SCELSE Open House
The creation and design of gamification elements for the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering's annual student event
A Career in the Cards
The Career Booth is where potential PhD students typically consult a scientist for advice on their grad journey.
To rouse up student interest, I gave a twist to the presentation, considering popular interests in this age.
With deft carpentry assistance from the Director of Imaging, the booth was thus reframed as a tarot card reading booth.
Reading Scientific Fortunes
Students could pick cards that I designed to be aligned with possible scientific careers and fields of research.
This provided a more appealing point of interaction and a playful way to start a serious conversation.
Snakes & Ladders — PhD Edition
Inspired by childhood games, I designed an absurd Snakes & Ladders charting the glories and pitfalls of a PhD student.
The game delivered information on grad student realities to potential applicants, with a good dose of humour.
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Good tidings for a PhD student include: Yay, the funding for one of your projects was extended!
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A realistic misery of PhD life could be: Third reviewer asked for major amendments to your paper. Console with snack!
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{Pictured: existing PhD students not getting
enough of the game and reliving their possible traumas)
Nostalgic Appeal
Taking the cue from pasar malam (night market) games, a graduate student division colleague and I designed a timed plastics-fishing game.
A massive tank was set up at the entrance to grab the attention of passing students and potential visitors.
Prizes could be collected at a booth inside the Centre. It proved to be a massive hit, thereby increasing student interest in the event.
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Popular Science
The environmental message to save our waters from plastics allowed for our advocacy on sustainability topics.
It also served to promote our marine research which is often the most immediately appealing scientific path for students.
Increasing Visibility
The Centre's staff and students were invited to come up with research-related puns that could serve as tender missives.
These postcards were printed as free promotional collateral for visitors to use and mail to their peers, increasing the visibility of our Centre among the student population.
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The scientific concept was explained briefly on the back of the card, which included a postal stamp space shaped like a bacterial cell.
