Enriching postgrad campus life - even during a pandemic

Vibrant student life is usually associated with undergraduates, who seemingly have more energy and bandwidth to engage in co-curricular activities. At Singapore Management University, however, a rich and holistic postgrad experience awaits prospective students. After all, the city campus is known for its enriching university life that goes beyond just academics. It is home to 120 co-curricular activities and a network of clubs, some of which are catered specifically to postgrad students.

For example, the Executive Leadership Committee (ELC) of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business' Master of Science in Management (MiM) programme was established in 2019 as a platform through which MiM students could put their leadership capabilities in the service of helping their peers take part in more co-curricular activities.

In 2019, the ELC organised a bonding trip to Universal Studios Singapore, and also orchestrated a Secret Santa present exchange. As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded in 2020, however, in-person activities were not possible during a large portion of the year. But the ELC found other ways to keep their peers engaged — it hosted three MiM Dialogue webinars featuring speakers from leading companies, and also sent care packages and small gifts to MiM students.

As the pandemic situation started looking up in the latter part of 2020, the ELC members from the January 2020 and August 2020 intake came up with the idea of Hallo-win — a treasure hunt race held in conjunction with Halloween, to lift everyone’s spirits during this challenging time. This would become the first joint event for the MiM cohorts of July 2019, January 2020, August 2020, and the students enrolled in the blended version of the programme (which is delivered primarily online).

Inspired by The Amazing Race reality TV series, Hallo-win featured challenging missions and fun puzzles that participants had to solve while roaming Singapore’s cityscape dressed in various costumes.

“Our ultimate goal was to showcase the power of teamwork and help to foster a stronger relationship between MiM students,” said Ooi Dai Jing and Alchy Ng, two of the ELC organisers. “New students had the opportunity to get to know one another better outside of class, while existing students could leverage this opportunity to explore town with their classmates.”

Of course, organising such an event in the midst of a pandemic was no easy task. The ELC members made sure each activity adhered to official social distancing regulations, and the students were grouped in small teams of five. Working together to make the event run smoothly also turned out to be a great bonding experience for the organisers.

“Teamwork is the core of Hallo-win, and it definitely extends to the logistics of organising the entire event,” Dai Jing and Alchy said. “It was a valuable and memorable experience to work together with people from different backgrounds and mindsets. The event also enabled us to get to know MiM students from other cohorts, including the part-time students from the blended programme.”

The participants definitely appreciated the organisers’ efforts. “Due to COVID-19, it had been a while since an outdoor activity was held which got me excited about the event,” said MiM student Vinamra Jain, whose team ended up winning Hallo-win.

He got into the spirit of Halloween with gusto, designing costumes together with his teammates in preparation for their participation. One of the event’s challenges saw one of these teammates cycling on a stationary bicycle to hit a target “distance”, and Vinamra and the other team-mates cheered on their cycling classmate by singing his favourite Bollywood songs.

“We enjoyed each and every moment, and our joy doubled when the results came in,” said Vinamra. “The way the organisers created an event that could accommodate so many people while following all safe distancing measures, and without compromising on the fun, is really commendable. They not only lifted up our spirits, but also provided a great opportunity for us to enjoy a day with our classmates and create beautiful memories before we graduate.”