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VIAC

Starting your journey in Service Learning (SL)?

Don't worry! Here is a step-by-step guide to help you along the way!!

Step 2 - Attend SL Workshop!

At least 1 OT member must attend an SL Workshop conducted by CIP Council (CIPC). It is highly encouraged for the whole group to attend. Workshops are usually conducted every fortnight (exact dates will be posted on iEMB).

​If you are mentored under CIPC:

  • Submit your proposal drafts to your attached Student Mentor. He / She will work with your team, provide comments on the proposals, and also act as your group's liaison with the teacher-mentor. After the vetting by the Student Mentor, he/she will help to submit the proposal to the Teacher-Mentor for further vetting.

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If you are not mentored under CIPC:

  • Submit your proposal drafts to your Teacher-Mentor. He / She will work with your team, and provide comments on the proposals. After the vetting by the Teacher-Mentor, your group can submit Google Form B to be vetted by CIPC, who will after then help you submit your proposal to the VIA Unit to be approved. 

 

While waiting for the VIA Unit to approve your SL proposal, the team leader is to initiate the project on ISP.

  1. To upload to ISP: Student Services > CIP & Service Learning > My CIP Activities > Initiate New Activity. 

  2. Upload the approved SL proposal and RAMS form in PDF, as well as the signed consent forms of OT members consolidated into 1 PDF.

  3. Fill in Google Form B to indicate the ready-to-start status.

Step 5 - Submit your Proposal!

Step 3 - Finding Teacher Mentor!

Find your own Mentor:

  1. You can approach any teacher to be your mentor and they will decide if they are available to mentor your team. It is encouraged to engage your subject teacher as a teacher mentor so that he/she can have a more comprehensive understanding of you outside of the subject. This may be helpful in subsequent testimonial or reference writing. 

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Find CIPC as your Mentor:

  1. Email us at cip_council@student.hci.edu.sg.

  2. You will be assigned a student-mentor along with a teacher-mentor. If you would like to request a specific CIP Councillor as your mentor, do email us and inform us of your project title and who the CIP Councillor is. 

  3. Your student-mentor will aid you in the following areas​​​​
    - Vetting of SL proposals 
    - Facilitating interaction with the VIA Unit 
    - Clarifying any queries and guiding you in your SL journey ​​​

Step 6 - RAMS Form

This is only required in SL projects when there are activities classified as “High Risks”, that is when the Risk Matrix Score > 12 or severity level ≥ 3].

  1. Should your activities pose any safety risks to volunteers or your beneficiary, do consult your Student-Mentor and Teacher-Mentor to identify the steps to reduce the risks.

  2. Once your activity has been approved by them, complete the RAMS form.

  3. Templates for RAMS only serve as references, it should be modified to suit your activities.

  4. RAMS form should be customised from the template and aptly describe the authentic features of your SL activities.

Step 7 - Approval

  1. Your project should be approved in about 5 working days after you have submitted Google Form B. This will be reflected by the ISP status: Approved.

  2. The team leader can now add the OT members’ names on ISP. Your teacher mentor will approve them on ISP.

    •  ISP > CIP and Service Learning > My CIP Activities > My Approved Activities > scroll to the bottom > Add Students to CIP Activity > Add > Search > Add > Role > Organising Team Member > Add students.

  3. After approval, your team can now start executing the project! 

  4. Moving ahead, all volunteers in your SL must complete the consent forms and submit them on ISP in 1 PDF document. 

Step 4 - Work on Proposal!

  1. Before embarking on the project, your group should have contacted your beneficiary to conduct Needs Analysis. This will help your group to come up with more relevant ideas to cater to their demands.

  2. If the organisation already has existing programmes, think how to value-add.

  3. If your project is passed down from your seniors, you still need to write a new proposal to be approved by CIPC. Specifics depend on whether your project is CIPC-mentored or Non-CIPC-mentored. You must not directly copy your proposal from the previous batch and should make well-thought. improvements to the proposal for approval. Any activity carried out before (even the ones already approved for your seniors) the proposal is approved will not be recognised and endorsed for CIP hours. 

Step 1 - Form your Group!

Form a group comprising a maximum of 5 students to be in your Organising Team (OT). Each student should be assigned a role depending on the nature of your SL project (e.g. Group Leader, Publicity, External Communications, Internal Communications, Logistics).

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