UN sustainability goals target of student study tour to Singapore/Malaysia

The concepts they helped develop showcased the power of cross-cultural collaboration to address global issues including how to combat dengue fever and language barriers between patients and medical professionals.

The 22 QUT students were among 108 from Australian universities (QUT, University of Technology Sydney, University of Canberra and Monash) as well as Dubai and Taiwan. Their first stop was Malaysia where they collaborated with students from Taylor’s University (Malaysia) and Nanyang Polytechnic (Singapore) to research and create new design solutions on the topic of Sustainability in Healthcare.

Professor Lisa Scharoun, Head of QUT’s School of Design, Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, said they were guided on the topic through presentations by global experts from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, UK, Taiwan and UAE at the Design for Change: Sustainability in Healthcare Symposium at Taylor’s University on 11 June 2024.

“They then travelled to Singapore where they chose a topic and formed cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams, before visiting hospitals and care homes to observe the challenges and opportunities in these spaces,” Professor Scharoun said.

“For five days, they completed a ‘Design innovation Sprint’ to create new sustainable solutions for the healthcare challenges they observed; solutions that would address the UN Sustainability Goals of Good Health and Wellbeing, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Climate Action.

“Students were challenged not only to look at the sustainability design goals in relation to the healthcare system from a multidisciplinary perspective, but to form a deeper understanding of the cultural backgrounds of the populations explored to create inclusive and universal tools.”

A final exhibition of student projects was held on 21 June 2024 at Raffles House in Fort Canning Park in Singapore and widely attended by industry and community groups with guests visiting from as far as Tibet.

“Within the healthcare sector, environmental sustainability occurs when resources are used as efficiently as possible, without compromising quality of care for patients,” Professor Scharoun said.

“Our health is dependent on our natural and built environments. However, hospitals and healthcare facilities, due to the use of significant amounts of energy and water as well as the generation of large volumes of waste, can have negative impacts on the environment.

“The innovative and unique solutions presented in the final exhibition were a testament to the power of working together across cultures and borders.”

‘Get in Touch’ – an awareness campaign and app created by the student team of Jasmine Gagliano (Visual Communications, UTS), Gracie Lee (Visual Communications, QUT), Maya Wills (Interaction Design, QUT), Sameer Khan (Medicine, MBRU), Lim Ke Xuan (Nursing, NYP), Ten Sze Ching, (Interactive Spatial Design, Taylors University), and Hong Yuet Ling (Interaction Design, NYP).

“Get in Touch responds to the knowledge that a patient’s understandings of their treatment plans are hindered by language barriers and the resulting miscommunication of complex medical concepts,” Professor Scharoun said.

“This leads to an ineffective allocation of manpower, increasing costs and an exacerbation of the healthcare worker shortage, which ultimately results in a reduced quality of care. In their solution, the team created a real-time AI translator bridging language gaps between patients and clinicians and simplifying complex medical concepts with generated models and imagery.”

Another student team - Anja Clausius (Visual Communication, UTS), Hayden Wong Wing Kee (Visual Communication, UTS), Valeria Salazar (Interaction Design, QUT), Tan Kai Jie (Tatung University, Industrial Design), Yang Chao (Taylor’s University, Spatial Design), and Toh Ping Jing Lynn (Nursing, NYP) - created a solution for Dengue fever prevention.

“Dengue fever is the fastest-spreading mosquito-borne viral disease worldwide, affecting over 100 million people annually,” Professor Scharoun said.

“Rising temperatures in humid climates allow such diseases to flourish and without prevention, put severe pressure onto the healthcare system. Although most Singaporean youth are aware of protocols to prevent vector-borne diseases and the spread, it’s not always taken as seriously as it could be.

“To address this, students created a campaign called ‘NO!squito’ which incorporated mosquito repellant bands printed on recycled, biodegradable, and carbon neutral paper whereby the ink and paper used to print are infused with natural repellents such as lavender and citronella.

“NO!squito bands give protection without impeding on the essential activities of play and socialisation, and also give children the opportunity to be creative and personalise them.”

Professor Scharoun said such cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaboration was the key to making a lasting impact on the future of our environment and healthcare system.