Yale-NUS College Rector’s Tea series: A nexus of insightful conversations beyond the classroom
This semester’s sessions included topics such as social enterprise and inclusive arts education
At Yale-NUS College, the Rector’s Tea series brings transformative learning to students, faculty, and staff through intimate conversations with inspiring guests. Hosted by Rector and Associate Professor of Science (Life Sciences) Khoo Hoon Eng, these talks foster community dialogue and enrich students’ education by bridging academic knowledge with real-world experiences. This semester’s sessions included topics from social enterprise to inclusive arts education, broadening participants’ perspectives on global citizenship, diversity, and the transformative power of the arts.
The most recent Rector’s Tea, held on 22 October 2024, featured Associate Professor Hiroko Hara from the Prefectural University of Kumamoto. Assoc Prof Hara, from the Department of English Language and Literature, has dedicated her research to exploring identity formation within marginalised communities and visualising alternative spaces that promote diversity and inclusivity. Her talk, titled ‘Filmmaking and Photovoice: Arts-based Practice for Diversity’, introduced her innovative arts-based research methodologies and demonstrated how these practices can be harnessed to deepen global citizenship education.
During the session, Assoc Prof Hara shared insights into how her Photovoice project, completed with her students earlier this year, has enabled them to document and convey their lived experiences through photography, based off a visual documentary they watched during their class. Photovoice, a method that merges art and storytelling, empowers individuals to capture and share their perspectives, fostering a sense of agency and connection across communities. Reflecting on the project’s impact, she highlighted how such approaches allow for an organic and personal expression of diversity, contrasting it with more traditional forms of education that may feel distant from an individual’s experience.
For Maja Geroska (Class of 2025), Assoc Prof Hara’s Photovoice project stood out as a powerful testament to authentic expression. “I really enjoyed the way in which Assoc Prof Hara engaged a sort of natural human will to share meaningful life experiences into her Photovoice project. Compared to many other diversity initiatives I have learnt about, this felt very organic and personal,” she shared. The talk also resonated with Dylan Lee (Class of 2025), who appreciated the encouragement of open dialogue and community engagement. “It was interesting to learn more about the Photovoice genre and its usage in Assoc Prof Hara’s classes. Her pedagogy, which attempts to encourage her students to collaborate and engage with individuals and communities beyond their own, was certainly heartening,” he said.
Assoc Prof Hara also drew from her prior research on the roles of filmmaking and performance in Cambodian music-making traditions, illustrating how arts-based pedagogy can amplify voices often marginalised in mainstream narratives. By incorporating arts practice into education, she argued, students can develop a deeper understanding of global diversity and the responsibilities of global citizenship. Through her insights, Assoc Prof Hara offered the Yale-NUS community a fresh perspective on the significance of the arts in fostering inclusivity and cultivating an empathetic approach to diversity.
The Rector’s Tea series has long served as a platform for exploring diverse narratives and learning beyond the traditional classroom where students are encouraged to explore different facets of their academic and personal journeys and to see the interconnectedness of the liberal arts with practical solutions to societal challenges. Each session this semester illuminates how numerous disciplines – from arts and music to business and entrepreneurship – can serve as vehicles for positive social impact.
The earlier two sessions this semester featured speakers who are founders of start-ups in Singapore and have been giving back to the community in different ways. Rector Khoo shared, “It is my hope that the participants will engage with the process of embarking on start-ups, discover new ideas, and gain a deeper understanding of the transformative power of innovative start-up companies in our lives.”
The line-up began with ‘Music for Good: Celebrating 20 Years of the TENG Company’ on 28 August 2024, which featured Dr Samuel Wong, the co-founder and creative director of The TENG Company, a not-for-profit Singaporean arts company. Dr Wong shared how TENG has used music to address social issues within Singapore, including revising the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) train jingles to make commuting easier for the visually impaired. By blending musical heritage with social impact, TENG provides a blueprint for how the arts can respond to community needs while preserving cultural identity.
In another enlightening session on 18 September 2024, Pamela Chng, sociologist and co-founder/CEO of Bettr, Singapore’s first certified social enterprise specialty coffee company, discussed her journey into social entrepreneurship in “Brewing Change: Empowering Lives through Social Enterprise”. Chng described how Bettr provides numerous opportunities to empower underserved populations in Singapore, offering sustainable career opportunities within the coffee industry, to inspire students to consider the wider impact of their career choices and the potential for business to drive social change.
This semester’s Rector’s Teas have underscored the College’s mission to nurture students who are not only well-versed in their fields of study but also keenly aware of their role as global citizens. As the academic year progresses, the Yale-NUS community can look forward to more thought-provoking conversations with individuals who are shaping the world through innovative practices, courageous advocacy, and genuine commitment to inclusivity and progress.
