The ideas show promise.
One idea was for void decks of Housing Board blocks to be designated as community spaces where residents can share stories and resources, just as people did in the kampung during Singapore's early years.
Another called for a mobile app to connect people with common interests, an idea that drew inspiration from the myResponder app where people respond to crises around them.
These were among the suggestions from polytechnic students that made an impression on Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee yesterday. He said he would connect the students with relevant agencies such as HDB and the Government Technology Agency to expand their ideas.
Mr Lee, who is also Second Minister for National Development, was speaking at the annual Polytechnic Forum, where about 300 students from Singapore's five polys recommended ways to overcome threats that modern Singapore will confront in the future.
The six-day forum, the first of which took place in 1996, aims to give students a better understanding of national issues through discussions, group work and dialogue with industry and government leaders.
This year's focus was on challenges Singapore will face in its 100th year after independence.
To commemorate Singapore's bicentennial this year, the students were encouraged to draw inspiration from Singapore's history.
Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) student Olivia Lim, a member of the team that suggested using void decks as community spaces, said: "The forum opened my eyes to how much more we students can do."
The 19-year-old third-year social work student said: "It's about empowering ourselves to use the skills we have to make SG100 a better place for all."
Teammate Melissa Tng, 31, also from NYP, noted that Singapore's multiculturalism allows for the "playing up of our differences as strengths". The second-year nursing student added that being able to accommodate such differences in an inclusive society will give Singapore an edge.
In his speech at the closing ceremony at Singapore Polytechnic yesterday, Mr Lee highlighted a few of the challenges ahead: Singapore's relevance in the world and the region, climate change, an ageing population and inequality.
Inequality is a threat that can tear society apart and "create multiple Singapores", he said. But such threats are also opportunities and Singapore is beginning to sow the seeds to tackle them, he added.
He cited initiatives such as KidStart, a government programme to help low-income children up to the age of six, and Community Link, which gathers groups to run social services and other programmes at or near rental block precincts. Said Mr Lee: "What your children and grandchildren have to face will depend on what you and all of us have done together today."
