A new academic year has just begun among the universities here. Our CFs have welcomed new students through various online Freshmen Orientation Programmes, including virtual Welcome Teas. In this post-Covid-19 era, all students, both new and returning, are forced to shift and adapt to virtual classrooms and online learning experiences. Similarly, lecturers and tutors have to do likewise. Changes in pedagogy and assessment methods also follow.
 
Nevertheless, many big questions remain. Will the greater degree of online learning work well, and will it be here to stay? If yes, what is the future of in-person university education? Consequently, will there be a massive competition in online education, which may lead to the demise of many educational institutions?
 
In addition to that, due to travel restrictions, the number of international students will drop significantly among the universities in Singapore. Revenue will go down and costs will go up. Even the big players may find it difficult to cope, without sustained funding from the government.
 
At the same time, more corporations, especially technology companies, are now entering the market developing their own niche and specialist certificates or diplomas tailor-made for the company’s job demands. This pragmatic trend will shrink many disciplines currently offered in the university, especially those arguably not in demand by the job market.
 
To add insult to injury, technology will also enable a personalised learning platform that is able to curate individual learning opportunities and document outcomes. Consequently, a traditional university described as a microcosm of society in which communities of students interacting with their friends, professors, and school staff may soon be a long-gone era. Studying in a university can be reduced to a solitary and pragmatic journey towards personal wealth or well-being acquisition. It is truly a commodification of education at its worst.
 
The above possible substantial and grim changes demand FES to have well-thought through, as well as sound theological and biblical responses. What is happening now in the education scene is just one of the central issues that the FES Discernment Team, led by Jeremiah Goh, the FES General Secretary Designate, is now grappling with. The team, comprising of a few staff workers, graduates, and student leaders, aims to articulate key strategic priorities for the FES ministry for the next 5 to 10 years. Then, the team will present the outcome to the FES Council for final approval, likely in the first quarter of 2021.
 
Some other major areas that the team is also mulling over are recent government initiatives on life-long learning, intentional and strategic partnerships with local churches, the reality of what many of our young graduates experience post-formal education, and unique historical lessons from the past 60 years of FES serving the students of different generations. 
 
I would like to humbly request that you remember and support the FES Discernment Team in your prayer as they attempt to outline what God is leading FES to carry out. Pray that as stewards of this ministry, the Lord will find us trustworthy (1 Cor. 4:2) to remain “as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (4:1) among the tertiary-level students in Singapore.
 

In His grace,
 
Lisman Komaladi
General Secretary
 

VCF Freshmen Orientation Programme

In this issue of Impetus, I wish to draw your attention to two instances of one of FES' most cherished distinctive of student initiative. In the first instance, the NUS Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) had their Freshmen Orientation Programme (FOP) from 14-17 July. 126 freshmen had already signed up for the programme. The planning committee had to quickly and radically adapt a camp which typically relies heavily on physical presence to the digital space. Google Maps Street View was used to let students be able to "see" the campus even though they were not physically walking around in it, an assortment of digital tools like Miro and Mentimeter were used to aid in workshop facilitation, and a whole world was built in Minecraft so that the Game of Life could be kept as a VCF FOC tradition. More insight into the VCF FOP experience can be found on the FES Instagram @fesfellowship. Meanwhile, here is Verlyn, a freshmen from the faculty of Engineering, to share briefly on what stood out for her overall FOP experience:

"Something that stood out for me was definitely the similarity towards church camps! I really enjoyed church camps and I'm glad to be able to meet new brothers and sisters in Christ through FOP. I honestly felt the love of Christ through all of these people, and just how caring we all are to one another! While it is a bit of a pity that we cannot have FOP in person, VCF FOP was really a very enjoyable experience, the OGLs and freshmen in my group were all so open about sharing our experiences! It has been a blessing to know every single person in OG 10 Tamar! I also learnt more about what VCF stands for, which is fellowship and being the salt and light to NUS!"

 

East Asia Regional Conference 2020

The second instance of student initiative was the organisation of the online East Asia Regional Conference 2020 (EARC) on 17 and 18 July. In a momentous attempt to rescue what was otherwise another cancelled conference due to Covid-19, a number of students from the region banded together to plan and pray for an opportunity to gather amidst the ongoing pandemic. Here is Natalie Liew from the Singapore Polytechnic English Christian Fellowship (SPECF), and part of the organising committee for EARC, to reflect on her experience:

"EARC was supposed to be held in Thailand in July. However, with the situation surrounding Covid-19, it was cancelled. While this was all going on, in Singapore, the National Student Council (NSC) Exco had a meeting and talked about how we were interested in finding ways to foster friendships with other movements and support each other during this difficult time. Lisman and Annette, the East Asia Regional Secretary, suggested that we could use EARC as a platform and opportunity to do so. We then formed a team of students from different movements who were as enthusiastic as us to plan for this event. We understood that time was an issue and we wanted to include as many as possible who want to participate, hence we decided to run it in a webinar/workshop format to allow everyone to join regardless of their schedules. I personally felt honoured to be able to help helm the event, and I learnt lots from the experience. It was exciting yet nerve-wracking to know that I would be speaking to hundreds of people. I thank God for allowing me to have many new friendships blossoming out of this experience, and for the opportunity to learn more about other movements and cultures better."