About the Project
This is a group project, to propose ideas that can have a positive impact on a community in Singapore. After looking at various issues of the various communities, we decided to tackle mental health in students. We then further narrowed it down to mental health in Polytechnic students, which is a topic close to our hearts, as we were Polytechnic students as well.
Research
First, refining our topic, we made it more specific and changed it to managing stress in their studies. We then proceeded with research on the topic about managing mental health in Polytechnic students. Looking for online resources on how government or external sources help them to manage their mental health. Which was rather non-existent compared to Primary and Secondary Schools. Next, we reached out to fellow students, interviewing them about how they manage their stress.
The common problems they had were that:
1. They do not know how to help themselves mentally
2. Indulging in their hobbies are a way of temporary relief
3. Existing solutions to help with their stress are not helping them.
Common resources they want to lighten their stress:
1. Relaxation room
2. Encouraging messages
3. Online resources
4. Teaching them how to manage stress
From the interview results, we clustered and compiled similar answers, and derived their needs from our solution.
1. I need long term solutions to lighten my stress in my studies.
2. I need to be more confident about my current and future endeavours.
3. I need to know more existing solutions and make use of it.
Solution and Features
From our research, we decided to create an app where students can have access to their needs. This app contains various ways that students can relieve stress. The app will be for Singapore Polytechnic students, as it would be better for schools to have the relevant data for their students. In the app, students will log in with their school ID and the app will have the relevant student data.
Features:
1. Encouraging Messages
2. Counsellors
3. Chill Room Bookings
4. Time Manager
5. Student Forums
1. Encouraging Messages
Daily messages will be displayed on the homepage to boost morale of the users when they enter.
2. Counsellors
This is quick and easy access to various counsellors in the student’s respective schools. In each school, there will be different counsellors so they are relevant to the school and the students’ issues. The students can reach out to them and have a short 30 minute session to chat with the counsellors and consult them. The session is short, so that more students are able to talk to counsellors.
3. Chill Room Bookings
Students make bookings for a room, where they can relax in. The room is a place where students are allowed to do whatever they like except for studying, to prevent giving stress to other students. The room will have a maximum capacity of 200 people and each student is entitled to 2 bookings per week. With this system, students are able to have easy access to booking the room, to relax and relieve stress.
4. Time Manager
This feature helps students to plan and work out their schedules to do their work. The schedule will also factor in their timetable and suggest to them how much work they should do, what work to do, and check if it is too much work for them. This will help ensure that students can have an overview of their work and how they ought to arrange and deal with it.
5. Student Forum
Here, students can talk in communities that they belong to. They discuss, chat and seek help and advice from people from their communities. This provides students with relevant opinions, and advice for their problems as well as making issues easier to find due to the separation of communities.
Final Thoughts
While this project will never actually come true, I felt that it was a fulfilling one. It made us feel as though this was something that could help our community and it would be interesting to see how the community would make use of it.
