Nurturing changemakers: the role of a university community leadership programme

Abstract

The Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme (CTPCLP) in National University of Singapore (NUS) aims to develop Singapore's next generation of community leaders. These young community leaders are not only intellectually engaged with social issues in Singapore, but also passionate about addressing social challenges. They represent tomorrow's changemakers, driven by a sense of true calling to mobilize the community to collectively solve social problems. Each year, a small number of NUS undergraduates, majoring in various disciplines, are admitted into the CTPCLP as fellows. These fellows participate in the following activities: (i) Credited courses Each fellow is required to take at least two courses from a slate of courses relevant to the topic of Community Leadership. Such courses include Community Work Practice, Virtue and Leadership, Reflective Practice in Leadership, Social Entrepreneurship, and Social Innovation. (ii) Research projects The fellows engage in research on topical social issues. Examples of research topics include poverty and chronic unemployment, ageing and the elderly, youth, disabilities, mental health, gambling and other addictions, reintegration of ex-offenders, and marginalization and social exclusion of vulnerable communities. (iii) Attachments Each fellow also does an attachment with a social service organization. The attachment enables the fellow to initiate a project with his/her host organization, thereby adding value to the organization. Examples of projects include public education activities, fundraisers, social audits of organizational impact, and pilot tests of new programmes. The coursework, attachments and research bring theory and practice together, and enable the fellows to engage in reflective learning. Specifically, the fellows reflect on theoretical ideas, and relate these ideas to their ground-level experiences. Hopefully, this learning process inspires the fellows to step forward as changemakers, generating social value and addressing social problems in the community.