Outreach

The ISTD Outreach Programme exposes students from Polytechnics, Junior Colleges, Secondary and Primary Schools to SUTD’s unique pedagogy and design philosophy through activities such as workshops, seminars and booth displays.

These activities aim to give students an opportunity to solve problems in authentic contexts, using 21st-century methodology and thinking, and to show how computing can improve lives and fulfil SUTD’s motto of “a better world by design”.

Organized together with the Office of Admissions, Learning Journeys allow prospective students from various institutions to gain good insights into SUTD’s unique pedagogy and what they will learn in the CSD degree programme. Participants join short bite-sized sharing sessions with students and/or faculty. They also get to view a showcase of student projects where they can get a hands-on experience of the kinds of projects that CSD students work on. We hope that these exciting activities will inspire prospective students to consider SUTD as their university of choice for their undergraduate education.

Our workshops incorporate visual programming, robotics and/or IoT devices to enhance students’ interest in the field of computing and engineering. Students may also be required to work collaboratively within interdisciplinary groups to tackle challenges and solve problems. These outreach workshops allow pre-university students to learn computing knowledge and skills in a fun and interactive manner. Here are the workshops that we run regularly.

Sphero the Hero
Play is a powerful teacher! Have loads of fun and at the same time, learn the basics of computational thinking. Sphero is more than an app-controlled wireless robotic ball. Intelligent and well-rounded, Sphero lets students play, learn and explore. Create short, simple programs for Sphero through drag-and-drop to solve problem statements in the workshop. Start the ball rolling as a programmer now.

Life of Pi
Heralded as a great boon to education due to its flexibility and low-cost, the Raspberry Pi has inspired many to take up computing and build their very own prototypes. Moreover, the hardware accessories and pre-installed software on the Raspbian OS also present limitless possibilities and learning opportunities in various domains such as IoT. Learn and explore the fun in computing in this workshop with the Pi of the lifetime!

Introduction to Python Workshop
Python is one of the most popular programming languages today, with many applications in computing, engineering, data science and artificial intelligence.

In this 2.5-hour workshop conducted under the guidance of SUTD faculty and students, pre-university students will learn basic python programming and be introduced to fundamental computing concepts such as selection and loops.

At the end of the workshop, students will be able to apply what they have learnt to draw basic shapes like squares, polygons and arcs, and even more complex shapes and patterns.

Robot Turtle board game Workshop
Robot Turtles is a board game that teaches students how to think logically. Each player aims to get their “Turtle Master” to capture jewels that are placed throughout the board. The student plays programming cards that can move or turn their turtle one space at the time. They start with one card at a time but grow to use entire functions consisting of 10 or 20 cards. The better their logic, the quicker they can reach the jewels! It introduces a love for programming. Playing a game makes the students forget that they are coding!