Tertiary Institutions Participate For The First Time In The SLA Spatial Challenge Competition 2010

28 July 2010 - The Singapore Land Authority (SLA)’s third Geographic Information System (GIS) competition, Spatial Challenge 2010 was opened for the first time, to students from the tertiary institutions. A total of 36 teams from various secondary schools and tertiary students took part in this annual competition which doubled that from last year.

2. This year, teams from the six tertiary institutions included National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, and Nanyang Polytechnic. The topics ranged from maximizing use of various community sites to tapping on solar energy as an alternative source of energy.

3. The teams had a final showdown at the Republic Polytechnic Agora Halls on 28 July, marking the culmination of six months of hard work by the students. Guest-of-honour, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, was present at the closing ceremony to give away the prizes.

4. The SLA Spatial Challenge 2010 consists of two group categories – the pre-university (Junior Colleges, Millenia Institute, Integrated Programme schools and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science) and the tertiary (polytechnic and universities). The winner in the pre-university category is Pioneer 3 (Pioneer JC). The first and second runners-up are The Geog Class (NUS High School of Mathematics and Science) and DHS Team 1 (Dunman High School) respectively. The winner in the tertiary category is Team O (NUS), while the first and second runners-up are Stars Run in the Night (NUS) and W(ii) (NUS). The full list of winners is at Annex A while the participating schools are at Annex B.

5. Associate Professor Ho said, ”I am pleased to see students from the institutes of higher learning taking part in Spatial Challenge for the first time and feel the higher level of enthusiasm displayed by the students. It is also impressive to see that the students tapping GIS to derive out-of-the-box solutions in addressing issues affecting businesses, the environment and the community.”

6. First time participating student Mathanraj Savagan, 20, Real Estate Business from Ngee Ann Polytechnic said: “Before the competition, I have never heard of GIS. But now I know that it provides useful information and data in a convenient and presentable way which was necessary in order for us to identify the patterns and trends of our project. As in other technologies, once you get the hang of it, the world is at your fingertips.”

7. The Spatial Challenge competition was first introduced in 2008 with the aim of increasing the awareness of GIS technology among students and encouraging the innovative use of GIS technology in schools. It is supported by the Ministry of Education. The competition started in January, with training sessions for both teachers and students conducted by SLA and ESRIi Singapore, a world-leading GIS software company in March.

8. The synopsis of the winning projects can be found in Annex A and the list of schools participating can be found at Annex B.

-End-

Issued by:
The Singapore Land Authority
28 July 2010

Attachment:
Annex A: List of winners
Annex B: List of participating schools
Annex C: Factsheet

About SLA
Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimise land resources for the economic and social development of Singapore. SLA is responsible for the direct management of some 14,000 hectares of State land and about 5,000 buildings. It is also in charge of land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitised land information services. SLA is also the national land registration authority for property transactions, and the issuance and guarantee of land titles in Singapore. It also manages and maintains the national land survey system, including the defining of boundaries or legal limits of properties based on a coordinated cadastre survey system.

Annex A: List of winners

(I) Pre-University

Annex B: List of participating schools