Final-year communication student Nicki Chan speaks to Assoc Prof Victor Yeo, Associate Provost (Student Life), and gets to the heart of what makes us a united NTU community
Assoc Prof Victor Yeo
Nicki Chan
Nicki: Good morning, Prof Yeo!
Assoc Prof Victor Yeo: Always happy to speak to students like you! 😊
Nicki: Recently, I spotted a video about NTU’s core values on our campus TV screens and after talking to my friends, I realised not many of them are aware of these values.
Why does NTU need to adopt core values, and what do the values do for me as a student?
Assoc Prof Yeo: We’ve found that values are at the heart of the community. NTU’s six core values – Integrity, Care, Respect, Impact, Service and Partnership – are important common values that we can cultivate, demonstrate and uphold, and identify with as OneNTU.
It is our hope that the entire NTU community can internalise these values and exhibit them, such as in how we live, learn, work and play here at NTU as well as in our interactions with others.
Nicki: That’s something I aspire to do as well. 👍 The six values align with who I want to be as a person.
Are there any plans for activities or initiatives that will help with building a positive OneNTU culture grounded in these values?
For example, how would you help students resonate with these values and find a sense of community even though everyone has different interests and priorities?
Assoc Prof Yeo: Great question!
For a start, we could ask students to think about which OneNTU core values their planned activities reflect or can build on when they put in their proposals. The idea is to think more intentionally about how our activities contribute towards building the OneNTU community, bearing in mind that not all activities need to focus on all of the values.
For example, when the Welfare Services Club runs their Social Impact Week, they can focus on values such as Care, Partnership, Impact and Service. The NTU Sports Club can focus on Integrity, Respect and Partnership and so on.
CAC can emphasise Partnership, Impact and Service.
The idea really is to get all of us to think about why we are doing what we are doing – and how it can contribute towards instilling any one or more of the OneNTU values for ourselves and our community.
Nicki: That sounds like a great approach! As we’re often busy with schoolwork and CCA, it can be easy to lose sight of the important things. It’s nice to have that community building vision that we can ground ourselves in.
Assoc Prof Yeo: We are also looking at events where the entire NTU community can get together to demonstrate what it means to be “OneNTU”. A pilot of sorts was when the University Advancement Office worked with students and alumni to launch our inaugural Service Week earlier this year to help the less fortunate.
Nicki: I look forward to seeing what other events you have in store for us! 😍 Thinking about how the values can feature in our student life, I am in two dance clubs in NTU, and I’ve realised that values such as Care and Respect are really integral in fostering close ties amongst the dance crew.
Assoc Prof Yeo: 👋 Would love to hear more
Nicki: I’m the dance captain of Tanjong Hall dance crew, Royals! My main job is to lead practices and rehearsals for performances.
This is me with my crew backstage after one of our performances. 💃
Assoc Prof Yeo: That’s nice. How do you think values like Care and Respect can be reflected in the dance groups that you are in? You’re a good example of how students are integral to cultivating the OneNTU values through their activities! 😊
Nicki: Dance relies heavily on teamwork. If one member is down and can’t perform, we won’t be able to find a replacement easily because only that person would be familiar with the routines and formations.
This is why all members of our crew are equally important regardless of dance ability and experience. We always dedicate extra time to coaching members who are unable to catch up, and we encourage those with more experience to do so as well 💪
As a crew that welcomes dancers regardless of ability, we need to provide a safe space for our members to learn even if they are absolute beginners at dancing. Values like Care and Respect would be important in establishing a supportive and wholesome environment for all dancers. If we respect one another’s efforts and show care without judgment, we can all learn a lot and grow closer in the process! 😊
Assoc Prof Yeo: I totally agree. This is the right approach to team-building! 🤩
Nicki: We’ve been able to put on successful performances despite having a large number of beginners in our crew because we already place a lot of emphasis on mutual respect and encouragement. In that way we have managed to forge our own community and culture that still goes strong years later, even as seniors leave and new people join!
Here’s our performance at this year’s Hall Olympiad closing ceremony that I am especially proud of. A lot of hard work and effort went into making this work together. Through preparing for this, I grew very close to the crew and found a strong sense of belonging to this family 💃🕺
I believe a number of the OneNTU core values, including Care, Respect, Impact and Partnership, have played a big part in helping us form such a tight-knit community and I’m really thankful for that!
Assoc Prof Yeo: Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts so clearly and comprehensively. This is exactly what we would like our student leaders and students to think about as they go about their daily activities on campus! 👍😊
The next step is to share these thoughts with your dance team so that they can be proud of what they are achieving together! It’s really great to see and hear about all of these wonderful activities that students are leading and participating in! These are what make NTU a vibrant campus. Keep up the great work! 👏👏👏
Nicki: Thanks, Prof! I will certainly do that 😀
This story was published in the Oct-Dec 2022 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in PDF format, click here.
