RAFFLES DES IGN ERS

CREA TE BO NIA IN SP IRES

SHOWCA SE

To celebrate 39 years of its local heritage, classic

leatherwear brand BONIA and Raffles Design Institute

collaborated exclusively to create its pop-up store on

Orchard Green (next to Singapore Visitors Centre @

Orchard), in conjunction with the Samsung Fashion

Steps Out 2013.

Entitled “BONIA Inspires” and measuring a total of 4,305

square feet, the pop-up store is one of the largest

showcase of its kind, displaying BONIA’s

Spring/Summer 2013 concepts with five different art

themes, namely Art Deco, Pop Art, Surrealism, Cubism

and Fauvism, all designed and created by 100 Raffles

Designers of Fashion Design, Visual Communication,

Interior Design, Multimedia Design and Jewellery

Design.

Between 10 to 19 May 2013, 25 fashion garments

fabricated by Raffles Fashion Designers, as well as

various jewellery and accessories from Raffles Jewellery

Designers, were on display to complement BONIA’s

capsule collection exhibition, along with an exclusive

preview of its Italian-inspired Fall/Winter 2013/ 2014

collection.

“I am especially privileged to unveil the ‘BONIA Inspires’

designed by these 100 Raffles students. In this project,

Interior Design students were tasked to work with Graphic

Design students to conceptualise and design the look and

feel of the pop-up store, while Fashion and Jewellery

Design students made the garments, jewellery and

accessories for the launch party. The students were very

excited and thoroughly enjoyed working with peers from

various design faculties on this real-life industry project. I

thank BONIA for providing this great opportunity for our

students to showcase their creativity and craftsmanship,

and it was a very worthwhile endeavour for them to

explore working with the industry expertise. I look forward

to working with BONIA on future fashion events and

design projects,” said Mr. Giuseppe (Joe) Spinelli,

Principal of Raffles College of Higher Education.

May 2013 Issue

The mammoth sized ‘BONIA Inspires’ pop-up store at 4,305

square feet.

Crew members were doing final touch up and getting ready to

open the pop-up store in just a few minutes

Mr. Giuseppe (Joe) Spinelli, the Principal of Raffles College of

Higher Education being interviewed by the media

ART DECO – The combination of sleek geometric lines, luxurious metallic colours and rich texture, gives the elegant deco look a

modern and edgy touch

CUBISM – With contrasting materials and intricate geometric lines and shapes, transition between the graphic collages to vibrant

three dimension structures is sharp and futuristic

FAUVISM – With the rich and wild colour palette, intricate shapes

and bold volume, delicate garden scene become vivid and dazzling

POP ART – The electric and vibrant colour, playful and cheerful composition, bring life to the brand’s signature monogram, the

classic look become young and energetic

SURREALISM – Element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and exaggerated proportion, create a surreal, poetic and dreamy

scene with strong visual impact

RAFFLES FA SHION

D ES IGN ER JEAN TEO H

SPA RKLES I N A UD I S TA R

CREA T ION 2013

Raffles Fashion Designer and alumnus, Jean Teoh

Back in its fourth instalment, the Audi Star Creation

(ASC) 2013 saw a record number of submissions,

with 355 entries from aspiring fashion designers from

Singapore and Asia for the region’s top fashion

design competition.

The ASC event is a regional fashion design

competition that identifies and nurtures emerging

Asian fashion design talents. The competition is open

to aspiring Asian designers between the ages of 16

and 35.

In this year’s competition, 8 countries were

represented in the Audi Star Creation finals, including

first-time participant Mongolia, competing for a

fashion face-off for the most coveted titles Audi Star

Creation 2013 and Audi Young Designer Award. The

theme for this year’s Audi Star Creation was

“InspirAsian”, where designers were tasked to create

“internationally appealing collections that draw from

the canvas of possibilities Asia presents in terms of

colour, culture and fashion history”.

After rounds of stringent short-listings, 12 finalists

were selected to showcase their collections and

compete in the runway showdown at the Marina

Promenade.

Amongst them was our very own Raffles Fashion

Designer and alumnus, Jean Teoh, who graduated

from Raffles Design Institute Singapore last

December. Her womenswear collection, entitled

Resonance, was inspired by vibrations, which can be

both desirable – in the creation of music – and

undesirable – noise generated from motor engines,

for instance.

A model showcasing Jean Teoh’s collection at the Audi Star

Creation 2013

Jean cleverly manipulated common fabrics such as

jersey knit, cotton, silk chiffon, organza and mesh,

and applied techniques such pleating, knitting,

layering and embroidery to create visual vibrations.

Her ingenious combinations allow one to feel a

variety of vibrations which resonate through human

interactions.

Jean Teoh did Raffles proud with her ingenuity and creativity

We went up close and personal with Jean to find out

more about her achievements.

Share with us your passion in fashion design.

Since young, I have loved drawing and sketching,

creating my own characters and story plots. To me,

drawing is a way of life, I can’t live without it. I

decided to become a manga (comic book written and

drawn in Japanese style) artist or an animation maker

to achieve my dreams. Eventually, I had an

opportunity to design costumes for my high school

theatre club and it set me off in the direction of

fashion.

Do you have an idol in the fashion industry whom

you look up to and aspire to be like him/her?

My favourite designer is Hussein Chalayan. I am fond

of wearable art and I really respect him as he sticks

to his own philosophy to create fashion in a unique

way. I love how he fuses engineering and different

techniques into his collection. Whenever I see his

new collection, it never fails to amaze me.

How did your inspiration come about?

I was inspired to develop my collection, Resonance,

after thinking about vibrations and how they help

people communicate. Resonance refers to the

occurrence of vibrations in the environment that help

transmit sound. This got me to think deeper about

how we experience a variety of vibrations and hear

them as sounds in the environment. I want my

collection to tell a story about how vibrations resonate

in the interactions between people.

In most of my designs, I combined common fabrics

such as suede cotton, jersey knit, pure cotton, silk

chiffon, organza and mesh. I manipulated them

through several design techniques to create a

different fabric texture entirely. Then I used

techniques such as twisted pleating, knitting,

layering, folding and embroidery, to make the fabric

look as through vibrations are spreading throughout

my creations.

Tell us about your personal style in Fashion

Design

My personal style is all about simplicity so my

designs will have clean cuts and are comfortable to

wear. Then I would complement my outfits with shoes

and other accessories.

Describe the challenges you faced in this

competition and how you overcame them.

Conceptualisation is the first and most important

stage for the design process so I spent most of the

time researching to gain inspiration for my collection.

I had a challenging time with fabric manipulation. I

struggled to find an appropriate fabric manipulation

technique that would produce the resonating

vibrations effect while still ensuring simplicity in my

clothes. I did a lot of experiments with the design

techniques and even had to re-sketch some of my

clothing designs a few times to in order to find a

solution.

My lecturers and friends were very encouraging.

Without their support, I would not be able to make it!

Sometimes when the pressure got too much that I

couldn’t handle, I would go for a nice meal or dessert

to make myself feel better.

Is there anyone whom you would like to thank in

helping you achieve your goals?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my

Programme Director, Giuseppe (Joe) Spinelli. He

supported and encouraged me from the beginning.

Of course, I am grateful to my family and friends who

are always by my side.

I am also thankful to Raffles Design Institute for the

skills, techniques and for providing such a good

environment to help me achieve my goals in fashion

design. I learnt a lot in school and now I am ready to

be in the fashion industry.

On behalf of Raffles Singapore, we extend our

heartfelt congratulations to Jean Teoh for emerging

as the top 12 finalists in the Audi Star Creation 2013.

CEO OF WHIT E MOON

MENT OR S RA FFLES

JEWELLERY DES IGN ERS

Students from Raffles College of Higher Education

(RCHE) were in for a treat when they attended an

insightful seminar in the afternoon of 3 May 2013.

The Jewellery Design department of RCHE had

invited to the school Ms. Eileen Chan, CEO and

founder of White Moon, a renowned jewellery maker

and retailer in Singapore, to share her experiences in

jewellery design as well as how she set up her own

label singlehandedly a couple of years ago.

White Moon CEO and Founder, Eileen Chan (in red dress), shared

her jewellery design and entrepreneurship experiences with

Raffles Jewellery Designers

The young label epitomizes luxury in its purest form:

rare, exclusive and totally unexpected. Uniquely

inspired by nature, freedom and the attraction of

positive energy, the White Moon collections and

creations seamlessly blend classic beauty with

contemporary creativity and hand-made

craftsmanship. White Moon is specially designed for

the discerning women who recognise quality

craftsmanship, seek that special and rare luxury item

and are captivated by the heart and soul behind the

design.

Although Eileen, a Ford Supermodel of the World

Singapore Finalist 2003, established her brand only

recently, she shared many enlightening tips about

entrepreneurship and covered interesting topics

about the industry during the 1-hour session. Midway

through the seminar, Eileen generously passed some

of her most popular clutches and jewellery to the

audience, who was wowed and totally amazed by the

exquisite collection.

From left to right: Ms. Eileen Chan, her assistant, Senior Lecturer

for Jewellery Design, Ms Sandra Fie and Programme Coordinator

of 3D Design Department, Mr Hector Salazar on a guided tour of

the Jewellery Design workshop.

Senior Lecturer, Ms Sandra Fie, explains to Eileen Chan how

Raffles grooms our Jewellery Designers

“I am completely astonished by the amazing

collection that Eileen has. I learnt a lot through this

seminar,” a Jewellery Design student gushed.

Equally excited was another student from the same

faculty, who said that, “the seminar was great! It was

very rewarding and perceptive.” As she spoke, she

revealed that she was inspired by Eileen’s designs

and already had some design concepts in mind and

would be discussing with her lecturer to explore the

feasibility.

Eileen is yet another successful home-grown

designer who rose above challenges presented to

her along the way and achieved her goals eventually.

“Challenges are a daily affair, especially so when this

is a start-up and the brand is still new but this is my

passion; I enjoy what I do. I reckon that by having

faith, being positive and persistent, everyone can

overcome all difficulties,” Eileen shared.

RCHE would like to take this opportunity to

encourage any would-be entrepreneur to take the

bold step forward and be successful.

A NIG HT O F SAVO URY F A RE

AT RAFFLES

Happy faces before the start of the event

On 11 May 2013, the Raffles Student Executive

Committee (EXCO), made up of students from

various nationalities, organised the inaugural savoury

fare to welcome both new students and alumni in the

new campus premise, with a magnificent crowd

turning up for a night of fun, food and live

entertainment.

The Indonesian ‘Tumpeng’ Rice was a hot favourite

Themed “Savour the Flavour – The Welcoming”, the

main focus of the event showcased cuisines from

various international cultures, with an interesting

variety of 15 different foods from 6 countries served

to over 100 attendees at the event, encouraging

students to bond and get to know each other while

filling their bellies with spectacular food.

Guests were treated to popular international fares

such as Thai Pineapple Fried Rice, Vietnamese Fried

Spring Rolls, Mediterranean Tabouleh, Malaysian-

style Satay, Indonesian Tumpeng Rice, Chinese Stir-

fried Noodles and many more.

Attendees enjoyed a wide variety of international cuisine from

various cultures

Aside from the gastronomic menu, goodies such as

movie vouchers were given out to participants of fun-

filled activities and best-dressed couple, plus a grand

lucky draw prize consisting of two entry passes to the

latest S.E.A Aquarium attraction in Sentosa.

The highlight of the event was a live acoustic

performance by two Raffles Interior Designers, Ai and

Sneha, performing a track list of five songs to

enhance the audience’s palate. There was also a

prop-filled photo-booth where guests were able to

snap pictures with their friends.

Bonding time with props!

Asked about his thoughts on the event, Justin Kok,

who currently majors in the Applied Psychology

programme and also a member of the EXCO, shared,

“This event heralds the first-ever joint collaboration

between the EXCO and the official Indonesian

Student Organisation (PPI-RDI) within RCHE. While

we experienced initial challenges managing the

distribution of tasks and duties, as well as

maintaining steady progress, everything turned out

brilliantly and thus the relationship between both

student bodies was strengthened through this

collaboration.”

EFFO RT S IN ENG L ISH GAIN

RECOG NIT ION

The English Language Programme (ELP) department

of Raffles College of Higher Education (RCHE) has

recently introduced the English Language

Programme Student Awards, namely “Most

Outstanding Student”, “Most Improved Student”, and

“Excellent Effort and Participation”.

The objective of all students who come through the

English Language Programme at RCHE is to

complete the programme successfully and move on

to their chosen course. RCHE and the ELP lecturers

are always happy to see our students achieve this

aim. However, as ELP lecturer Michael Henderson

says, “We also feel that it is important to recognise

those students who have shown real commitment

and dedication to their studies, demonstrating a

strong desire to better themselves. The introduction

of the English Language Programme Student Awards

is intended to reward such students and encourage

others to follow their example.”

According to the ELP department, “Most Outstanding

Student” is judged on all-round performance during

the full eleven-week course; it takes into account the

student’s final grades, in-class participation, and level

of improvement. This award for the January-to-March

term went to student Ren Jie (Polly).

“Most Improved Student” is to reward the student who

has shown the most significant progress with their

language skills. This progress is assessed by

comparing students’ initial proficiency test results and

teacher assessments with their final grades and

teacher evaluations. Based on that, student Cai

Hongmin (Dior) was the recipient of this award.

Finally, the “Excellent Effort and Participation” award,

created to recognise students who have maintained a

consistently high level of effort in all of their

respective classes and projects, was awarded to two

students: Cheng Mengting and Nguyen Thi Quynh

Tram.

Michael reveals, “Deciding on a winner for ‘Excellent

Effort and Participation’ was the most challenging as

there were a number of worthy candidates. A poll

was taken among the ELP lecturers to identify those

students who displayed outstanding effort and

participation. The top 6 students in the poll were then

discussed until the faculty agreed on the two most

deserving candidates.”

When asked about the difficulties of teaching and

learning ELP, the lecturers point out that the biggest

challenge is getting students to realise the

importance of practice. As ELP Lecturer Harveen

Kaur says, “Naturally, students should pay attention

in class to grasp the concepts being taught, but it is

also crucial that they continually practise what they

have learnt, and have the drive and determination to

apply these concepts outside the perimeters of the

class, during their free time.” These four students –

Polly, Dior, Mengting, and Tram – certainly did so,

and the pay-off was evident. Harveen recounts, “One

student, for example, went from speaking very little

English to having full-length conversations with us in

just a matter of six months. It obviously takes a lot of

practice out of class to do that. That is why we

decided to award them for their exemplary effort.”

“We are proud of these students,” says Queenie

Chan, ELP Senior Lecturer, “and they should be very

proud of themselves. Mastery of a language takes a

lifetime, so the students’ learning is by no means

over, but with the great study attitude they have

shown, they can definitely go far. We hope that in

everything they do they continue to put in their best

effort to always improve and strive to be outstanding.”

The ESL team (left to right): Ms. Harveen Kaur, Ms. Esther Lam,

Ms. Queenie Chan, Mr. John Brummel, Mr. Michael Henderson.

CULT URA L LEA RNIN G

JO URNEYS BEN EF I T

ENG LISH LANG UAG E

CO HO RT

Having lessons within the four walls of a classroom is

not the only means by which to learn a language;

practising it is also crucial. As such, to provide our

students with this opportunity, the English

Department organised a field trip for its Foundation

and Advanced English Language classes.

On 3 May 2013, students from Raffles English

classes took a break to go on a field trip to visit

historical sites such as Chinatown Heritage Centre,

Kampong Glam and Little India.

Students paying close attention to the guide as she gives insightful

information of a mosque

Students got a chance to practise their learning

experiences in a real-world setting. Since the tour

was conducted in English, students had to use their

listening skills while answering a number of questions

in a competitive setting.

Besides that, students also practised the spoken

language in various activities such as conveying to

the henna tattooist the henna designs that they

desired. On top of it all, students tried their hand at

playing traditional games found in Singapore.

A student getting the henna design of his choice

Overall, students enjoyed the trip with many

commenting that it was a good break from the daily

lessons as well as an interesting opportunity to learn

new vocabulary.

A group shot of the English students, alongside guide from

Journeys Singapore, Weena (extreme right), and lecturers, John

and Michael (extreme left).

G IV ING NEW L I FE T O

A BANDON ED O BJECT S

The Ventilamp made from used fan grills, laminate sample chips

and wooden pegs

Held from 25 April to 11 May 2013, this intriguing

exhibition was the brainchild of Frank Chen, an

interior designer from Singapore. The exhibition was

a self-initiated project organised by F2D – formerly

Frank’s interior design firm and now a product design

studio – together with Hong Kong product designer

Kevin Cheung, and Australia-based designer Kasia

Jarosz, showcasing their creations, with the aim of

offering new perspectives on recycling, reusing and

reviving products.

The ‘Fa-Brick’ sofa made from patchworks of colourful

leftover sample swatches

Dr. Anna Lottersberger, Lecturer delivering

postgraduate programme shared, “Thanks to the

Design Council, Raffles was invited to the exhibition,

even though it was an independent project. It was an

intriguing example of a spontaneous initiative in

Singapore. The project was related to the crucial

theme of eco-sustainability in combination with

craftsmanship. Frank Chen, the designer behind the

whole idea, also used to organize special talks to

undergraduate and postgraduate students to present

the entire creative process, from the construction of

the team, through the organization of the workshop,

to the execution of the actual exhibition. It was a

unique way to show the students how a design-based

SME can develop collaborative projects while

exploring new business possibilities.”

From left to right: Raffles postgraduates from the

Master of Design programme and Dr. Anna

Lottersberger

Melvyn Ting, a postgraduate from the Master of

Design Programme with specialisation in Graphic

Design was visibly impressed by the exhibition:

"I was amazed by some of the products such as the

'Boom Table' and the laptop sleeves made out of

items such as recycled carpet, fan lights, reused sofa

and corrugated box paper shelf. Kudos to the

designers and their creative effort as it is not an easy

task to design something new from already used

materials. All in all it was a fun and inspiring trip that I

enjoyed and I hope for more creatively satisfying trips

like the F2D exhibition as well as the President's

Design Awards Forum 2012."

All the creations from the three exhibitors were the

result of a re-design activity that originated from

abandoned objects, such as carpets, fabric samples,

bottles, electronic devices, containers etc.

Another postgraduate, Demy Septiana, from the

Master of Design Programme with specialisation in

Interior Design, gave her thoughts after the event:

"I found it very inspiring. Most of the ‘new’ objects

were processed, thanks to the designers' creative

ideas, which increased the value of discarded

materials. The most interesting object I noticed in the

exhibition was the ‘Folder Speaker’. It was a very

creative idea to pick up some abandoned paper

folders and transform them into speakers! Other

products that caught my eye were jewelleries made

from machine parts from an old TV. It was brilliant

how the designer reused and created beautiful and

unique creatures from the materials."

NAN SHAN TEXT I LE

GARMEN T DELEGAT ES V IS I T

RAFFLES ED UCAT ION

SQ UA RE

On 14 May 2013, 7 delegates from Nanshan Textile

Garment Co. Ltd, China, became one of the first

industrial partners to visit the new Raffles College of

Higher Education (RCHE) campus located at Raffles

Education Square.

They were warmly greeted by Mr. Ong Kai How, Vice

President of Raffles Education Corporation (South

East Asia). The guests were impressed by the

magnificent external façade and openness of the

campus. Without further ado, the team adjourned to

the seminar room where Mr. Ong gave the visitors an

introduction of the college.

Mr Ong (far left), welcomed the guests and introduced student

work at the display gallery

The excited team spared no delay after the brief

introduction and headed off to a campus tour. Each

level of the building is themed in accordance to the 3

guiding principles of teaching and learning adopted

by RCHE. They are Entrepreneurship, Innovation and

Empowerment. It is through such principles that the

college wishes to impart students with skills and

knowledge that are relevant and highly sought after

by the industry when they enter the workforce after

graduation. It is with due credits to this philosophy

that the schools, students and alumni have enjoyed

successes and won numerous awards in their

respective fields of expertise.

In order to demonstrate and reiterate this culture of

positive and rewarding studying experience unique to

RCHE, the campus tour walked the delegation

through classrooms and workshops where they

witnessed how classes are conducted, and the

conducive learning environment students are

immersed in. The group also met up with a few

Chinese students from Fashion Design to understand

their learning experience at RCHE.

Delegates visited Fashion Design workshop to understand how

students learn through practical lessons

Throughout the entire walkthrough, the delegates

were deeply impressed by the excellent study

atmosphere in Raffles and were continuously singing

praises about the place.

RCHE would like to thank Nanshan Textile Garment

Co. Ltd delegates and the Economic Development

Board of Singapore for visiting the campus and we

hope that it was a fruitful trip.

RAFFLES PSYCHO LOG Y

P RA CT I T ION ERS AP POIN TED

CO UN CIL MEMBERS OF

S INGA PO RE

PSYCHO LOGICA L SO CIET Y

The SPS Council 2013-1015 with Dr Monica Walet (Academic

Director of Raffles), Co-opt Council on Membership (4th from Left)

and Dr Anna Leybina (Programme Coordinator of Raffles), Public

Education Chair (5th from Left).

Congratulations to Dr. Anna Leybina and Dr. Monica

Walet, our creative practitioners of the Psychology

faculty for being appointed as council members of the

Singapore Psychological Society! Founded in 1979,

the Singapore Psychological Society continues to

aspire in the advancement of psychology as a

science and as a profession in Singapore

As two of the thirteen council members of the

Singapore Psychological Society, Dr. Monica Walet

and Dr. Anna Leybina were honoured to be able to

contribute to the psychological field in Singapore as

well as to be able to bring knowledge and

opportunities to the Applied Psychology students of

Raffles College.

Dr Monica Walet, Co-opt Council on Membership and

Dr Anna Leybina, Chair of Public Education and

Communication, who are, respectively, the Academic

Director and Programme Coordinator for Psychology

Department of Raffles College of Higher Education,

were invited to join the council due to their

qualifications, work experiences and dedication to

their profession.

“Initially, my idea was to join Singapore Psychological

Society to learn more about standards, problems,

requirements of teaching and practising in Singapore

as I did not know much about that back in 2010 when

I first arrived here from Russia. Now, going beyond

my initial intention, I am able to share more with my

students on what they should do to succeed in the

profession and to build a career in psychology in

Singapore and Asia. My network through Singapore

Psychological Society also allows me to help arrange

internships, voluntary work, work placement as well

as to establish research collaborations for our

students. Another advantage is that many Singapore

Psychological Society events can now be held in

Raffles College for the management has generously

supported the society to use the premises for the

events. Thus our students get free admission to

many of those events, which give them an

opportunity to learn from other professionals,

participate in professional discussions, establish

useful contacts, and to gain knowledge beyond the

school curriculum,” shared Dr. Anna.

Other than being appointed as the council member,

Dr. Anna was also appointed as an official

representative from Singapore to attend the closed-

door meetings at the International Congress of

Psychology, Cape Town, South Africa to discuss

global psychology policies and issues.

Being part of the council, both our creative

practitioners were also able to learn more about the

organization of educational processes, structure of

lessons and methods of assessments from different

institutions, which they can implement in their

teaching of students of Raffles College.

Raffles College is proud of the achievements of our

creative practitioners and will continue to give them

our support, to bring greater opportunities and

exposure for our students.

DR . FREDER ICK HA LCON :

AN A DVO CATE FO R

ENVIRON MENTA L

SUST A INA BI L I TY A T

INTERNA T IONA L

CON FEREN CE

Dr. Frederick Halcon, Raffles College’s creative

practitioner in Applied Psychology shared a research

paper on environmental economics and

sustainability, and won the Best Research Paper

Award at the 2nd

Annual International Conference in

Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.

The research paper advocating environmental

sustainability, reminding our generation to be

conscious of how we use our natural resources so

that it will not compromise the needs of the future

generations, gained the recognition from the judges

at the international conference.

It was one of Dr. Frederick’s first attempts to do a

text-based qualitative research on issues which

concern the environment, and he was honoured

beyond words when he was one of the three winners,

amongst all the presenters at the conference.

“I always start my first lesson in Applied Research

Methods by making my students imagine a world

without research. We would still be living in the Stone

Age. Advancements in science, technology,

education, business, economics and even the arts

will not be possible. This helps my students

understand the value of research,” shared Dr.

Frederick.

He added, “I believe research helps me upgrade my

skills and knowledge. As someone imparting

knowledge to the future generation, I strongly believe

we should constantly stay relevant by attending

conferences and presenting papers so we don’t

saturate ourselves with data from textbooks which

could have been published a number of years ago.”

Raffles College of Higher Education would like to

congratulate Dr. Frederick Halcon for winning the

Best Research Paper Award and thank him for his

contribution thus far in sharing his knowledge with

our Raffles Business students!

The man himself, Dr. Frederick Halcon, Lecturer, Business, Raffles

College of Higher Education

RAFFLES AP P L I ED

PSYCHO LOGY DEPA RT MEN T

HO STS P SYCHO LOG Y

S T UD ENT S FROM

UNIVERS I T Y OF

TARUMANAGA RA

Dr. Anna Lebyina (centre in white top) with the Indonesian visitors

On 14 May 2013, 18 students from the Psychology

Department of the University of Tarumanagara,

Jakarta, visited Raffles College of Higher Education.

The enthusiastic teens were brought on a tour to

explore the school’s facilities. Many were impressed

by the new campus, the classroom facilities, the

myriad of resources in the library, and the

comfortable student lounge. Most of them were also

impressed by our award winners’ works which were

showcased at the Raffles Concierge.

The visitors were highly impressed with the new Raffles campus

After an exciting school tour, the students were

brought into Dr. Anna’s psychology class to have a

comparison study. Dr. Anna, the Programme

Coordinator, welcomed the students and gave them

an overview of the Applied Psychology course in

Raffles College and shared some of the research she

has conducted together with Singapore Psychology

Society where she acts as a council member.

Raffles Psychologists exchanging views with students from the

University of Tarumanagara, Jakarta

After Dr. Anna’s sharing, the students were split into

groups of five or six, with two Raffles Psychologists in

each group. Raffles Psychologists enthusiastically

shared what they learnt in Raffles, the research study

they have done, the modules they are undertaking,

the projects they are working on and the field trips

they have been to. An hour of comparison study

helped students from both schools understand more

about psychology. Many even made friends by

exchanging contact details.

Dr. Anna Lebyina receiving the token of appreciation from the

University of Tarumanagara, Jakarta

Raffles College of Higher Education is pleased to

host students from external universities, giving our

students the opportunity to be exposed to and gain

knowledge from various sources and further

extending their network beyond the school

environment.

BREA KING IN TO T HE

EUROPEAN OUT DOO R

FURNIT URE MARKET

Two promising designers from Raffles Design

Institute, Shanghai would soon have their creative

works on sale in Europe and China, following their

win at the 2013 Summer Outdoor Furniture Design

Competition, which was jointly organised with

METRO GROUP Buying (MGB) China on 6 May

2013.

Leon Liu Zi Hua receiving his first prize from Mr

Uwe Hoezler, President of METRO China and Mr

Ren Li, President of China Arts

Leon Liu Zi Hua and Amy Zhang Yue won over the

judges with their cutting-edge designs and unique

concepts. Their design pieces will be put into large-

scale production and sold in METRO stores

worldwide. The 2014 Tarrington House product

catalog – an exclusive brand by METRO outdoor

furniture – will also feature the winners’ designs.

Leon Liu, who came in first in the competition,

received a cash prize as well as an internship

opportunity with an outdoor furniture supplier of MGB.

Amy Zhang receiving the second prize from Mr Stefan

Loewe, MGB Director and Mr Ren Li, President of China

Arts

“This is the first time METRO has worked with an

academic institution in China to create outdoor

furniture.

We hope to discover and nurture more new talents

from China through this competition,” said Mr Uwe

Hoelzer, President of METRO China. He added that

“this new generation of designers surprised us with

their vitality and innovative ideas. They represent the

future and hope of China’s creative industry. METRO

will continue to build a bridge towards the

international design market for these outstanding

students.”

Mr Uwe Hoelzer with Leon Liu during the

unveiling of his design prototype, which will be

available in METRO stores in 2014

Mr Andre Bilbao, Outdoor Product Manager of MGB

China, revealed that it was a bold move to introduce

fresh ideas from Chinese student designers to the

outdoor furniture collection. He said, “We are very

pleased to see the talent of this new generation of

designers. Their creations are refreshing and

exciting. The products they created combine

functionality together with fashion and quality, all of

which are in line with Tarrington House’s unique

brand positioning.”

Since the launch of the competition in January 2013,

MGB China and the Interior Design Department of

Raffles Design Institute have held a variety of

activities to boost their designers’ creativity as well as

to give them a better understanding of market

demands. The programme attracted 40 students who

attended campus lectures, field trips, live

demonstrations and expert critique sessions.

“The product, industrial and market orientation of this

design competition helps students to broaden their

horizons and enhance their practice. Through such

real-world experience, students can greatly improve

their design concepts and innovation capabilities,”

said Mr Meng Kok Tan, Program Director of Interior

Design at the Institute.

He added, “As products marked with their names and

labels are introduced and sold in the overseas

markets, these future designers will step onto the

European furniture stage, and face tests from a

broader market.”