The Busan OLEP 2023 was held between 12 to 21 July 2023.
10 SST students, 2 teachers and the school principal participated in the event.
1. Objectives:
● Collaborate with the counterparts from Busan Science High School on a science project with focus on technology and sustainability.
● Participate in the Asian Youth Education Forum as presenters and participants.
● Exchange and appreciate the diverse cultures of Singapore and South Korea
● Provide students the opportunities to forge relationships with their counterpart across the borders.
2. Exchange Programme at Busan Science High School
● Welcome Ceremony & School Tour
SST school leader, staff and students were welcomed by BSS school leaders, staff and students with hospitality. A welcome ceremony was conducted with sharings by BSS and SST school leaders. At the end of the welcome ceremony, gift exchanges followed. We were also brought around the campus, which included an Observatory and its dormitories.
● Lesson and Club Experience at BSS
An ice-breaking session was facilitated by BSS staff, where students learnt more about one another. Students had the opportunity experience school life at BSS. They accompanied their buddies to classes such as Math and Essay writing. They also attended club activities with their buddies such as book club, ensemble and hip-hop.
● Collaboration between SST and BSS students on Ocean ICT Project
Students have embarked on an ICT project with titles such as ‘An eco-friendly solution to solve the optimal pH and its effects for marine life’ and ‘Safety Problems and the Impact on the Marine Environment by the Construction of the New Airport on Gadeok Island in Busan’. SST students will be supporting the BSS students in terms of scientific research required for the programming aspect of the project. Some of our students are involved in both the scientific research and programming component of the project. This gives students to compare and contrast data pertaining to the research from both Busan, South Korea and Singapore. It is expected that the project will be showcased in January 2024, when Busan students visit.
● Research & Education at Universities/BSS
Students visited Kyung Sung University, Pusan National University or the laboratories at BSS for the R&E programme. They were involved in the research programme such as confirmation of androgen synthesis inhibition mechanism caused by environmental hormones, detection of alkaline phosphatase using two-cycle redox cycling and exploration of power efficiency improvement through rotor structure change of rotor sail ship.
● Homestay
Students headed back to stay with their buddies for two nights. The families of the buddies brought SST students around Busan, creating cherishable, fond memories with one another and a profound sense of gratitude. From the moment SST students stepped into their host family's home, they were greeted with warm smiles and genuine hospitality. All students met up with BSS staff, Ms Kim Minji for dinner on the last evening of homestay.
● Reflections from Students
The following are some excerpts from the reflections from our SST students.
Briefly summarise some key things that you have learnt/observed today at BSS.
‘Today, i continued to work on collaboration work with the students from Busan Science High school. We found many flaws in our solution as it is not feasible and difficult to detect the colour change of the corals, hence we change it to detecting the temperature and salinity of the water.’
How did you feel during the homestay?
‘I felt really glad and happy that i was able to stay at their house as i thought it would have been very awkward, but they were really nice and treated me well.’
What are the similarities and difference between Singapore and Korean youths?
“One similarity is that both are hardworking and very grades oriented, they feel stressed about school and tend to go for a lot of tuition. Another similarity is that they also can go out at night and feel safe (sometimes). One difference is that they have a lot more fun things to do so they can unwind a lot more, they also like to create memories and have lots of fun.”
3. Asian Youth Education Forum
● Opening Ceremony (performance and keynote speech)
Keynote Speech titled “Ocean, Plastic and Science” by Dr Shim Won Joon from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology.
Nanta Performance by Busan Tourism High School Students.
In his speech, Dr Shim introduced to the students the various issues with the use and improper disposal of plastics in the world, focusing on synthetic polymers, which can be fragmented and broken apart through photodegradation instead of biodegradation. These microplastics will then spread in the marine environment and eventually get ingested by the various aquatic life in the sea.
A memorable phrase that he mentioned brought across the key idea that we eat what we throw and that currently, we are consuming 5g of plastic, equivalent to a credit card, per week. He also brought in the idea of how there has been research that brought to light the fact that microplastics can be found in our bloodstream.
Students were able to take away quite a fair bit from this speech, and many have indicated a better awareness and understanding of the need to reduce the use of plastic.
One of the students, Erica Seah, also posed a question to Dr Shim on whether Shrilk, a degradable bioplastic derived from shrimp shells and silk protein, is environmentally friendly and if there are any possible consequences in the shift to making use of Shrilk.
Dr Shim explained that there are more harmful additives in shrilk as bioplastics degrade easily and rapidly. Hence there is a need to add more additives to maintain the structure and serve its purpose. When these bioplastics degrade, the product is compatible with nature, but the harmful additives added can potentially cause other issues.
● Discussion
Students from Busan Science High and School of Science and Technology had group discussion sessions on the 17 UN Sustainable development goals, with the focus being goals 13, 14 and 15, Climate action, life in water and life on land.
The discussions organised by the 2 Korean Teachers, Ms Kim Min Ji and Ms Moon Hee Eun probed the students to think deeper on the impact that their actions have on the environment, ranging from the carbon footprints that they have to the diets that they have (vegetarian VS non-vegetarian).
Students had a great time interacting with their Korean peers and together, they came up with a short group presentation to the other groups.
● Talent and Cultural Show
Students worked together to put on two different performances for the Cultural Night and Talent Show, respectively.
The Cultural Night performance was a skit that brought the audience through the various tourist destinations in Singapore, including a short performance of the National Day Song “Tomorrow’s Hear Today”. All ten members of the team were involved in the performance, with the skit being planned and led by Sai Neha, Jonathan Lee Juin Yeung, Adele Chen Linyi, Erica Seah Jue Jia and Paris Teh Shu Wen.
The Talent Show consisted of three different songs chosen by the students.
The first song, “Rises the Moon”, was sung without any soundtracks by Chua Zi En, Erica Seah Jue Jia and Alethea Tan Si Ning.
The second piece, “I want it that way”, was sung by Nigel Wong Jia Le, Jake Ling Kae Eun, Jonathan Lee Juin Yeung, Koh Yang Bing, Paris Teh Shu Wen, Chua Zi En and Alethea Tan Si Ning.
The final piece, “You Belong with Me”, was sung by the whole team, with all 10 students on stage guiding the audience through a sing a long session of one of Taylor Swift’s classic songs.
● Tour around Busan
As the Asian Youth Education Forum ended, the organisers arranged for a short tour of some areas in Busan. The tour brought the students to the Korea National Maritime Museum and the City Hall, where students were able to find out more about the history of the World Expo as well as the upcoming 2030 World Expo that will be held in Busan.
In addition to that, the students were also given an opportunity to visit the Busan Science Center, Busan National Science Museum, and the National Memorial Museum of Forced Mobilisation under Japanese Occupation during this trip. The visits to the various museums exposed the students to the various perspectives of history and interesting scientific discoveries and concepts.
● Reflections from Students
The following are some excerpts from the reflections of our SST students.
What are your takeaways from the keynote speech by Dr Shim Wonjoon?
How will you adopt discomfort into your life for the benefit of the environment?
‘It was a thought-provoking presentation that was quite refreshing. It's not often a presenter straight-up tells you that humans should face whatever consequences they face from climate change. The fact that he presented this to students shows something about the unwillingness to listen to those higher up (businesses and governments, I think). My main takeaway is that microplastic pollution is a more serious problem than anticipated.’
‘There are many microplastics found in the sea and are often consumed by sea creatures which are consumed by us humans.
“You eat what you throw,” as mentioned by Dr Shim Wonjoon, we are responsible for what we throw into the sea as it will cause us problems in the future, and many diseases may be spread from there.’
What will you do differently back in Singapore to lead your peers positively?
“I will be more friendly and understanding to them, like how the students from BSS were towards us, and I also learnt to be more confident to step out of my comfort zone, as it will provide me with many memories and precious experiences. I will be an example to my peers to exemplify the qualities that I have noticed in BSS (participation/ courage/ enthusiasm/ kindness etc.)”
Prepared by Ms Wong Koi Lin and Ms Praveena Sandra Mohan
Teachers-in-charge for Busan Science Overseas Learning Experience 2023
