(Singapore): Metropolitan YMCA (MYMCA) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s (NP) School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HMS) further solidified their ongoing partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Friday, 11 March 2022.
Apart from internships and volunteering opportunities, MYMCA and HMS will work together to open up new pathways through education and learning, volunteerism promotion, and industry experience.
With this MOU, HMS students will have further opportunities to gain industry experience through part-time hands-on attachments at MYMCA in the specialty areas of Youth Leadership & Development, Resource Development and Community Services. These opportunities will allow them to amass valuable experience in the social services industry, giving them the preparation they need to thrive in a sector that has become increasingly important in Singapore society today.
MYMCA and HMS will also be curating industry project opportunities for Year 2 and 3 modules in the Diploma in Community Development programme where groups of students will be immersed in practical situations and graded on the real-world solutions they provide over the course of the semester.
“These industry-based initiatives provide real-world experience to NP HMS students, while we mentor and walk alongside them as they take their first steps into working life and corporate culture,” said MYMCA Group CEO Ms Grace Chan. “With this MOU, we aim to empower youths through identifying their aspirations and equipping them to become ambassadors for positive transformation.”
Beyond working together on youth development across both MYMCA and NP HMS, the MOU includes mutual learning for staff and youths from both organisations. Youth development experts from MYMCA will share their real-world experience with HMS students as guest speakers, injecting realism into the classrooms. MYMCA will also host HMS students for industry visits and learning journeys. In turn, NP will design and conduct customised training for MYMCA youth members.
“The partnership between MYMCA and HMS will continue to play an important role in student development in our school, contributing to an already vibrant suite of programmes we currently offer to our students across 6 diplomas. This partnership will not only see youth development across both MYMCA and NP, but also reciprocal sharing of knowledge and expertise across staff and faculty of both organisations,” said Ms Lynn Fong, the Director of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences.
MYMCA and NP HMS have been in partnership and collaboration since 2016 from internship opportunities to befriending seniors in their homes through MYMCA’s M.Y HomeShine as part of HMS’s Youth Expedition Projects (YEP), as well as volunteering as camp volunteers during MYMCA’s Holiday Camps.
