SINGAPORE: When she was in secondary school, Ms Ng Xin Mei, 24, felt lost when it came to managing her private income.
There were a few financial literacy workshops, but they only lasted a few hours, and I do n’t believe they were very thorough, she said, adding that she wished there had been more in-depth workshops where she could properly discuss the subject with her peers.
Fast forward to Saturday ( Oct 19 ), the second-year accountancy student from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was part of the winning team in the Temasek-Financial Times Challenge, with each member in the five-person team taking home S$ 5, 000 ( US$ 3, 800 ).
The opposition involved Singapore residents aged 17 to 24, and was organised as part of actions to indicate Temasek’s 50th anniversary.
It aimed to assist secondary pupils and first career professionals in understanding and addressing financial troubles that young people face as they enter the workforce.
75 winners were chosen for the finale at Temasek’s Orchard Road office following a first round of online units and tests.
They were split into 15 groups, which had to fix a real-world issue, creating financial literacy efforts targeted at secondary school students.
This was in line with the Ministry of Education’s devotion to incorporate financial literacy instruction into the courses of the departments of character and membership, food and customer education, and other educational programs.
The last five teams were therefore chosen to make their ideas known to a board of five judges.
SOLVING REAL WORLD CHALLENGE
A financial education software called SavvySprouts, which allows users to check in routine and follow a personality as it makes economic decisions, was the winning ball by Ms Ng’s team. It gamifies the understanding of the concept of expenditure, through a gardening tale.
” It’s kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure”, said her colleague Han Mingwei, 22.
The game involves the use of in-game economies, with which users can purchase grains of various species such as apple plants, she said.
” This helps them draw links from the plants to real-world investments, such as stocks, bonds and ETFs ( exchange-traded funds )”, explained the final-year student at NTU’s School of Art Design and Media.
According to Ms. Han, the goal was to encourage secondary school students to download the app when they enter Secondary 1, and to use it until they student and perhaps even beyond that.
Ms. Ng expressed hope that the game her group created will one day become a reality.
She said,” If I were a secondary college student today and had the opportunity to learn all of these, which I did not earlier, I would be quite glad because I started learning about investing and savings extremely young.”
Passion TO FINANCE LITERACY
When asked why she participated in the competition despite the fact that it was a completely different area from what she was studying, Ms. Han said she enjoyed the idea and wanted to get ready for her next stage of life.
” I’m in my last year now so I’m about graduating, and I’m really trying to learn more about private funds, like opportunities and all”, she added.
Ms. Kimberley Lim, operations manager for strategic partnerships at the Financial Times, stated in her closing remarks that the individuals in the contest “represent some of Singapore’s best up-and-coming fresh ability.”
” ‘ I’m really excited to see what you guys do next. She wished you the best of luck with all of your life’s upcoming specific financing choices.
Even though it was a Saturday, Temasek’s director of public interests, Mr. Chris Teo, thanked the attendees for coming down to participate in the event along with the successful completion of a number of online modules and tests they had to finish in advance.
” The fact that they put in so much time, energy and efforts, shows their enthusiastic interest and the interest they have for this matter”, said Mr Teo, who was one of the magistrates for the competition.