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IMPORTANT

  • This is a year-long service-learning course. [GEN2070Y is offered in Semester 2 of the Academic Year, and runs till the end of Semester 1 of the next Academic Year. GEN2070X is offered in Semester 1 of the Academic Year, and runs till the end of Special Term 2 of that Academic Year.] Thus, NUS requires you to be available for service work throughout the year, including the Special Terms during the summer vacation.
    This is because of the commitment you will make to the befriendee(s) to journey with them during this one year. You may take short leave of up to one month during this time. However, if you think you may likely be away for more than one month, due to SEP, overseas internship, LoA, etc, you SHOULD NOT enrol in this course. Students on local internships  are not affected.

  • If you intend to graduate at the end of AY2024/25, and wish to read GEN2070, you need to enrol in this course latest by Sem 2, AY2023/24.

 Course Description

ComLink is a nationwide initiative to befriend disadvantaged families with young children by providing comprehensive support that would help propel them towards realising their own aspirations. In this course, students will learn key concepts in volunteerism, and essential skills, including communications, collaboration, conflict management, and family befriending. They will then apply these skills as ComLink Befrienders through regular home visitations, needs assessment, and connecting the families with community resources, and journeying with them towards stability, self-reliance, and social mobility. Students will thus develop character, empathy, and personal effectiveness.

GEN2070 Course Trailer 2.mp4

Learn more about the volunteering experience at:

 Learning Outcomes

Through this course, students will:

  1. Understand fundamental concepts of volunteerism: motivation & benefits, roles & impact, and ethical & good volunteering

  2. Evaluate and apply general skills related to communications and collaboration, including empathy, active listening, conflict management, and self-awareness; and specific skills related to family befriending

  3. Empathise and journey with disadvantaged families towards stability, self-reliance and social mobility

  4. Synthesise reflexive learning to develop character and empathy, fostering personal effectiveness

 Pre-requisites

NIL

 Course Units

4 Units. As this course spreads over up to a year, it will count 2 Units in the first semester and the other 2 Units in the following semester. Thus, students can always register for these courses on top of their usual planned workload of 20 Units or so, without breaching workload cap per semester. 

 Grading, Delivery & Assessment

Grading. Graded. Students will be assigned an In-Progress (IP) grade in the first semester and will receive their final grade upon the completion of the course.

Delivery and Assessment. There are no final exams. Students are required to watch pre-recorded online lectures, attend three face-to-face tutorials, and carry out service work. They will be assessed through submitting a service portfolio.

 Service Work

Commitment Duration. 60-80h of service work spread over one year, comprising of:

  • Regular monthly home visits with 2 ComLink families and ad hoc electronic communications whenever families require

  • Engage in periodic case discussions with Ministry of Social and Family Development-Social Service Office (MSF-SSO) officers

  • Schedule is flexible and is to be determined, or logged, in consultation with families, MSF-SSO officers, and NUS Tutor

  • Trainings conducted by Agency

Roles and Responsibilities. Students will take on the role of befriender, to journey together with assigned families to help keep them in good spirits, and help propel them towards stability, self-reliance, and social mobility. They will do so by:

  • Building rapport

  • Sensing families’ level of motivation, challenges and aspirations

  • Assessing families’ needs, and following-up with community resources and/or ComLink programmes

  • Doing activities with families, such as games, arts and craft etc.

  • Nudging families towards achieving their own aspirations, together with SSO officer, by working on an action plan based on their concerns and motivations

 Service Work Requirements

  • Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident of Singapore

  • Have a good mind and a good heart to support disadvantaged families/individuals

  • Able to speak basic Malay, Tamil, Mandarin or Chinese dialects, or a South East Asian language

Service Work Locations (The list of locations available for AY23/24 Sem 2 can be found here)

Students may book their preferred service work location from the following service areas. Booking will be granted on a first come, first serve basis. 

When students book their preferred cluster, they will be assigned to befriend families within that cluster.
ie. if a student volunteers at the "Bedok / Geylang Serai" cluster, student may be assigned to families at Bedok, Geylang Serai, or both locations.

 Course Structure

First Semester

Week

Event

1 - 2

Service Work Registration

Students will book a preferred service work location via the Dynamic Course Registration (DCR) System in EduRec (https://myedurec.nus.edu.sg). Booking will be granted on a first come, first serve basis. Students will be prompted by email and uNivUS notification upon successful course registration

Tutorial Registration

Students will register for a tutorial group via CourseReg. Refer to NUSMods for details.

1 - 4

Online Lectures

Students will watch pre-recorded online lectures to equip themselves with an understanding of the social landscape they are engaging and relevant skills for service work.

Agency Training 

Students will attend training conducted by MSF/SSO. In the event that students are unable to attend due to valid reasons, students are to approach their NUS tutor for alternatives.

Schedule for agency training:

ComLink Befriending Training 
(Please attend ONE of the following training sessions)

  • Saturday, 17 Feb 2024 9.30am-12.30pm

  • Monday, 26 Feb 2024 2pm-5pm

*The service effort includes preparation time and follow-up work, spread out over up to one year.  Preparation time here includes training by agencies too.

Tutorials 1 & 2

Students will attend face-to-face tutorials in Weeks 3 and 4 on campus. Each tutorial is 2h in duration.

The finalised allocation of service work locations will be announced.

5 - 13

Service Work (Befriending sessions)

Students will visit their assigned families for befriending sessions. NUS tutors will conduct an on-site check in with students within their first four sessions.

Submission of Reflection

Students will submit a reflection paper on their service experience.

Second Semester

Week

Event

1-9

Service Work (Befriending sessions)

Students will continue with their befriending sessions, which will extend into the Special Terms.

10-12

Tutorial 3

Students will attend a final tutorial on campus to share and reflect on their experiences, and wrap up the course.

13

Submission of Service Portfolio

Students will submit their service portfolio.

Please click here for frequently asked questions.

For further enquiries, please contact the GEN2070 team:

Course Lead

Ms Pamela Yeh (pvopyqm@nus.edu.sg) 

Course Tutor

Ms Carrie Ho (carrie.h@nus.edu.sg)

See you in ComLink Befrienders!

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