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Speaking at the event, Education Minister Desmond Lee said the students’ projects address needs faced by families and the community.
The Straits Times
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Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling speaking with students at the South West Community Inno Lab Symposium on May 19. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
May 20, 2026
SINGAPORE – Mr Matthew Lim used to struggle to find information on grants and assistance schemes as a polytechnic student with special educational needs (SEN).
Mr Lim has Coats disease, a condition that gradually causes blindness in his left eye. The 20-year-old, who has graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a diploma in human resource management with psychology, said that many forms of support exist, from financial aid to exam accommodation, but applying for such schemes was not easy as information was not easy to find.
His personal experiences inspired him and 10 teammates to develop a Telegram chatbot with the use of artificial intelligence to provide users with personalised support based on their needs. They named the chatbot Elfie.
The team’s goal was to make information on SEN support more accessible, as such information is usually found across several school, organisation and government agency websites.
“Information would be buried below layers of buttons or menus. So I guided the team to focus more on increasing the accessibility of knowledge,” said Mr Lim, standing beside his project booth at the South West Community Inno Lab Symposium. The event was held at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
His teammate, Mr Elijah Yuen, 20, a banking and finance graduate also of Singapore Polytechnic, added: “When students with SEN enrol into tertiary education, they have to declare their learning disability. They might miss this window, especially since our inbox is flooded with e-mails during the first week of school.”
Their project was one of 10 featured at the event on May 19. Launched in 2024, the South West Community Inno Lab is a partnership between the South West Community Development Council (CDC) and nine institutes of higher learning.
The initiative has brought together more than 100 students to come up with solutions addressing 10 community problems within South West District. Issues addressed range from pest control and waste management to accessibility improvements and energy conservation.
To complement Mr Lim and Mr Yuen’s initiative, students from ITE College West designed a series of monthly workshops which started in March, meant for SEN students and caregivers to meet others and find social and emotional support. The sessions, facilitated by volunteers, include guided activities like art and craft.
Student teams could tap the South West Community Fund and the South West Innovation Fund to buy materials to create their prototypes. These funds support ground-up initiatives by youth, and are meant to promote volunteerism and a sense of community ownership.
Speaking at the event, Education Minister Desmond Lee said the students’ projects address needs faced by families and the community.
These include supporting seniors through help with Lasting Power of Attorney processes, encouraging households to adopt energy-efficient practices and tackling issues like rodent infestations and illegal dumping.
“In a rapidly changing world, where technologies like AI are reshaping the workplace, you will need both these technical skills and human qualities to stay resilient in the face of change, to keep learning and make good use of new tools, and to apply them with judgment, wisdom and empathy,” said Mr Lee, who is also Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration and an MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
In response to rising rodent sightings in estates, students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic developed a trap system known as the Automated Rodenticide Targeting System, which uses AI capabilities to detect rats even in dim settings. It incorporates safety features to prevent other animals from entering the trap.
Their concept makes use of the natural grooming behaviour of rats to spread rodenticide back to the burrows where their colonies reside. They partnered with the National Environment Agency and the Housing Board to administer their traps.
Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Mayor of South West District, said that South West CDC will continue to provide support through funding initiatives such as the South West Youth Fund, which provides up to $5,000 per project for ground-up projects by youth.
“We will also continue the South West Innovation Fund, which provides up to $10,000, enabling our social service agencies and community partners to pilot and scale impactful solutions on the ground,” she said.
“Through these grants, we hope more ideas can take root, grow, and benefit our communities.”
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