As Singapore embraces a digital economy and looks towards achieving our vision of becoming a Smart Nation by 2025, at the centre of it all is our people. In our continuous effort to nurture a new generation of digitally fluent citizens with a computational thinking mindset through our Code for Change efforts, and aligning this with the newly announced Digital Readiness Programme Office within the Ministry of Communications and Information, Microsoft and the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) inked a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) to launch and collaborate on a 2-year Digital Maker Programme (DMP). The DMP was officially launched by Minister for Communications and Information, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, during his Ministry’s workplan seminar held at the Furama Riverfront Hotel on April 13, 2017.
The DMP aims to increase STEM awareness and uptake in Singapore, nurture a new generation of digitally fluent citizens, imbued with a Computational Thinking mindset and giving people the ability to be digital creators and makers. This will allow Singapore to cultivate a community of innovators with the culture of collaboration, co-creation and empowered real-world problem solving using Microsoft’s technology. Over the next 2 years, the programme will introduce making and creating with technology using an entry-level codable microcontroller known as the micro:bit to inspire students and adults to explore the possibilities of digital making. The micro:bit was first launched in the United Kingdom (UK) to all Year 7/8 and S1 students in March 2016 (News reference here).
To find out more about the programme, you can refer to the following featured news articles:
- Digital Maker Programme Introduction: Digital Maker Programmme
- The Straits Times: Singapore to use micro:bit to teach coding, nurture it’s own Steve Jobs
- Vulcan Post: S’pore wants to nurture the next Steve Jobs – Introduces New Device to teach students coding
- Microsoft News: Nurturing Singapore’s future innovators with IMDA’s Digital Maker Programme
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