiatives, Ms Liew said the polytechnic aims to prepare students not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of growth, adaptability and purpose.

RP students Cheri Teh and Mohammed Danie Dahlan, who are enrolled in the polytechnic foundation course, welcomed the moves to allow students to find their strengths.

The 17-year-olds said although they have some idea of which diploma courses they want to go into, they would like to explore other areas of interest and even take up courses outside of their diploma to see if they have the aptitude for it.

Said Ms Teh: “I came here to study pharmaceutical science, but my interests are much wider – in a range of health science courses, including nursing – and I would like to be able to explore the different options before taking the next step after poly.”

Echoing his course mate, Mr Mohammed Danie said: “While some students come here with a firm idea of which course they want to pursue, the large majority of us have to try a few things out and learn as we go. I am looking forward to Designing Your Life as it will enable me to try things out and figure out what I want to do with my life.”

Stanford Life Design Lab director Bill Burnett, who co-authored The New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life: How To Build A Well-Lived, Joyful Life, said research clearly shows that less than 20 per cent of young people actually know what their passion is, let alone how to fulfil it, adding that the majority of young people may be able to point to interests, hobbies, and a vague sense of direction, but not that single identifiable passion.

He told The Straits Times: “Designing Your Life doesn’t just prepare them for jobs, but equips them with the mindset to design fulfilling lives. When you align your career with your innate gifts and values, you’re not just future-proofing your employability – you’re setting the stage for lifelong growth and satisfaction.”

Prof Burnett, who has taught DYL to many Stanford University students, had this advice for students here: “The most prestigious career is the one that resonates with who you truly are. Our programme encourages students to dream beyond societal expectations and tap into their unique potential. This self-awareness is the real key to thriving in an uncertain future.”