When Professor Tan Thiam Soon, President, SIT called out to hundreds of new students at the university’s annual orientation camp to “become SIT-izens”, he was encouraging them to get into character in a fantastical world where students and facilitators became Knights, Generals and Royals.
There was plenty more of role-playing action at this year’s three-day orientation camp, which was held from August 18 to 20 at Sarimbun Scout Camp, where the SIT freshmen were divided into four teams according to mythology and the university DNA, namely: Griffin for ‘Thinking Tinkerers’; Phoenix for ‘Learn, Unlearn, Re-learn’; Hydra for ‘Catalyst for Transformation’; and Pegasus for ‘Grounded in Community’.
Professor Tan Thiam Soon, President, SIT, leading the kickoff of the student orientation camp 2014.
Each day of camp, in between the myriad ice-breaker and team bonding games, the students were regaled with food and drinks ranging from pasta and prata to ice-pops and bubble tea. No orientation would be kosher without some competitive spirit, which the campers displayed from the outset – during the cheering segment on the first day, Phoenix out-hollered the other teams with its unique cheer, one that combined New Zealand’s Haka war cry with archer poses and heavy stomping.
Phoenix’s head facilitator, Gan Hian Jiun, who is pursuing a BEng (Hons) Mechatronics with the University of Glasgow, shed light on the team’s novel cheer. “We made it very fierce because we wanted to rev up the students’ spirits and get them ready for ‘battle’. It’s a cheer that is powerful yet easy to follow,” the sophomore said.
BEng (Hons) Mechatronics with the University of Glasgow
The freshmen practising their moves for the cheering contest on the first day of camp.
For Chan Meijia, a facilitator from Hydra, the aim of the camp was for students to build a new identity. “The orientation camp has definitely allowed students from the various Overseas Universities (OUs) to get to know each other and identify with SIT since most of us study at different campuses,” said Chan, who is reading the
Nevertheless, there were challenges for the organisers, revealed Chua Qi Yang, president of the camp organising committee. “One was the sheer number [of campers],” he said. “This year, the number of sign-ups went up to almost twice the number from last year. As such, there were many factors we had to consider such as accommodation and shower times.”
Engaging the new SIT students at the orientation camp to build camaraderie and team spirit.
Thankfully the labours of the student organisers bore fruit in other ways. “It’s like a reunion for many facilitators. We met last year and we were all from different OUs with different schedules,” Gan reminisced. “Here at this camp, all of us can renew our friendships.”
