UWCSEA STRATEGY: 2023–2030
Shaping the Future
“There is more in us than we know if we could be made to see it; perhaps,
for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less.”
Kurt Hahn
Founder, UWC Movement
It is a fundamental truth that there is no such thing as stasis. We
are all, as individuals and institutions, in the process of becoming.
At UWCSEA we have a rich and textured history that has brought
us to the present—this unique moment between being what we
were, and becoming what we will be. It is our Mission that will
continue to guide us in this transformation, renewed and re-
imagined for today’s students and tomorrow's world.
Organisational theorist Henry Mintzberg once described strategy
as being akin to the blinkers on race horses—something necessary
to stop us from getting distracted. For us, the UWCSEA Strategy
is our Mission come to life, for today and for the near future. It
helps us to take the best of the past and create a new future. Our
Mission and Strategy together provide the unwavering focus on
both our deeper long-term purpose and on the students in front of
us today.
It would be wonderful to be able to set out a full roadmap of the
upcoming decade, one that clearly indicates the precise steps
and processes we can follow. In truth such maps are impossible;
but because we know our destination, we will create the path by
walking it.
You will therefore see in these pages a strategy of four themes that
is "more like a river than a rock" in that it can bend and remain
responsive to what lies ahead. A horizon-scanning section outlines
the research we completed as we devised our strategy with
our community, while sections on our twin goals of peace and
sustainability share our learning over 50 years of the UWC Mission
in Singapore. In this context, our Strategy to 2030 emerges as a
guide for the next decade, a sense of direction that imbues our
individual actions with meaning, allowing us to experience the joy
of a common purpose.
Just as we are a very different, much better school than we were
50 years ago, or even a decade ago, so too this strategy will
slowly transform us once more. Our Mission has never been more
necessary, a Strategy to bring us closer to that Mission never
more urgent.
Join us.
Nick Alchin
Head of College
Message from
the Head of College
WHAT’S
ON THE
HORIZON?
What research tells us
about the future
As we look to the future, the worlds of education,
work and technology look ever-more intertwined,
and it is clear that the emergence of a peaceful
and sustainable future will require cooperation,
collaboration and solidarity. Future-ready
students will need both broad and specialised
knowledge that is interdisciplinary and
intercultural, and that supports them in accessing
and producing knowledge, while also developing
their capacity to critique and apply it.
The future of our global society over the next 30-
50 years will depend on the policies and decisions
made regarding climate change, the economy,
technology, and geopolitical concerns. In a world
that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex,
and ambiguous (VUCA), there is a need for
broader educational goals that include individual
and collective wellbeing.
As we shape our strategy for the next ten years,
we look to external research and the big themes
and trends that will define our context and
inform our decisions: the future of learning; the
future of schools; the future of work; and the
future of technology.
The future of learning1
The pandemic accelerated normalisation of hybrid and online
learning models and gave us a deeper recognition of the
importance of learner agency and personalised learning. At the
same time, our time away from the social setting of school further
highlighted and reinforced the fundamental importance of human
relationships in learning, and in children's development generally.
Skilled adults with the ability to connect students to their learning
and to each other will continue to be central to a successful
learning environment.
To make an impact in the future, students will increasingly need a
range of knowledge, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, as well
as design thinking and systems thinking. They will also need a range
of skills and capabilities, including cognitive and meta-cognitive
skills, social and emotional skills and practical skills.2 Learning will
need to allow for inclusive growth and equitable access.
Students will need to be comfortable working towards solutions to
complex and ill-defined problems. Because so much will be in flux,
everyone will be a learner, not only students but also teachers,
school leaders and governors, parents and communities. Literacy
and numeracy will remain foundational, including data and
digital literacy.
We will be creating learning environments that support and
motivate each student to find and follow their interests,
make connections between different learning experiences
and opportunities, and design their own learning projects and
processes in collaboration with others. At the same time, our
research has shown that the most impactful aspects of the UWC
educational experience involve opportunities for interpersonal
connections and autonomous learning, which often (although not
exclusively) occur outside of formal classes.
Over the next 10 years, we will be relying on exceptional
teachers and teams to help us reconcile the value of
individualised pathways and learner agency with the merits
of shared experience, learning from diversity, and the holistic,
experiential UWC education, focused on knowledge, skills
and values.
[1] Reference: <<list all sources from horizon-scanning>>
[2] The OECD Learning Framework 2030
The future of schools3
Enshrined in our UWCSEA Learning Principles is the notion of
Learning as a social activity. The UWCSEA mission is all about
uniting peoples, and we know that a strong sense of belonging
comes from simply being together in shared spaces on campus
(and not just from learning together).
Effective practices for supporting conceptual understanding
involve classroom talk, visible thinking, and building teacher
capacity to ‘read the room’ and check for understanding. While
many digital tools attempt to replicate some of these strategies
for virtual spaces, they are, on their own, poor substitutes for the
complexity of a physical classroom where learning is taking place
face to face.
Keeping learners safe extends beyond physical safety to include
their identity development and mental wellbeing. The school as
a physical location has the ability to bring together individuals
of diverse backgrounds, support dialogue and intercultural
understanding, as well as promote behaviours that support
equity and inclusion and justice. By bringing students of diverse
backgrounds, abilities and identities into classrooms and onto
campus to collaborate and learn from each other, we model
behaviours we expect our learners will engage in as they join
society as adults. The campus acts as a positive space for these
interactions to flourish.
Physical schools should model the futures we aspire to by
becoming exemplars of sustainability. Buildings will be required
to contribute to wellness matters in a systematic way with seven
principles that cover: Air, water, nourishment, light, fitness,
comfort, and mind.
Over the next 80 years, Singapore’s landscape will be spectacularly
transformed through nature. Towering net-zero energy skyscrapers
will double up as vertical gardens, while nature will increasingly
dominate the city’s surface through forests and small rivers.
Singapore will emerge as a decarbonisation expert for the world
as net-zero cities require integrated renewable energy systems of
unprecedented scales. UWCSEA will be part of that journey.
Over the next 10 years we will further develop our physical
campuses as models of sustainability and safe spaces for
students from diverse backgrounds, abilities and identities to
learn and flourish together in an environment that supports
belonging.
[3] Reference: List all sources from horizon-scanning
The idea of “work” will move still further from the idea of just
completing tasks to providing value and managing relationships.
A more diverse and flexible workforce, and changing ideas of what
a workplace is, will also require adjustments to our notions of
work. As automation and technology change the nature of work,
we have a collective commitment to ensure that everyone can
lead a decent life.
Fast-changing life cycles need not involve “front loading” formal
education in a chunk of time spent in a school. Learning should
happen across the course of our lives, and students need to be
prepared with that mindset. Our young people will learn to be
adaptable, to constantly learn-and-relearn, and in some cases to
unlearn bias, prejudice, and divisiveness.
As the impact of automation and technology is increasingly
dramatic, our commitment to a decent life for everyone becomes
more challenging. If there is ‘not enough’ paid work for everybody
to afford a decent life through their earnings, then the solution has
to be broader than just “individual upskilling”.
The biggest structural barrier to increasing college completion
rates and career success comes from a disconnect and
misalignment between high school, higher education, and our
workforce systems. Our students will require us to build greater
interconnectivity between our existing systems.
The future of work4
Over the next 10 years we will be connecting the world
of learning to the world of work in increasingly practical
ways and will develop deeper external relationships with
universities, industry and our alumni community.
[4] Reference: List all sources from horizon-scanning
The future of technology5
Digital technologies should aim to support—and not replace—
schools. In many ways, technology of “the future” is already here.
Automation and AI will become increasingly embedded in our lives
and are likely to be accompanied by an accelerated transformation
of our cognitive abilities in intended and unintended ways.
Organisations globally are building metaverse strategic plans; tech
investment by 7 of the top 10 companies in the world is based in
metaverse related technologies. The gaming industry is driving the
technology that is being used to build the metaverse which means
that students are already participants in this change. However, the
concept of the metaverse is expanding with a focus on the human
need for connection and shared meaning-making. Technologies
such as quantum processors, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, AR, MR
and VR are converging on the metaverse as interoperable spaces
where we can create and share meaning.
Technology is also transforming the ‘business’ of schools.
Robotics and automation will enable us to create more efficient
administrative processes in operations, reducing the staff required
or freeing up staff for higher end tasks. In Singapore specifically,
the government is driving these solutions as a means to reduce
immigration for low-paid roles in the economy. Through a mix of
investment and tightening of work pass requirements they will
push organisations to adopt these solutions faster than we may
see elsewhere in the world.
The increase in the use of digital tools for data keeping and
identity management, plus the amount of personal sensitive
data that schools hold, will make cybersecurity a central tenet
of decision making. This issue is increased in a K-12 school due to
the range of ages of the people involved and increased sensitivity
when dealing with children's identities.
Over the next ten years we will navigate and leverage the
disruption that technology can bring, keeping wellbeing
and quality learning as our twin priorities, while embedding
robust data protection systems.
[3] Reference: List all sources from horizon-scanning
UWCSEA GUIDING
STATEMENTS
The Guiding Statements provide a reference point for all decision-making at the College. The statements
carefully connect our Mission and Educational Goal to the Learning Programme and the Wellbeing and Learning
Principles that underpin it. Most importantly, they outline how the UWCSEA educational experience is designed
so that students learn to live the UWC Mission.
Our Strategy to 2030 and Beyond is underpinned by our Guiding Statements, which remain our constant
reference even as we develop our programmes and respond to changes in the educational and global landscape.
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PEACE
AND
SUSTAINABILITY
The Mission of the UWC Movement is to build build
peace and a sustainable future through education. We
believe that the two concepts of peace and sustainability
are interdependent, that a sustainable future is a peaceful
one. Only through a deeply-held conviction that peace and
sustainability are humanity's most urgent challenges, and a
heartfelt commitment to learning the skills and knowledge
to begin making effective change, will we deliver on our
responsibilities to one another and the planet.
As we shape our strategy, we look again at the profundity of
these two concepts, at how far we have come in developing
students who can enact our Mission, and on what more is
left to do.
DEFINING PEACE
At UWCSEA, peacebuilding is explicitly taught and considered to be
critical to the foundations of a healthy community and society. For
us, peacebuilding means students possess competency in building
peace in both local and global contexts. While it is an act of service,
it is also recognised as a core capability and disposition that helps
people achieve peace both personally for themselves, and for
others in complex, real-world situations. Hearing the voice of youth
in peacebuilding is necessary for any future global lasting peace.
Peace can occur across many levels. There can be peace within
yourself or in your family, peace within a community and, at its
largest consideration, peace between people, nations and cultures.
In practice, peace may also take many different forms. Negative
peace is “the absence of violence and the absence of fear and
violence”, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, a
non-profit think tank. However, in this state, while a society may
be free from violence, its peace structures may still be fragile and
lack the necessary frameworks to support them into the future.
This in turn can result in a peace deficit, where peace can’t be
sustained in the future by a society's internal socio-economic
development and the institutions and support networks needed
to maintain peaceful societies.6 We therefore seek the skills to
build Positive peace—the peace that emerges when the attitudes,
structures and institutions that underpin peace are in place,
function well and can sustain individuals and societies.
At UWCSEA, students examine all potential aspects of peace, but the
focus is on giving students the understanding, skills, and knowledge
to help them build the structures and relationships that can help
support the development of Positive peace, now and into the future.
FROM DEFINITION TO PRACTICE
The UWCSEA programme explores three key layers—or rings—of
building peace. These layers help shape the way that peace is
taught from the Primary School through to the senior years, and
they intertwine with the five elements of the learning programme
to contribute to the development of peacebuilding.
The first concept, forming the inner core of the peacebuilding
rings, is personal peace, which starts with the ideas and concepts
of identity, including an understanding of who a student is, their
cultural self and a sense of self awareness.
The next ring is the concept of interpersonal peace. This relates
to interpersonal relationships and the acceptance of differences,
including an ability to appreciate different cultures and perspectives,
Peace
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so that people know how to interact with each other and can
understand each other’s different ideas of community peace.
The third and outer ring is the concept of global peace, which
includes resolution of international and intercultural conflicts,
the role of youth as agents of change and advocacy, and
peacebuilding in the wider global sense, including how we design
the systems and institutional structures that might lead to a more
peaceful future.
Starting from K1, these concepts guide curriculum development
and each student’s experience of the learning programme
throughout each their time at the school.
Over the next 10 years, we will continue to develop
students with the competency and desire to build peace in
themselves, their communities and globally.
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Modified from Crawford and Shelit
(2012) for UNICEF
UWCSEA rings of Peacebuilding
Broader than a single subject, UWCSEA’s peace education
programme gives students a deep understanding of peace and the
different ways it can be achieved through small and large actions.
Peacebuilding is not something that is learned overnight. It’s about
a profound appreciation of the concepts and the development of
a mindset and the development of a mindset that makes students
constructive contributors to peace. Peacebuilding is woven into the
ethos of the College and a fundamental driver of all our activity.
“Making peace is not
necessarily about having
a certain skill. It’s more
about having a certain
commitment to try
and bridge the gaps in
understanding within
people, and trying to
reach out to understand a
different point of view …
And that’s what UWCSEA
tries to do.”
Professor Kishore
Mahbubani
Distinguished Fellow,
Asia Research Institute,
National University of
Singapore
[6] Positive Peace Report 2020: Analysing the Factors that
Sustain Peace, The Institute for Economics and Peace,
2020 https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/
uploads/2021/04/PPR-2020web.pdf
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Sustainability
A core principle of the teaching and learning at UWCSEA is the
understanding that peace is engendered by healthy societies,
and peace is only possible through successful solutions that are
sustainable for all. Building a sustainable future is an integral part
of our mission, with educational strands embracing economic,
political, social and environmental sustainable development
topics woven throughout the holistic learning programme. Our
commitment to sustainability has similarly shaped operational
practices across the College.
Many people think of sustainability in terms of environmental
factors; but it also includes economic factors, natural factors,
social factors and political factors, all coming together. The
concepts of sustainable development now embedded at UWCSEA
encompass all three domains identified by the UN: environmental,
social and economic.
In 1999, UWCSEA was at the forefront of the development of the
transdisciplinary Environmental Systems Societies (ESS) course,
an IB Diploma subject that is recognised globally as an exemplary
model for learning in sustainable development. The ESS course
explores applied systems thinking as a core topic, challenging
students to understand how each part of an ecosystem interacts
with and impacts other parts.
This decades-long experience in transdisciplinary curriculum
development has meant that sustainability topics have been
successfully embedded throughout the UWCSEA learning
programme from Kindergarten to Grade 12. The approach
continues to evolve, but UWCSEA has become a leader in
sustainability in the international education community, as well
as in Singapore through our operational commitments, where our
building and facilities management are regularly shared as case
studies in how local organisations could adopt a comprehensive
approach to sustainability.
Monitoring and continuously improving the operations of a
green campus – whether it was designed and purpose built, or
created through innovative and thoughtful retrofitting – requires
consistent, reliable data. In this, UWCSEA’s Facilities team has
again led the way through a collaboration with Singaporean firm
MNV to design and build our own unique data dashboard, with
the goal of bringing all campus data under a single transparent
process. The dashboard tracks water management, electricity,
waste management, solar, and other live data points. This allows
our Facilities team to identify and correct inefficiencies with the
goal of increasing the sustainable operations of the campuses,
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enhancing the school’s capacity to manage both short-term
problem-solving and long-term development planning.
More than just a barometer of sustainability efforts on campus,
the dashboard is a sustainability tool used by students and staff
alike. Students have access to the dashboard and data through a
new Campus Case Studies programme. In this, Primary, Middle and
High School students visit the Facilities and Operations Centres
to see first-hand how the dashboard works, what the various data
points are, and to learn more about and contribute to decisions on
sustainability projects on campus.
Sustainability learning doesn’t end at the gates of the school,
however, and staff, often working together with engaged students,
collaborate with suppliers to help them understand and improve
their impact right down the supply chain. This includes the
stationery suppliers who have moved to forest-friendly paper, food
wholesalers who have stopped using unsustainable palm oil in
products they supply through the canteen, uniform manufacturers
who now source more environmentally friendly fabrics, and the
bus company, who now wait until all students are boarded and
ready to leave before they start the engines.
This ‘whole of school’ approach defines the way UWCSEA
describes developing a mission competency. Education is a way for
individual members to develop approaches that can be extended
throughout the community. To this end, UWCSEA will be working
with other schools and organisations for mutual benefit, including
supporting the Singapore Green Plan 2030. Through these
partnerships, we will be able to contribute to improvements in the
sustainability of construction and building management across
Singapore, as well as stay abreast of new developments that may
help the College to further reduce its environmental impact.
Sustainability cannot be achieved alone. Advocacy is one of the
cornerstones of education at UWCSEA and one of the key focuses
for the future will be for UWCSEA to continue to share its lessons
widely, with organisations in Singapore and beyond
Over the next 10 years, we will deepen our commitment to
a sustainable future through continuing to develop students
with a deep understanding of systems thinking, while
furthering partnerships at an organisational level.
“Sustainable Development
is improving the quality
of human life while living
within the carrying
capacity of supporting
ecosystems.”
United Nations
Environment Programme,
International Union for
Conservation of Nature
and World Wide Fund
For Nature in Caring for
the Earth: A Strategy for
Sustainable Living, 1991
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OUR
WORLD
CLASS UWC
EDUCATION
We will continue to
provide
exceptional
educational
experiences,
guaranteeing a
holistic and
values-driven,
rigorous
education that will
contribute to a
peaceful and
sustainable future.
EXCEPTIONAL
PEOPLE AND TEAMS
We will attract, retai
outstanding people
and build our organi
strength and capaci
IMMERSIVE
LEARNING
We will ensure that o
learning is rich in exp
relationships, and co
people, places, orga
A SENSE OF
BELONGING
We will create and s
sense of belonging
members of our com
present and future.
CURIOSITY AND
EXPLORATION
We will leverage ou
curiosity and pionee
drive incremental a
innovation, and sus
UWCSEA
STRATEGY
TO 2030
Four strategic commitments
The proper role of Strategy is to
liberate us, so that we can focus on
the students in front of us without
distraction.
If we do not know where we are
going or even where we want to go,
every fork in the road becomes a site
of ambivalence; how do we know if
we want to end up where a particular
road leads? If we have a destination in
mind, and a broad set of guardrails to
guide us, we can focus on making the
most of where we are.
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UWC
MISSION
UWC makes
education a
force to unite
people,
nations and
cultures for
peace and a
sustainable
future.
n and grow
and teams,
isational
ity.
our students’
periences,
onnections to
anisations and ideas.
sustain a
for all
mmunity, past,
r sense of
ering spirit to
and disruptive
stainable change.
Our Strategy to 2030 and Beyond
provides a framework for our future-
focus over the next ten years. A
successful Strategy will ensure our
students continue to experience a
world-class education, supported by
outstanding teachers and teams and
a diverse, caring College community
where everyone belongs. Our
commitment to our Mission will
lead us to explore possibilities that
will result in a peaceful and more
sustainable future.
Our Strategy is underpinned by our
Guiding Statements and informed
by current thinking on the future
of learning, schools, work and
technology.
Our Strategy builds on our world-
class education and contains
four Strategic Commitments.
These Commitments will inform
our strategic priorities each
year and ensure a whole College
approach to our development.
This development will take place
in a context where our first
commitment and starting point
will continue to be providing a
world-class education for our
students and the fulfilment of
our inspirational mission to make
education a force to unite people,
nations and cultures for peace and
a sustainable future.
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We will attract, retain and grow outstanding people and teams,
and build our organisational strength and capacity.
STRATEGIC COMMITMENT 1
Exceptional People and Teams
Compared to any other aspect of school, teachers have the single biggest impact on student learning. At UWCSEA,
we see each adult in the building are teachers and role models for our young people. We must commit to ensuring
that all our staff are outstanding professionals who care deeply about education and young people, and who are
masters of their craft. They must be supported by systems and processes that promote efficiency and effectiveness,
resulting in a strong and resilient organisation.
We will do this through:
1. Providing a joyful, enriching professional environment that promotes connection, autonomy
and competence for each individual
A sense of competence and mastery arises when we feel effective and can continually develop craftsmanship
around our work. Autonomy allows us to make our own meaning of events, and we feel connected when we feel
known by others and have a sense of shared purpose. These conditions support a sense of wellbeing for staff,
complemented by professional learning opportunities that ensure a sense of development and growth.
2. Implementing systems and processes that make our work together effective and efficient
and build in compliance and accountability
Systems and processes must support the core educational work of the College and ensure efficiency of operations.
Our financial strategy and practices must guarantee the sustainability of the College for future generations.
Our commitment to compliance and risk management will be expressed through our behaviours as well as
our systems. We will take a strategic approach to workforce planning, and implement structures that promote
accountability for each member of our team.
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We will ensure that our students’ learning is rich in experiences,
relationships, and connections to people, places, organisations and ideas.
STRATEGIC COMMITMENT 2
Immersive Learning
Our definition of immersive learning is when students are deeply engaged in the challenge and joy of deep and
holistic learning; when the school experience speaks not just to the intellect but also to values, character and
aspirations. Immersive learning leads to lifelong impact, and to the sense of obligation to apply learning for the
greater good. It is our responsibility to ensure that students have multiple ways of accessing this way of learning,
through a wide variety of pedagogical approaches, as well as rich experiences outside of the classroom.
We will do this through:
1. Expanding experiential learning by developing students’ hands-on experiences for constant
growth and discovery
Our programme is one of constant growth and discovery, through which we best learn about ourselves and the world
around us. Our students are not just passive receivers of information, but active participants in their own learning. By
engaging in significant hands-on experiences, students connect the learning between head, heart and hands.
By creating their own meaning, and not having it handed to them, students are encouraged to take risks, learn from
their mistakes, and so not only help build confidence and resilience, but also inspire creativity and innovation.
2. Extending external connections to link students and our Community to opportunities and
ideas beyond UWCSEA
Our network of like-minded individuals and organisations extends to our sister schools in the Movement, our alumni
network, our partner organisations, universities and industry. Most of all we are connected to Singapore and our
local communities, where there are many opportunities for mutual exchange and learning. In a world that demands
collaborative solutions, our students will benefit from a deeper connection to the world outside of UWCSEA.
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We will create and sustain a sense of belonging for all members of our
community, past, present and future.
STRATEGIC COMMITMENT 3
A Sense of Belonging
Schools are defined by the relationships that exist within them. UWCSEA is committed to being a community where
all individuals have a sense of belonging, and where different identities and ways of being are respected and valued.
We recognise belonging for all as an outcome of our individual and collective behaviours, and that just as our current
community finds belonging, so too must our past community (alumni), and future community (potential families
and staff members).
We will do this through:
1. Extending access so that more students have the opportunity to experience a UWC
education, regardless of circumstance or background
Ensuring that we can enrol and support the success of more scholars, more students with learning differences and
more students from differing socioeconomic backgrounds is a key part of our future success. Our strength and
unity lies in our diversity, and extending access will provide a more enriching experience for everyone.
2. Strengthening inclusion so that everyone within the Community feels accepted, respected,
and valued for who they are
Our Mission demands that we are an open, inclusive community containing a multitude of perspectives and ways
of being. We will develop and foster positive relationships in our community through interactions that are open,
honest, meaningful and joyful and recognise the full humanity of each member of our community. We will also
continue to improve and deliver an inclusive and equitable Learning Programme, which honours the diverse and
multi-faceted identities of all students in our community, and recognises the opportunities presented by the
diversity of our staff members.
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