FASSTalk

Educator: Associate Professor Peace Wong (NUS Social Work)
This year's recipient of Singapore's top accolade for her field – the Outstanding Social Worker Award – Associate Professor Peace Wong (NUS Social Work) discusses her path to becoming a dedicated social worker and decision to teach at her alma mater, the evolution of social work and her aspirations for her students, as well as the challenges of social work education and her outlook for the first batch of interdisciplinarily oriented social workers to graduate from the NUS College of Humanities and Sciences.
Key points in this episode, hosted by Associate Professor Robin Loon (NUS English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies):-
0:00 The practitioner and educator on the choice to build a career as a social worker and eventual return to NUS Social Work to teach.
5:40  About the evolution of social work through the years and the importance of a formal education in Social Work.
14:30 Values and capabilities that Social Work graduates must have today.
20:50 The importance of the 'Self' to a social worker, and the mission to help social work students to discover his or her 'Self'.
34:00 Educational innovations in the discipline of social work.
46:15 Major challenges facing the Social Work educator and the outlook for new graduates in the field.

ALUMNA: Shirley Wang (NUS Theatre Studies and NUS Innovation & Design Programme (IDP)FASS Alumna Shirley Wang (NUS Theatre Studies and NUS Innovation & Design Programme (IDP) '21) discusses the interdisciplinary path she has taken all through school and now in her career, with Associate Professor Robin Loon (NUS Theatre Studies). Shirley is notable for her ability to thrive academically and professionally in STEM as well as the Humanities. While taking the IDP at NUS Engineering (now NUS College of Design and Engineering), she was part of a four-person undergraduate team behind a winning collaboration with Sengkang General Hospital called Ah Bot — a moving robot built to keep elderly people company and help watch out after them. She is currently an Associate Consultant with management consultancy Capgemini Invent.
Key Points in this Episode
0:00       What led to the pursuit of Theatre Studies — academic life before NUS and the first year in university.33:16     About the Theatre Studies major at NUS — the biggest takeaways from the programme and how it shapes one's worldview and approach to a future career. 1:01:02  The Next Step — realising the practical and professional relevance of being both qualified in Theatre Studies as well as Innovation and Design, to the real world.

Host Dr Rosemary Overell, Senior Lecturer at NUS Communications and New Media (CNM) leads this discussion – at “the intersection between media technology, computational technology and the human” – about the impact of AI tool ChatGPT on academics, research and teaching with Dr Subhayan Mukerjee (CNM) and Mr Jonathan Sim (NUS Philosophy).
Key Points in this Episode
04:00    What is ChatGPT?07:45    Personal user experiences09:15    ChatGPT as a “fellow classmate” to students12:00    Enhancing academic research15:00    Effecting change in education20:00   Sociopolitical implications of ChatGPT27:00   ChatGPT’s impact on human capacities

Educator: Associate Professor Kamalini Ramdas (NUS Geography)
In this first episode of Educator Series of podcasts, Associate Professor Robin Loon (NUS English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies) chats with Associate Professor Kamalini Ramdas (Kamal), Senior Lecturer (NUS Geography) on her journey as an educator.
Taking us through her beginnings as an undergraduate majoring in Geography to her return to academia from the private sector, Kamal shares her approach to education and her vision of what an education in Geography can be.
0:00 The Journey to Becoming an EducatorIn this segment, Kamal talks through her experiences from being a Geography graduate to working in the private sector and then returning to academia and becoming an educator. She reveals how she has benefitted from an education in Geography and its relevance to modern living.
15:46 Geography and Understanding SpaceIn the second segment, Kamal further explains what an education in Geography affords the graduate and their entry into the workforce.  It is about “understanding space in an embodied and affective way.”
29:09  Education Values – Feminist Pedagogy and the Flat ClassroomIn this third segment, Kamal clarifies her alignment and adaptation of Feminist Pedagogies into her teaching; and her belief in the efficacy of a ‘flat classroom structure’.
1:03:14  Innovation and the Way AheadIn the final segment, Kamal and Robin discuss how educators can develop their research and deepen their impact through educational innovations.

Alumna: Sneha Sanjay (Theatre Studies and Business Management, '21)
Associate Professor Robin Loon (NUS English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies)speaks with Sneha Sanjay, an Offshore Wealth Management Associate at Citi and a driven entrepreneur competent in both creative, analytical and interpersonal capacities. She graduated with a First Class Honours from NUS with a double major in Theatre and Business. Sneha shares her experiences, vision and plans for the future int his interview.
0:00    Introduction and Account of Pre-NUS LifeSneha tells us about her choice of subjects at school before university and her initial thoughts about which directions she was headed with her studies.
12:56  The NUS JourneySneha details the reasons for her choice of majors at NUS – Business and Theatre – and her expectations of each programme at the start. She also shares thoughts on how they have shaped her and guided her career choices. In particular, she elaborates on her journey as a Theatre Studies major and how it has transformed her intellect, shaped her worldview and opened her eyes further to the career possibilities in her future.
32:18  Current Occupations and Future PlansSneha relates how she is going about pursuing her career aspirations after graduation, and tells of how she hopes to debunk the misleading belief that a major in Theatre Studies has no practical and professional relevance beyond its preparation of graduates to fill the role of 'theatre practitioner'.