June 2022
CASE STUDIES IN
EDUCATIONAL
INNOVATION
page 6
LEARNING
TO SHAPE
THE FUTURE
page 4
GRADUATION
CONGRATULATIONS
CLASS OF 2022
page 16
Education might be the vehicle but we exist to make the world a
better place. UWC exists to educate a generation of people who
believe that they can take responsibility for the world and they
desire to take responsibility for the world and must not shy away
from that.”
Faith Abiodun, Executive Director, UWC International, in
his keynote address Commitment to Change at the UWCSEA
Forum: Learning to shape the future on 23 April 2022.
02
A CALL TO
THE FUTURE
Carma Elliot,
College President
04
LEARNING
TO SHAPE
THE FUTURE
Reflecting on the
UWCSEA Forum
06
INNOVATION
IN ACTION
Explore four
UWCSEA case
studies showcased
at the Forum
12
LISTENING,
LEARNING AND
COMMITTING
TO ACTION
Carma Elliot reflects
on UWCSEA’s
journey toward
systemic change
14
INTEGRATING
MISSION-
ALIGNED
DECISION
MAKING
Piloting Overseas Trip
Assessment Tool
16
GRADUATION
Congratulations,
Class of 2022
18
PLUS ÇA
CHANGE
Elizabeth Bray looks
back on 26 years at
UWCSEA
20
SPOTLIGHT ON …
Sports: back in
the game
21
ASIAN PEACE
PROGRAMME
Celebrating our year-
long partnership
22
FINDING A HOME
IN THEATRE
Nimisha Iyer ’22 and
Raniyah Basheer ’22
recount their IB
Theatre journey
24
PROJECT WEEK
Outdoor Education,
Singapore-style
25
FUND A FLIGHT
Bringing scholar
families to graduation
26
BUILDING
STUDENT
AGENCY
Minna Wong ’22 and
Jia Cheng Anthony
Shen ’22 reflect on
leadership learning
28
MAKING
THE MOST
OF NATIONAL
SERVICE
UWCSEA NSMen
share their story
30
CREATING
SOCIAL IMPACT
Two young alumni
bringing the mission
to life
32
MAKE TIME TO
GET SERIOUS
Alison Forrow uncovers
the purpose of LEGO
Serious Play
COVER IMAGES
Front: Stefano
Chiampo ’22 and
Charlotte Ion ’22,
student speakers at
Dover graduation
Back: Faith Abiodun at
the UWCSEA Forum
June 2022
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OPINION
A call to the future
This year of 50th anniversary
celebrations has highlighted both
the power of our mission and what
contribution the UWC Movement has
made to education as a force for good,
over the last 60 years. The flagship
event of our 50th year was the two day
UWCSEA Forum Learning to Shape the
Future. Attended by a global audience
drawn from some 130 countries, our
keynote speakers, our partners and
our community spoke to the many
ways that our College contributes to
education as a force, and how we can
continue to work together for even
greater impact.
The supporting workshops, discussions
and presentation of case studies
which were run by members of our
community, made a compelling case
for the need to value, promote and
double down on our collective work. The
Forum was the perfect way to celebrate
UWCSEA in its golden year; and through
the strong messages of partnership and
progress, to catalyse our community to
continue to guide our students toward
peaceful, sustainable futures.
I invite you to take the time to read this
magazine, to explore the narrative of
the educational keynotes and to learn
about some of the innovations in the
College which ensure we are preparing
our young people for the challenges
of the future. Partnership will be
increasingly important: I found the
keynote addresses and audience Q&A
with both Howard Gardner and Andreas
Schleicher inspiring and challenging
in equal measure: we are on the right
path, our challenge is to amplify our
work and to extend our mission beyond
our community.
However, the real power of UWC and
what we might collectively achieve
as a movement came through in the
messages from our other keynote
speakers: Dr Musimbi Kanyoro, Chair
of the UWC International Board, Faith
Abiodun, Executive Director of UWC
International, and Professor Kishore
Mahbubani, our former UWCSEA
Board Chair.
In the closing keynote on the first
day Musimbi reminded us that
movements are created when “people
have a collective state of mind and a
common understanding of the future
they can create.” In describing the
forward-reaching momentum that this
commitment to a shared aspiration
creates, Musimbi also reminded us that
movements create a “space for people
of like mindedness to come together to
create” change for a common purpose,
and to find ways to extend their reach
in sometimes unexpected ways as they
remain open to new ideas and people.
The Forum represents the unique
convening power of UWCSEA, as we put
our mission into practice, by opening
our doors and welcoming in those who
are keen to work together with common
purpose, sharing ideas and stimulating
dialogue. This work has begun through
projects such as the UWC IfP Toolkit,
the Overseas Trip Assessment Tool,
plans to share our concept-based K–12
curriculum, and the campus-based
dashboards that are being developed
to help us to manage our campuses, to
educate our students and to share our
learning with Singapore.
Faith Abiodun opened the second day
of the Forum with an inspirational
discussion which included UWCSEA
2 | Dunia June 2022
High School students Tebby, Chloe
and Issei. Centred around the need
for the UWC Movement to commit to
change to stay relevant in the future,
Faith’s keynote developed the idea he
put forward in the Kishore Mahbubani
Speaker Series event in December 2021.
In that discussion, he shared his belief
that “whatever the future of education
looks like, that UWC will play a very
important part in shaping it.” At the
Forum, his challenge for the UWC
Movement, and all who are a part of it,
was to acknowledge and adjust to the
drivers of change surrounding us while
bringing the spirit of UWC to the fore.
Faith’s connection with the students
and the global audience was both
inspiring and motivating; as he talked
of engaged leaders for the future, and
spoke the truth “You are needed” - you
truly could have heard a pin drop in the
room and beyond.
In describing the qualities that he
believes UWC will need to continue to
draw on if we are to meet the challenge
of remaining relevant, Faith could have
been describing what I have observed
as the very DNA of UWCSEA. From the
that you need to be idealistic and you
need to be realistic. And balancing
these two traits is very, very difficult.”
Wise words indeed.
The focus remains on the future, in the
short term bringing our community
back together post-pandemic, and in
the longer term in planning the strategy
that will bring the College forward
into the next 50 years. The College,
as we have seen demonstrated at the
Forum and throughout this last year,
is well equipped with the skills and
knowledge to move forward. The key
qualities required are also present,
demonstrated in the thoughtful,
proactive commitment to the ideals of
the mission–a quality that carried this
community through the challenge of
the pandemic. These are a reflection of
the College’s values and the care with
which we hold each other. This last
year has been truly humbling to see so
much outstanding work from so many
exceptional people.
The hope that Musimbi shared for the
UWC Movement, that “when other
people start to claim what we value,
then we shall know we are making
progress” is a rallying call for our
College. There is much for UWCSEA to
consider in how to work towards the
future and in seeking ways to share the
power and impact of our work with
the widest possible audience. I feel
privileged to have had the opportunity
to lead an organisation whose mission
and ideals reflect my own values, and
it has been an honour to work with
you to further the mission. I know that
past successes will be matched and
surpassed by future achievements.
This is an amazing place to work and
learn, home to students and staff
who will continue to inspire me into
the future.
In peace,
Carma
Carma Elliot CMG OBE,
College President
very beginning, UWC has always been
about daring adventure coupled with
strategic innovation, and this has been
supported by passionate leadership,
guided by our mission, “Education
might be the vehicle but we exist to
make the world a better place. UWC
exists to educate a generation of
people who believe that they can take
responsibility for the world.”
I know we all believe this to be true,
now more so than ever, and that
this view is shared by many. In the
final keynote at the Forum, I had the
pleasure of hosting a conversation with
Kishore Mahbubani. In this follow-
up to our earlier discussion on the
topic of peace on 21 September 2021,
Kishore reflected on the importance
of education as a tool to help further
the cause of peace, saying “I do think
that the UWC Movement plays a
very important role in the world, in
educating young people who go on for
the rest of their lives, trying to further
the causes of peace. ... But I also have
come to realise that idealism is not
enough in this world. The paradox
about creating peace in the world is
June 2022 Dunia | 3
LEARNING TO
SHAPE THE FUTURE
FEATURE
Educating for a better world
Adapted from UWCSEA White Paper 6: The Future
World of Work
As the climax of our 50th anniversary year, the two-day
UWCSEA Forum invited thought leaders from around
the world to share their perspectives with the UWCSEA
community—staff, students, alumni and parents—and a
global audience of educators and partners. The aim was to
explore what the next 50 years of teaching and learning at
UWCSEA might look like. The programme honoured the
College’s long-held belief that sharing perspectives and
welcoming a diversity of viewpoints is at the heart of shaping
a holistic education that will equip students to bring the
mission to life beyond their time at the College.
Passion, purpose and good work
The opening keynote, delivered by Professor Howard
Gardner from the Harvard Graduate School of Education,
described the work of The Good Project, a 25-year journey
to understand the concepts that underpin the answer to the
question “What is good work?” One of their most important
findings, he shared, is that good work which supports
individual flourishing is composed of three strands:
1. Excellence - the worker knows what they’re doing and
feels competent
2. Engagement - they care about their work and it has
meaning for them
3. Ethics - workers have a sense of what it means to be
ethical and behave in an ethical way1
Gardner went on to explain that further research has revealed
that in secondary and tertiary education,“Few outlets allow
students to grapple with ambiguity, complexity, and their
own opinions and beliefs.” However, according to The Good
Project, these are essential components in preparing students
to flourish in their work lives.2
This capacity to navigate the unknown is something that
UWCSEA has increasingly understood to be a critical outcome
of their education for our students. The College has taken
a view that has proven to be a reliable constant since it was
first conceived in the late 1980s: that the world is volatile,
unpredictable, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) and we have
a responsibility to prepare our students for this.
Educating for a VUCA World
In 2011 UWCSEA began work on a significant undertaking: to
articulate a K–12 curriculum. The initial project took six years,
along the way developing the first iteration of UWCSEA’s
Guiding Statements. This work included defining the
UWCSEA Learning Principles, identifying the UWCSEA Profile
and developing a written K–12 curriculum across four of the
five elements of the UWCSEA Learning Programme. This was
a deliberate shift, intent on equipping and empowering our
students to live the UWC Mission throughout their lives. It
also brought about the College-wide adoption of a concept-
based approach to teaching and learning in which students
are introduced to concepts and conceptual understandings as
they engage in knowledge and skill learning.3
“Our decision to move from content to concept-based is
directly about preparing kids for life beyond school,” says Ellie
Alchin, Director of Teaching and Learning at Dover Campus.
“It’s about developing transferable understanding that can be
applied in new contexts. The whole idea of our concept-based
curriculum is about being prepared for the unexpected, and
using what you’ve got to help you navigate the world.”
More recent evolution of UWCSEA Guiding Statements
has seen the embedding of the UWCSEA Wellbeing
Principles (Competent, Autonomous and Connected), the
defining of Holistic Education (to encompass Disciplinary
and Transdisciplinary Learning, Experiential Learning, and
Transfer of Learning) and the naming of five UWCSEA Mission
Competencies, which outline the ways the College aims to equip
students to bring the UWC Mission to life beyond UWCSEA.
Agency and ownership
A concept-based approach also gives students agency and
ownership over their thinking, which is essential for navigating
a VUCA world.
4 | Dunia June 2022
Carla Marschall, Director of Teaching and Learning at East
Campus, says agency, which is embedded in the Wellbeing
and Learning Principles, will continue to define a UWCSEA
education regardless of what the future might look like.
She describes the teaching of systems thinking in different
parts of the learning programme as a good example of
why, because the VUCA label stems partly from the
interconnectedness of the world through systems.
“If we help students to recognise systems, understand how
parts can connect in non-linear ways to produce unintended
consequences, and then equip them to be able to develop a
tool kit of ways to influence systems, then we can help them
ride the wave of complexity that they will encounter when
they leave school.”
Qualities and Skills for life
The College’s curriculum articulation project led to an
intentional focus on developing social and emotional
qualities and personal skills that would support students
as they navigated challenges throughout their lives. This
has ensured that opportunities to learn and practise the
individual qualities and skills named in the UWCSEA Profile
are embedded into all five areas of the learning programme
and that age-appropriate understanding of each is a focus of
the Personal and Social Education curriculum.
The qualities and skills that comprise the UWCSEA Profile
converge with those named in an OECD study published
Future-ready students need to exercise agency, in
their own education and throughout life. Agency
implies a sense of responsibility to participate in
the world and, in so doing, to influence people,
events and circumstances for the better. Agency
requires the ability to frame a guiding purpose and
identify actions to achieve a goal.”
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development), 2018. The Future of Education and Skills:
Education 2030
in 2021, which identified qualities such as curiosity,
responsibility, sociability, empathy and emotional control
to be as important as cognitive skills in providing children
a “fully packed tool box” to help them navigate the world
as adults.4
Nick Alchin, Head of East Campus, describes these qualities as
timeless, “Being a decent human being, a critical thinker, being
able to communicate your point while being an active listener,
these skills are not going out of fashion, and they never will.”
He says that while UWCSEA has always been teaching
these skills, articulating the curriculum led to an important
development. “We realised that traditional subject areas could
be the vehicle through which we develop transferable skills. So
while we, of course, teach for conceptual understanding, we
also teach so that students will be learning collaboration in a
Maths classroom or empathy in a History classroom.”
Trends shaping the future
In the Forum’s second keynote address Learning for a High
Tech Era, Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and
Skills at the OECD, outlined several macro-level drivers of
change which will shape the future. Among the issues he
highlighted were how climate change will disrupt our lives far
more than the Covid-19 pandemic, and how advancements
in artificial intelligence will lead to a growing number of jobs
being automated; meaning that many skills once considered
essential may soon be obsolete.
He also highlighted a trend in economic growth drivers away
from tangible assets, to intangibles—noting the rise of global
technology firms such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook. His
point was that companies are increasingly created by ideas
rather than industry and education needs to prepare learners
for that, “We don’t know the future, but it’s very clear. We
understand the broad trends that influence that future, and
that could shape different futures. The better we become
at imagining alternative futures and understanding their
consequences, the better we will be prepared for the future
that eventually arises.”5
June 2022 Dunia | 5
The changing way of work
We know that some of the jobs once sought after by baby
boomers, Gen Z and millennials are starting to morph or
disappear, and new types of jobs are constantly being created.
The pace of this change is driving an urgent need for the
workforce of today to upskill and reskill to close a growing gap
created by technology.
It’s a period of change that Schleicher compared to the 18th-
century Industrial Revolution when mechanisation and large-
scale manufacturing rendered obsolete the craft-production
skills of many workers. “It created so much social pain,”
Schleicher said, “because they were not prepared for the
new ways of working.” Schleicher went on to describe how
education as we have known it for the past 100+ years grew
out of the need of the then new industry-based economic
system, which demanded workers with new skill sets. It’s
now clear that our future also requires workers with different
skill sets.
Getting to know oneself
In the closing keynote Forrest Li, Founder, Chairman and
CEO of gaming and e-commerce company Sea, offered three
pieces of advice to students which point to the importance of
knowing oneself in the world of work, “When you enter the
working world, I hope you will do so with your values intact, I
hope you will work more on your soft skills, not only worrying
about your hard skills and I hope that you will take every
chance you get to use new technologies to uplift others.”6
Li’s remarks underscore how much the world of work has
changed, from requiring technical skills and know-how to
placing importance on values, behaviours, attitudes and
dispositions as an indicator of future success.
Helping students to develop these skills and qualities in
addition to gaining knowledge and understanding is a key
facet of a UWCSEA education as it strives to equip individuals
not just for university but to mobilise their learning to shape a
better world throughout their lives.
This building of character happens in many different ways.
One strand of the five-part learning programme, Personal
and Social Education, is dedicated to how students come to
understand themselves and their relationships.
Through age-appropriate group activities and mentoring,
students learn how to communicate feelings and needs,
problem-solve conflicts, navigate relationships and take
responsibility. They learn about self-management, wellbeing
and leadership. Building confidence and resilience are
key parts of the programme that set them up to take on
challenges not just in their life at school, but also beyond.
Importantly, students learn to transfer their understanding
to different environments and other parts of the learning
programme. They might draw on or further develop their
qualities and skills during an excursion as part of the
Outdoor Education programme or when making choices and
commitments to external organisations in Service.
The ultimate aim is to empower students to embrace
challenges by cultivating a strong sense of self, an adaptable
and flexible mindset, an ability to think critically and to
consider diverse views and opinions.
As Li described in his talk, it was his love for gaming that
led him to start Garena, the company that eventually grew
to become Sea. Its success validated his belief that ideals
and dreams should drive careers. “If you try, you will always
be able to find a way to work on things you care about,”
he says, adding that when the company evaluates talent it
values qualities like commitment, discipline, responsibility,
collaborative skills and a willingness to learn over pure
technical ability. “Because every industry is a team sport. No
individual can achieve great heights alone.”
6 | Dunia June 2022
Prepared for the future
In considering the education required for the future world of
work there may be expectation that any discussion would include
topics like coding, AI, blockchain and frontier technologies.
And while there is space for those topics to be explored in
the curriculum, it is the skills, qualities, understandings and
dispositions that will allow students to excel in futures that are
yet unknown. At UWCSEA these are captured in the Mission
Competencies which are expressed when students mobilise
their learning in complex, real-world situations in service of the
mission in their lives beyond UWCSEA.
As a College that’s committed to innovating in education,
adjustment to the curriculum continues. There’s a clear focus
on being able to give students more choice in their educational
pathway to better support their different ways of learning.
This sort of agency can lead to greater motivation to learn,
according to the OECD, which says that “these students are
also more likely to have ‘learned how to learn’ – an invaluable
skill that they can and will use throughout their lives.7
The College has already launched UWCSEA-designed courses
for Grade 9 and 10 that align with the UWC Mission and offer
an alternative pathway to IGCSE. And as it looks to the future,
co-creating further pathways with entities outside of the
College are likely to play a part.
“We’re looking at partnerships with NGOs, partners in
industry, universities and, of course, what matters to us as a
school,” says Damian Bacchoo, High School Principal at East
Campus. “For students to lead fulfilling and relevant lives we
have to provide different ways to flourish, and work-aligned
course development will be a feature of this.”
It could be said that UWCSEA was set up from the beginning
to approach education with a focus on the future. Our 60-
year old mission has an orientation toward action, describing
This article was adapted from UWCSEA
White Paper 6: The Future World of Work.
Download the full White Paper here:
Scan the QR code to download UWCSEA
White Paper 5: Mission Competencies:
education as a force and defining peace and sustainability as
enduring concerns that will lead to a better world. And so, as
the world continues to respond to the impact of humanity
and the forces of nature, the education on offer at UWCSEA
will also continue to evolve.
Footnotes
[1] Good Work For Our Time: From Ideas to Impact. Howard Gardner, Harvard
Graduate School of Education, UWCSEA Forum To Shape The Future,
2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0xJvDIcKY8
[2] Lesson Plans, The Good Project https://www.thegoodproject.org/lesson-
plans
[3] Concept-based Teaching and Learning, UWCSEA Website, https://www.
uwcsea.edu.sg/our-big-ideas/cbtl
[4] OECD Findings: Learning that drives Student Success, Nick Alchin, October
2021 http://nickalchinuwcsea.blogspot.com/2021/10/oecd-findings-
learning-that-drives.html
[5] Learning for a High Tech Era, Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education
and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-
General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) speaking at the UWCSEA Forum Learning to Shape
the Future, April 2022 https://youtu.be/GLYE11AnO0Y
[6] World of Work—Towards the Future, with Forrest Li, UWCSEA Forum To
Shape The Future, 2022 https://youtu.be/3svUozzK2es
[7] Student Agency for 2030, Concept note. OECD, 2019 https://www.oecd.
org/education/2030-project/teaching-and-learning/learning/student-
agency/Student_Agency_for_2030_concept_note.pdf
June 2022 Dunia | 7
As part of a year-long focus on exploring the future of education, the College launched the 50th Anniversary Innovation Grants,
encouraging staff to extend existing projects and test new learning opportunities for our students. Made possible in part
through community gifts to the Annual Fund, the intent was to catalyse ideas that were already in development by supporting
those that had potential to create and extend their impact both within and beyond the College.
“We wanted to combine a flexibility of approach with a way to build from the ground up, and to connect and build on ideas
already alive in our community. We came up with the project based idea, because this matches best with where we observe
people bring their skills together with their passions–at the transdisciplinary or interdisciplinary level–which is exactly what we
are trying to encourage in our students,” explains Nick Alchin, Head of East Campus.
The projects were presented at the UWCSEA Forum; read more below and then scan the QR codes to learn more.
Case study 1 | Virtual Reality: What’s in it for learners?
IMMERSIVE AND INCLUSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Over the last year, the UWCSEA
community has explored how virtual
reality (VR) technologies can enhance
student learning. Thanks to a 50th
Anniversary Innovation Grant, the
Dover and East Libraries purchased five
VR headsets each at the start of the
school year. From transporting students
to faraway lands or impossible to reach
places (more on that later) to creating
unique learning scenarios, VR has
proven to be an interesting tool.
VR technologies are being adopted
across almost every industry, including
health, transportation, retail, and
tourism to name a few. Exposure to
VR technology helps prepare UWCSEA
students for the new economies of
the future, in which many careers will
be connected to web3, or as it is also
known as, the metaverse, in which VR
technology plays a role. When people
think of the metaverse, they may first
land on Facebook or gaming, but VR is
much more than that.
One of the aspects of VR that makes
it a fascinating educational tool is its
ability to fully immerse the learner;
when you have a VR headset on, you
can’t be distracted by your phone or
look out the window. VR places learners
right in the midst of the experience
and this affords deep learning in ways
not offered by any other technology.
The ability to gesture and interact with
objects within that environment further
increases this immersion. And for
neurodiverse learners, who benefit from
multisensory learning and visualisation,
VR is particularly powerful.
At UWCSEA, the VR project was
spearheaded by Kurt Wittig and Philip
Williams, Head of Libraries at Dover and
East Campuses. Let’s explore some of
the ways VR was used this year:
Math
Julie Dale, Head of High School
Mathematics on Dover Campus, explored
exponential functions with her Grade
9s in a Covid-19 pandemic simulation.
Students put on the VR headsets and
found themselves in a virtual queue
for fast food. The person serving them
sneezed and students saw the virus
spreading. Students then explored
the rate at which the virus spread and
investigated containment strategies, such
as mask-wearing and hand washing. On
a virtual whiteboard, students developed
a mathematical model to describe
the spread of the virus with tables,
calculators and mathematical tools.
Through the VR simulation, Julie reports
an increase in student engagement
and retention of information and the
development of deeper conceptual
understandings,
Theory of Knowledge
As part of the IB TOK curriculum,
students study a unit on technology,
applying critical thinking skills and
INNOVATION IN ACTION
Case studies from the UWCSEA Forum
Over the last year I’ve seen
how VR offers students a more
complete understanding of
mathematical problems and
brings math to life in exciting
ways.”
Julie Dale, Head of High School
Mathematics, Dover Campus
FEATURE
8 | Dunia June 2022
evaluating the impact of technology
on knowledge, communities and
society. They question the ethical
responsibilities of technology and how
it can be used to influence political
outcomes. Dover Campus TOK Teacher,
Nina-Noelle Hall, wanted to expand her
students’ understanding of the power of
technology and had students experience
two VR simulations. In the first,
students were launched into space as an
astronaut, and could look down at Earth
while connected to the space station by
a thin cable. In the second experience,
students are sitting at the edge of a
virtual lake when a train in the distance
comes towards them and eventually
goes off the track, exploding into a
million butterflies right before them and
then leading them into a womb.
Nina shared, “The VR experiences sparked
fascinating discussions amongst the
students about the power of storytelling
techniques and influencing viewpoints
and outcomes for good or bad.”
English and Humanities
As part of their English and Humanities
class on East Campus, Grade 6 students
visited VR volcano, earthquake and
tsunami simulations. Teacher Andrea
McDonald wanted to provide a learning
The TOK VR experience was
incredibly lifelike and engaging
and helped me understand
the tremendous power of
technology to inspire and
influence.”
Nia, Grade 11, Dover Campus
Scan the QR code
to watch the Forum
presentation here:
Case study 2 | Mirrors
and Windows: inclusive
classrooms
CURATING PRIMARY SCHOOL
RESOURCES
This project was centred on creating
inclusion, seeking to support all
members of our community to
develop a strong sense of belonging
at UWCSEA. Over the course
of a year this Primary School
team researched and curated a
collection of books, songs, library
resources, lesson plans and other
resources for teachers and parents
of young children, in support of
conversations centred on issues of
diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
As conversations centred on topics
of diversity, equity and inclusion
grew across the College in 2019
and 2020, both parents and
teachers began requesting ideas
and resources to help them engage
in these important discussions with
children. The Dover Infant School
began searching for resources to
support engagement with teaching
and learning focused on DEI
(involving both examining existing
library resources, and considering
new resources to source). In our
search for resources, we found very
little available for educators and
parents of young children.
A practical way to embrace
the complexity of the diverse
UWCSEA community, the results
are already visible in our Primary
School classrooms and library.
Plans are now underway to make
the learnings from this project
accessible to everyone in our
UWCSEA community, and beyond.
Scan the QR code
to watch the Forum
presentation here:
experience to engage students for their
Natural Hazard Unit of Study. The
simulations helped to spark deeper
student learning and solidify conceptual
understandings. Next year, she hopes
to integrate VR into the Development
Unit of Study by inviting students to
experience overcrowding in a slum in a
realistic and compelling simulation.
Beyond the classroom
VR has been used widely across the
College: an East-Dover Ready Player
One book club was held, the Dover
Counselling team explored the use
of VR meditation sessions, and
departmental leadership teams met
virtually. A Girls in STEM hackathon at
Dover challenged students to create
female-friendly designs, and at the end
of the session, the students interacted
with their objects in 3D in the virtual
world, seeing their objects come to life
before their eyes.
Throughout all the VR experiences,
it is clear that the immersive learning
experience is very compelling for
students. Teachers report increased
student motivation to fully understand
what is going on, effectively taking
learning to a deeper level of conceptual
thinking. The power of VR to engage
students, especially our neurodiverse
learners, is exciting and important.
Thank you to our community donors,
who helped make this innovative
learning experience possible.
June 2022 Dunia | 9
Case study 3 | Reimagining mathematical education
CHALLENGING STUDENTS TO CREATE PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO REAL WORLD PROBLEMS
Adapted from UWCSEA Forum
presentation by Tippi Zhu, Teacher
of Mathematics, East Campus and Jia
Cheng Anthony Shen ’22, East Campus
graduate
Tippi: Our maths department has
always been interested in alternative
approaches that might attract different
types of learners from a diverse
background, and how we can integrate
the UWC Mission and Values into our
academic programme.
Anthony: Our goal is to make
mathematics enrichment, which fall
under the activities element of the
five-element learning programme, both
disciplinary and interdisciplinary, to
be experiential, and to encourage the
development of transferable skills.
Tippi: With this in mind, we developed
Project 0, an extracurricular
mathematical enrichment programme.
Unlike a traditional activity, which
is very much a linear progression
following a path set by either a
teacher or a student leader, all of the
student groups in our programme
independently developed and evolved
their own projects from start to finish.
Anthony: Some 93 students
comprising 27 groups applied to be part
of Project 0. We selected 21 students
and five projects; as with any selective
activity, we were at pains when not
everyone received the opportunity to
take part, as I’m sure many other ideas
would have done well. But working
with six student leaders, 11 community
members–comprising industry
professionals, alumni, and on-campus
staff–we undertook nine months of
project work in a number of areas.
Tippi: We have a project that is focused
on the globally-relevant concern of
optimal social distancing during the
time of pandemic. Students looked into
the graphic design of static scenarios
such as theatre and restaurants, as well
as simulation of dynamic scenarios
such as shopping malls and an active
classroom. They are currently extending
their simulation from two dimensional
measures to three dimensional.
Anthony: Another group prototyped,
3D printed, and assembled a low cost-
EEG detecting device. The mathematics
involved including a Fast-Fourier
transform [algorithm] to break down
the brain waves into different frequency
ranges, which they tested against
independent variables such as resting,
reading, and watching a video. They are
in collaboration with service partner
Apex Harmony Lodge and Project Fuxi
to look at the effects of music on the
brain activity of dementia patients.
Tippi: We have a project that is
looking at daily life issues such as
traffic jams before and after school.
Which is a great direction to practise
problem solving with mathematics,
especially when this topic could go all
the way to a PhD thesis. Our students
have done observations on the key
corners around the campus. After
identifying the cause of traffic jams,
they looked into different AI algorithms
to detect cars that were changing
lanes inappropriately. These Grade 9
students made some very insightful
data analysis.
Anthony: Not all of our projects are
STEM-based. One group looked at
whether group diversity as measured
by personality, leadership traits,
and gender, has an effect on group
performance. Their journey used several
different approaches to examine the
core problem of whether more diverse
teams are better teams including:
through a computerised simulation
(coded by one of their members),
interviews with different groups around
school, and a randomised psychology
experiment involving over 200 students
in which they tested three different
methods of group organisation.
Tippi: And our vertical agriculture
project aims to enhance sustainability
with innovation. Our candidates
researched past vertical planter models
and designs from the perspectives of
life expectation, climate impacts, and
energy efficiency and came up with a
revolutionary model: a simple one piece
module that can be scaled up to any
size in any space. They have created the
prototype and will use data simulation
and collection to analyse and optimise
the model on campus.
Anthony: Let’s hear directly from some
of our students on their experiences in
Project 0.
Jason: For me, Project 0 has been a
big exercise in problem solving. So it’s
about how you look at it, what is this
problem and how can we overcome this
together, working towards a bigger goal.
What this has allowed me to develop is
that idea of, hey, we are getting stuck
here, do we need another perspective?
Do we need to look at this in another
way? Or do we need someone else to
provide a fresh look?
Gauri: All of our ideas that we
brainstormed initially were about
enhancing and contributing towards the
wellbeing of our school community. I
think it especially shows how we value our
community and the idea of giving back
to the community. It demonstrates how
we can use something like maths, which
we’re all passionate about, to do that.
Aarshi: You have to be open-minded
and negotiate with other people, as
well as being steadfast on the target;
but setting and streamlining that target
was what we struggled with initially.
And by researching and researching and
non stop researching, we were able to
develop the target and those skills and
that is really important.
Anthony: We hope that you see in
our students reflection how they are
developing not only the mathematical
10 | Dunia June 2022
skills, but also skills of collaboration,
communication, critical thinking and
creativity which are also essential
to being a good mathematician, and
whatever field of study they pursue in
the future
Tippi: My take away as a teacher is that
this learning cycle seems to be for both
sides. It will challenge our educators
to make innovative applications of
mathematics, to make connections
rather than just maths formulas, and
to provide spontaneous support rather
than standard unit plans.
Anthony: Because Project 0 is an
Activity, meant to supplement the
maths curriculum, there is more space
to explore concepts without the
looming worry of a final exam score.
Inspiringly, our academic programmes
are also reimagining mathematics
education. The new UWCSEA curriculum
in Grade 9 and 10 mathematics, an
alternative to IGCSE, overlaps in part
with our journey in Project 0. There is
also increased emphasis on innovation,
with the launch of Innovation@East last
year and addition of Data Science and
Computing Leads to support students in
the coming year.
So, whether you are a student like
me or a teacher, or someone who’s
interested in education, we now ask you
the question “So, how do you reimagine
maths education?”
To watch the Forum
presentation, scan
the QR Code:
Scan QR code to
explore more on the
Project 0 website:
Case study 4 | Project Fuxi
INTERSECTION OF INNOVATION AND SERVICE
Research shows that music awakens a part of the brain not impacted
by dementia and evokes responses, such as singing and movement, and
reconnection with loved ones, which in turn improves the quality of life of
persons with dementia (PWD), and their families and carers. By leveraging
UWCSEA’s community network and student-led project groups, Project Fuxi
hoped to develop a user-friendly and cost effective way for PWD and their
carers across Singapore to enjoy the benefits of regular music therapy.
The project extends an eight year collaboration with Apex Harmony Lodge
(AHL), in which a High School service group has collaborated with AHL staff
to develop and deliver Music Therapy for PWD during their weekly service.
Starting in 2016 with the ‘Music with Reminiscence’ programme, 33 students
collected data as part of a two-year supervised research programme involving
61 PWD. Results indicated statistically significant increases in scores of
positive emotions for residents over the period, while students gained greater
understanding of the effects of living with dementia and the positive impact
that music and personal interactions can have for elderly people.
The student group has continued to run weekly music therapy, building a
collection of Singapore-focused music into a library on which they can draw as
they get to know the history and music preferences of each client.
Project Fuxi proposed creation of cloud based software on an open-source
platform accessible by anyone in Singapore and beyond. It combines coding, AI
(matching biographical information with musical heritage), as well as collecting
and tracking EEG data, and creating links to existing music libraries. Copyright
and cost-effective access to music was a particular challenge which the group
hoped to investigate further, in parallel with developing the online tools.
Important milestones in the project this year included creating connections
with Microsoft CTO Justin Baird, who is advising the group on the technology;
EMOTIV, a company that makes EEG headsets to explore design; and Music and
Memory, US-based not for profit who works in this space. The team also met
with Spotify to explore options for cost-effective access to music, which has
proved to be a more intractable challenge and has required a re-think of some
of the projects original priorities. Several groups of students at East Campus
continue to engage in coding and other technology development projects with
the support of staff and community volunteers. These projects will continue
next school year.
Work continues on this incredible intersection of innovation and service
learning, as the group adapts to the challenges and opportunities that the
project presents.
Scan the QR code to
listen to the Service
podcast here:
Scan the QR code
to watch the Forum
presentation here:
Explore it all! Recordings and transcripts from 6 keynotes, 2 partner
presentations, 10 expert educator workshops and 19 exploratory sessions on
our themes of Peace, Sustainability, Inclusion, Innovation and Partnerships:
June 2022 Dunia | 11
Listening, learning
and committing to action
Reflecting on our DEI journey of systemic change
By Carma Elliot, College President, adapted from an article
published in the International School Leader Magazine,
June 2022
Over 60 years ago, Kurt Hahn’s vision recognised the power of
an education that deliberately brought people together from
different backgrounds, with shared purpose. At UWCSEA,
over 50 years, we have acknowledged that our vision of
peaceful, sustainable futures would only be achieved through
the combined strengths and differences of many, working
together and committed to deliberate actions for greater
equity and inclusion on our campuses. We also recognise
this as one of our greatest challenges; as we consciously
cultivate a diverse community of around 5,600 students
and 1,000 staff from over 100 nations, we cannot leave the
development of intercultural competency to pure chance.
A strategic focus
In 2017/2018, when UWCSEA was devising its five year
strategy—taking the College to its 50th anniversary and
beyond—there was a strong focus on diversity as one of our
greatest sources of strength, and as a strong compass for our
future direction. As leaders and educators, we understood our
vital role in creating and promoting change, and that we had a
responsibility to stand up against social injustice in all forms.
In this, we acknowledged that we had not done enough to
address systemic change.
The Values in Action initiative launched in 2019, which
convened community dialogues to review our core values,
focused closer attention on issues of Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion (DEI). In the 2020/2021 school year, unconscious
bias training for leaders deepened our awareness of less
visible forms of bias. How we recruit, how we communicate,
how we represent multiple perspectives and listen to under-
represented voices—these are just some of the behaviours
and practices that we reviewed to improve.
Our DEI journey of the last few years has been about all in
our community feeling heard, valued and respected. About
all of us valuing the investment of time and resources to
push through the inevitable challenges; and about all of our
planning being grounded in action.
Throughout, we have encouraged students to debate,
discuss, and engage with topics surrounding race, class and
privilege, and how they could take control of their education
and educational experiences in a world where these things
matter a great deal. Supporting students to better understand
their identity and the role that cultural differences play in
relationships and strong communities are key themes across
all the elements of our learning programme, and this has
proved a rich seam of knowledge and insight.
Lessons along the way
It has been a journey in which we have challenged
ourselves and each other and held each other to account
for commitments made. We have worked on how we build
bridges within and among our community to foster a culture
of respect, trust and understanding. Has it all been smooth
FEATURE
12 | Dunia June 2022
sailing? By definition, DEI work is difficult, complex and
challenging—so the answer is no. Have we learned from our
mistakes, our missteps? Undoubtedly, yes.
Understanding diversity and working towards inclusion is
complex and takes time, as do raising awareness, building
trust and understanding. Engaging the broadest community
is critical: our community has valued the extended dialogue;
and although on occasion we have appeared to be making
slow progress this work is such that these conversations take
time to work through an embed.
Some reflections on the lessons we have learned, often the
hard way:
• As we began to explore how we might further support
diversity to flourish throughout our College in the future,
a series of ‘World Cafés’ in 2019 created an opportunity
for all to contribute to an Action for Diversity plan. This
provided a strong baseline and benchmark for our work—
but also revealed significant differences in priorities among
students, staff, parents and alumni.
• We had a fairly clear idea of what our mission required of
us, but did we have enough difficult conversations to start
with? Did we have a shared understanding of what ‘good’
might look like—and how we might recognise and mark
milestones along the way? Did we do enough at the outset
to seek partnerships? More recently, we could have spent
more time establishing a clearer understanding of what
systemic change would mean.
• Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, we signalled
that we were taking a deliberate anti-racist stance, and this
commitment was both important and urgent. However, we
did not do enough to communicate that this work was not
to the exclusion of other work—a powerful lesson learned.
We have a wide spectrum of voices in our community:
concerns were expressed about over-intellectualising DEI
issues, or for jumping on a US-centric response—perhaps
because we were without a solid justification and strategy
specific to our South East Asian context. Navigating these
tensions while ensuring all voices are included continues to
be challenging.
• In our large community, as well as gathering information,
data and perspectives from focus groups, it took us almost
a year to map the many initiatives already underway across
both campuses. We identified early on that we needed
a shared language and lexicon for our dialogue and we
spent time exploring options to achieve this. A particular
challenge has been a shared understanding of the language
of diversity across our whole community. We have sought
to bring the widest community with us by engaging parents
in workshops on Intercultural Competence and Unconscious
Bias in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
• We invested significantly in our professional learning,
by designing a roadmap which focused on identity and
intercultural competence, as well as how our cultural
Scan the QR code to watch a Forum
presentation on DEI at UWCSEA here:
values shape our (unconscious) biases. The roadmap has
helped us to surface the main issues, both from a personal
and professional perspective, and to engage across our
large community.
• What we teach and how we teach it is key: work continues
on a review of our curriculum which includes close
examination of whether our broad programme included
perspectives beyond the traditional Western narrative.
• We have not always succeeded in creating inclusive and
safe spaces for all community members. Acknowledging
that this may look different across the community, we
could have spent more time agreeing what constitutes a
safe space. We have added more structures for support,
embedded in schools, and created a pilot bias incident
protocol, with a focus on restorative practices.
• We have adapted our recruitment and selection processes
in order to make this more equitable. We have also
invested in training on recruitment bias, and we lobby
our government partners, where we feel policies mitigate
against diverse recruitment.
Sharing ownership to accelerate change
This work has been a powerful validation of our UWC
Mission, and purpose: the peace and sustainability of our
planet has always needed communities operating with a high
degree of intercultural competence. Intentionally promoting
intercultural competence throughout our school culture as
well as through the individual actions of our students, staff
and wider community is well within our grasp.
Looking back on our DEI work, there are many things we could
have done differently, and better: in particular, we could have
worked toward greater buy-in from our community when we
acknowledged change was needed, and in determining how
we were going to address the changes in a systemic way.
Our main learning has been that—without being
complacent—it is possible to find a way to address the big
issues through collective endeavour, and to build trust even
while disagreeing. We can and should allow space for kindness
in the process of difficult discussions and decisions. A lot of
this is about challenging and changing behaviours, attitudes
and belief systems. It is the responsibility of us all.
From next school year the College will adopt a model
of distributed leadership on DEIJ, with shared ownership
facilitating positive change. We acknowledge that there will
always be more for us to do; as our founder Kurt Hahn said
60 years ago, “there is more in us.” We can and will achieve
most by working together, for full accountability, as we move
towards the next 50 years in our UWCSEA story.
June 2022 Dunia | 13
Aligning College behaviours and values
Integrating mission-aligned decision making into overseas trip planning
We have written extensively about our long-term efforts to
build, manage and maintain our campuses as sustainable
showcases that support student learning. Prior to the launch of
the UWCSEA Strategy 2018–2023, many other initiatives have
inched us towards our goal. But by the time Covid-19 stopped
travel, work was well underway to examine how we might
further align our behaviours and decisions with our mission and
the ultimate goal of net zero.
Outdoor Education, which is experienced by every student
at the College, was one of the most obvious places to
start. The programme is one of the most dearly held in the
hearts of our community and so any change would require
careful consideration. An existing collaboration between
sustainability leads and the Outdoor Education team was
accelerated during the first Covid-19 lockdown (April-June
2020), examining how we might shift the environmental
impact of our existing outdoor education trips.
This work directly informed planning and decisions in the
necessary pivot from overseas trips to the campus and
Singapore-based Outdoor Education programme of the past
two school years and will continue informing the expedition
programme. However, in the course of a ‘pre-Covid’ year,
numerous other overseas trips took place as part of our
extensive commitment to experiential learning in the elements
of Service, Activities and Academics, and these also contributed
significantly to the collective impact of the College.
Tasked with creating an assessment tool that would allow the
College to understand both the environment and educational
impact of all proposed trips when travel resumed, the
campus-based Environmental Sustainability Leads, Gordon
Hirons (Dover) and Claire Psillidies (East), set to work.
Understanding the carbon footprint
The College‘s aim is to balance decisions that ensure student
safety, wellbeing and learning outcomes while minimising
our environmental and social footprint wherever possible.
Continuing work begun by Nathan Hunt, UWCSEA’s first
Director of Sustainability, this included a review of policy
and practice and identification of a tool to map the carbon
footprint of the expedition programme.
Gordon’s role as High School Science Teacher on Dover
Campus prompted him to volunteer to continue to map the
College’s carbon footprint against all trips, and to identify
a way for future trip planners to evaluate carbon impact as
part of their initial trip proposal. After assessing a number of
tools, the UN-affiliated ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator
FEATURE
for flights was agreed. This tool, made available by the
International Civil Aviation Organization, reflects real-
time emissions based on publicly available industry data
that accounts for factors such as aircraft types, route data,
passenger load factors and cargo carried.
Trip planners estimate the emissions attributed to any air
travel using this calculator, and/or calculate carbon emissions
for land transport on the basis of 27g (0.027kg) of CO2 per
km travelled. This land and sea transport figure is under
review as the College undertakes further work to estimate the
carbon emissions of coaches and ferries.
Social and environmental trip behaviours
Claire, Head of Environmental Sustainability on East, also
drew on her long experience in planning and delivering an
extensive schedule of Service learning trips. This work was
guided by the UWC Mission, with the aim being, she explains,
“to create a ‘handprint’ that tried to reduce our ‘footprint’
while modelling sustainable and regenerative behaviours and
bringing best practices into our operations.”
This experience informed the list of social and environmental
impact considerations that now support trip organisers to
bring a sustainability lens to trip planning for any purpose.
They do this by rating the trip against each of the following
considerations to create a ‘trip behaviours score’:
• Environmental food, local and seasonal choices, move to
plant based where possible
• Meaningful, intentional and reciprocal engagement with
NGO and GC partners, local community groups and third
party providers where possible
14 | Dunia June 2022
• Elements of environmental stewardship through direct
or regenerative action, aside from payment of carbon
offsetting fees
• Behaviours that respect the natural environment, minimise
resource use and waste, and support connection with nature
• Accommodation choices demonstrate environmentally
friendly policies and processes, showing mission alignment
through a high commitment to the protection of nature, the
local community and the environment
• Ground transport as sustainable as practicable
• Third Party Provider(s) and leisure activities practise and
promote sustainability and are of benefit to the local
community, including assessment of their supply and
outsourcing chains
• Participants bring a personal sustainability kit e.g., crockery,
cutlery, bags, storage containers and reusable water bottles
• Equipment lists, for example kit and clothing etc., are
considered in light of sustainable practices e.g., no goodie
bags or trip tshirts, circular economy behaviours are
encouraged both by participants and partners
• Donations and gifts of equipment and resources for local
community and partners have been considered in light of the
economic system support in the host country, sustainability
practices and the needs of the recipient community
• Explicit teaching of social enterprise engagement e.g.,
consideration of the impact of the visit on the community
and location; shop well if you must shop at all, etc.
The social and environmental trip behaviours section of the
tool was developed by East Service over a number of years,
and launched as part of the College-wide pilot as staff began
to make plans for post-pandemic travel. “It isn’t perfect and
there are many nuances, but it is proving to be a great starting
point for our community,” says Claire.
Maximising educational opportunities
The third area that goes into making up the overseas trip
sustainability assessment score is that of educational impact.
In this, the sustainability leads adapted an existing framework
created by the Heads of Outdoor Education Oliver Sampson
(Dover) and Chris Newman (East), which helps to align
learning experiences on trips more closely with the mission.
The checklist originally guided the planning of Outdoor
Education experiences across K–11 using the Outdoor
Education curriculum standards. Adjusted to extend its
applicability beyond the expedition programme, and all trip
planners are now asked to self evaluate their proposed itinerary
against the following criteria:
• Adventure - does the experience encourage risk-taking,
resourcefulness and the embracing of unpredictability?
• Collaboration - does the experience encourage team and
leadership development through collaboration?
• Connection with place - are students asked to learn local
knowledge, skills and issues associated with a place?
• Creativity - does the experience promote creative thinking
and self-expression?
• Excitement in discovery - does the experience promote
inquiry and discovery?
• Interdisciplinary learning - does the experience allow
students to connect learning from multiple areas of the
learning programme, e.g., academics, PSE?
• Personal challenge - are students supported in stepping
out of their comfort zones to experience mental or physical
challenges? Does the experience develop students’ personal
responsibility/looking after self and others?
• Self-reflection - does the experience explicitly encourage
quiet contemplation and build students’ self-awareness and
ability to self-reflect?
• Skill development and application - will students learn
new skills or apply existing skills in appropriate situations?
“These adapted provocations proved really successful
in our initial pilots,” says Claire, “There have been many
shifts in thinking as a result of explicitly examining and
considering these. I think there’s a real power in making the
invisible visible, tracking our journey, and holding ourselves
accountable to our mission.”
Learning and growing
As the College begins to plan trips further afield once again,
these guidelines and the assessment tool will be used and
tracked. All trip proposals in the 2022/2023 school year will
use a scale of 1 to 6 to rate on two criteria:
1. Carbon Footprint
2. Educational Impact + Trip Behaviours
(combined and averaged)
The two scores for each trip are then plotted on a Trip
Evaluation grid as part of a process which takes into account
other factors, such as whether the same experience can be
delivered at a location within or closer to Singapore and
whether the trip being planned can integrate other elements
of the learning programme.
In its pilot year, sustainability leaders will gather feedback
from users, and continue to develop supporting resources,
such as guides for ethical and environmental consumerism
to support travel planning. UWCSEA has prided itself on
our capacity to offer a rich and exciting range of trips. We
are, at the same time, acutely and increasingly aware of the
urgency to reduce our carbon footprint, and to model for
our students the behaviours that support our mission for a
sustainable future.
June 2022 Dunia | 15
GRADUAT
This May, we returned at last to the
congratulate the 583 members of the C
The cohort completed the challenge
entirely within the challenging restric
therefore seemed particularly fitting th
together to celebrate their achieveme
The 2,400-strong live audiences of g
educators who attended the two cerem
of over 2,535 viewe
Congratulations Class of 2022, ou
SATURDAY
Ultimately UWCSEA, and your life beyond
it is what we believe it to be. Its essence,
which Graham Silverthorne sought to
define in the [UWCSEA] 50th Anniversary
book, is you, and the generation before
you and the generation before that. Our
mission and values are just ink, but your
beliefs and actions give them life, substance
and colour. You graduate today as part of a
legacy that dates back 50 years.
Linsey Lawrence
High School Principal, Dover Campus
DOVER
We won’t dwell on the difficulties and
stresses of the past three years because,
true to the UWC spirit, we as a school
have come together today and we have
prevailed. To us that is the essence of the
UWC Movement—togetherness and unity
in times of adversity. As we stand here in
2022, we can only hope that the values we
can take away from our UWC education are
values that will help ensure that peace and
a sustainable planet are achievable realities.
Stefano Chiampo ’22 and Charlotte Ion ’22
Student speakers
322
students
24
scholars
51
countries
ION 2022
National University of Singapore to
lass of 2022 on High School graduation.
of their High School Diploma almost
tions created by the pandemic, and it
hat our community were able to gather
nts and to say our farewells in person.
raduates, proud family members and
monies were joined by a global audience
ers in 75 countries.
ur newest alumni. Stay connected!
Y, 21 MAY
Adulthood might mean asking the right
questions; which are likely to be about your
lifetime purpose. The questions may be
a little scary, because there is no perfect
information, no perfect rationality. Life
demands that we take actions and make
commitments even though the future is
uncertain. Anyone who has given their
heart in love, brought a child into the world,
watched them walk across a stage like this,
headed into an uncertain future, knows this
to be true. And now it’s your truth too.
Damian Bacchoo
High School Principal, East Campus
EAST
Bring the commitment to care and
empathy that lies at the very heart of
the mission and what we have learnt
here at UWCSEA. Use these to bring
together new communities, make new
familial connections and don’t let the
presence of negativity, bias and other bad
actions convince you that they are too
monumental to be solved.
Keaan Nesfield ’22
Student speaker
261
students
21
scholars
50
countries
Plus ça change:
Reflecting on 26 years
at UWCSEA
This June, we farewell Elizabeth Bray,
Head of Dover Campus, after 26 years
at the College. Over the past quarter of
a century, Lizzie has seen many positive
changes at the College and been an
integral part of the rich tapestry she
so often celebrates in her messages
to the community. In many ways, her
story tells the story of the College, a
march through significant moments
that helped to establish UWCSEA as a
leader in international education.
In her first year at the College, the
Board decided to expand to include
younger students. Not long after that,
amongst many other changes, Lizzie
was appointed Head of Lower School.
She was the staff-elected member
of the Board of Governors when we
decided to open a second campus
in Tampines. She led (shepherded,
sometimes cajoled) the Dover Campus
through the challenge of our first CIS
accreditation in 2012, and subsequently
imagined and initiated the K–12
curriculum articulation project,
shaping many elements of our Guiding
Statements and the five elements of
our Learning Programme. She was
Middle School Principal and then Head
of Campus, steering our community
through a pandemic. All seminal
moments in our history.
It is not surprising, however, that when
we ask Lizzie to reflect on her time at
the College, it is the students and the
people that she talks about most. The
stories she tells are not of key moments
in history, but significant moments
in the relationships that matter,
between colleagues, between teachers
and parents and, most importantly,
between teachers and students. Lizzie’s
reflection paints a picture that is
specific to Dover Campus, recognisable
still today, though much changed.
We thank Lizzie from our hearts for
being part of our community and wish
her all good things for the future.
FEATURE
18 | Dunia June 2022