Meet the student who started SAJC's Infocomm Club

IMAGINE you’re a student interested in tech, but you learn that no Infocomm CCA exists in your school—what would you do then?

While many students may resignedly give up here and join another CCA, relegating their tech interests to outside of school, Ian Wong, now a St Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) alumni, did not.

Ian Wong, initiator and creator of SAJC’s Infocomm Club.

Filled with motivation to create a place for tech-inclined students with nowhere else to go, Ian approached his school’s HOD CCA and HOD EdTech and made his case in 2019.

“On top of the desire to learn and share more about computing and programming, Ian also wanted to create a community for this group of interested students, and to instill a stronger sense of belonging in them,” said Mr Lin Wenquan, current Teacher-In-Charge of SAJC’S Infocomm Club CCA. “He wanted SAJC to be welcoming of students with varied interests.”

Ian (most left) and his classmates at a Digital Readiness Event.

What exists as SAJC’s Infocomm Club CCA today began life then as a student-initiated interest with Ian and the school’s HOD EdTech both spearheading the first membership drive during their 2020 JC1 Orientation.

The road they walked wasn’t an easy one—they encountered many difficulties and overcame various challenges. But the students were interested, and there was high demand for the interest group.

To ensure sustainability of the interest group, a substantial amount of time and effort was invested to create a CCA roadmap. Teachers also took time out to look for projects and competitions to maintain students’ interest and engagement.

Fortunately for them, SAJC’s HOD EdTech, Mr Sia Lai Chai, had programming knowledge and was able to lend his expertise to the team, contributing greatly to the realization of the interest group.

All efforts paid off when the interest group was later formalized into an official CCA.

Being involved in the interest group and later the Infocomm Club CCA not only benefitted the students but also the teachers. Mr Lin Wenquan shared that he had learn so much in coding and programming (e.g. Python, Arduino and Flutter), that he could even code a yu-sheng app that hollers auspicious greetings to comply with the COVID-19 restrictions. “As teachers, we must be willing to learn with our students.”

While Ian is serving NS right now, we hear that he intends to pursue further studies in tech, with a secured placement in NTU so far. We wish him all the best!