I salute the initiative by Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to launch its 42 SG programme in collaboration with Ecole 42 in Paris, a pioneering school in peer-to-peer pedagogy (No academic prerequisites, no fees for SUTD’s new ICT course, May 28).

This pedagogy ^_ where students gain skills through project-based learning and there are no academic prerequisites, teachers or structured lessons ^_ is a breath of fresh air in our education landscape.

It is long overdue in our increasingly Vuca (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) world and is a more realistic, needed exercise in adult learning, compared to courses relying on tutor instruction.

I must add, however, that this ”problem-based” and “student-driven” pedagogy is not new. Temasek Polytechnic attempted it. It even won the coveted Enterprise Challenge Shield in 2003 for initiating this model of learning, and subsequently set up the now-defunct Temasek Centre for PBL. Also, Republic Polytechnic was specifically designed to incorporate problem-based learning (PBL) into its pedagogical DNA.

I  hope that there is more substance and commitment to this sound pedagogy than an initial “flash in the pan” trial. To see it to fruition takes a long journey. A lot of operational nuts-and-bolts support structure needs to be in place. I also hope this will not be another white elephant. Too much is at stake for both SUTD and, ultimately, the pioneer batch of “guinea pig” students.

Philip Siow