How polytechnics are rethinking learning and student spaces

A giant green screen, professional video and lighting equipment, and a production control room now make up one of Singapore Polytechnic’s (SP) lecture theatres - a space that, until 2025, was a sea of plastic seats.

- Gabrielle Chan

Ngee Ann Polytechnic has converted a lecture theatre into a multi-purpose student space, and introduced private study pods (above), which students can use to tune in to their online lessons.

(PHOTO: NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC)

For Year 3 media, arts and design student Vo Tri Tai, this makeover has reshaped how he learns.

“Previously, we only had one module using a basic green screen where we had to fix everything after production,” said the 21-year-old student. “Now, with the new system, we can replace backgrounds live. What we see on the monitor is the final product.”

The studio features a large, curved green screen and a “technical command centre” where students use virtual production software to project digital worlds in real time.

While Mr Vo admitted feeling “disheartened” initially, given the sentimental memories tied to the old hall, he said the new facility is a significant upgrade that encourages students across different tracks, like sound and music, to collaborate, while allowing him to hone his production skills.

Elsewhere on campus, another lecture theatre has been turned into a bouldering wall used by some 130 students weekly. The wall was completed in February 2023.

These conversions reflect the sunset for the traditional lecture hall across Singapore’s polytechnics. With schools pivoting to “blended learning”, or a mix of online and face-to-face lessons, 500-seat halls have made way for smaller, more agile spaces.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) began downsizing its lecture theatres as early as 2010 as it started to implement online learning. These smaller lecture halls, it said, supported purposeful interaction, timely feedback and in-class activities such as questioning and working in groups.