From puppet-making to automating a Telegram bot, this year's senior residents are turning passion into lasting changes.

When Andre Lean (Year 4) looks back at his time in RC4, he thinks about the late-night suppers and spontaneous movie sessions, where he built lasting friendships. But he also remembers stepping into leadership roles without clear guidance, figuring things out as he went along. Now in his final year, he's working with his team (Aditya Jayaraj, Chong Yin Shan Charlene, Lean Ze She Andre, Mihir Sinha) to change that experience for future student leaders. "Important expectations and processes are rarely documented," Andre said. "Most leaders have to rely on informal advice from their predecessors." His senior project aims to tackle that by creating structured materials that outline responsibilities and timelines for key RC4 roles.

Andre is one of over 40 senior students participating in RC4’s first ever mandatory Senior Project course this academic year.

RC4 Song Production’s team (From left to right: Sherwin, Hannah, Cameron, Professor Hui-Chen, Stanley)

The new RC4 course - UTC3700: Senior Project

As part of the University Town College Programme, RC4 guarantees 2 years of residence for all students. Those who wish to stay longer can apply through the Senior Retention Exercise, which evaluates their contributions to the college. Traditionally, seniors have been giving back in their own ways: helping with events, taking on leadership roles, or even initiating their own pet projects. Now, the new Senior Project course (UTC3700) formalises that contribution. Every senior must either initiate a project under UTC3700, or take on alternative courses such as the “Projects in Systems” course (UTC2704), “Ideas to Pitches: Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship” course (UTC2734), or even serving as a teaching assistant through the Undergraduate Teaching Opportunity Programme (UTOP). The flexibility to choose any project of impact under UTC3700 has led to a diverse spread of initiatives across sustainability, technology, arts, and even leadership.

Translating passion into purpose

For Cavan Teo (Year 4) and his team (Tan Gian Sen, Raihan Rizqullah, Kwoh Jin Yuan, Min Guan Lin, Teo Cavan), their project was a natural fit. As computing and data science students with experience both as Executive Committee (EXCO) members and active participants of RC4 interest groups, they noticed a gap in the system: attendance-taking was tedious. "We figured to do a tech project so that we can apply the skills we learnt in our coursework into real life," Cavan said. Playing to their strengths, they are creating the RC4ttendance Bot, a one-stop Telegram bot for attendance tracking for RC4 Interest Groups.

Prototype of RC4ttendance bot by Cavan’s team

Extending on improving internal workflows of the Residential College, Patrick Terrence Yu (Year 3) and Scormon Ho's (Year 3) team (Kara Rei De Lange, Patrick Terrence Yu, Scormon Ho Rui Sheng, Zhu Zijiao) is tackling a systemic challenge: how to measure the real impact of student-led initiatives. "RC4 students initiate many community projects each year," Patrick said. "Currently, success is often judged anecdotally." Their impact evaluation framework uses measurable outcomes to help project teams understand their true difference.

"We learnt that we can't measure impact just by looking at numbers," Scormon added. "We have to observe deeper changes in behaviors within the community."

Impact Evaluation Framework team (Scormon, Patrick, Kara, Zijiao) joining Draco House’s self-initiated VIA event.

Sharmila Selvam's (Year 4) team (Sanjay Muthukumaran, Qing Heng, Singh Manya, Sharmila Selvam, Shashamin Chokjaroenwathanakul) took a different approach. With backgrounds in entrepreneurship, they wanted to encourage more residents to try building something of their own. Their solution? Hackathon-style vibe coding workshops that show how accessible prototyping can be. "Specifically, participants can try vibe coding their own ideas to see how easy it is," Sharmila explained.

The projects extend far beyond individual interests. Many teams are spearheading sustainability-focused initiatives, spanning from waste management to green spaces.

Teo Zhen Jie's (Year 3) team (Lee Sean Joe, Sunny Wu Yihang, Teo Zhen Jie, Tok Yi Ying Queena, Vanessa Lim Dian Qin, Yu Yihan Allexis) is reimagining how RC4 approaches recycling. They kicked off their project with a design challenge this semester, inviting residents to create recycling bin designs for their house levels. "Our project aims to increase recycling rate in RC4 by making recycling more convenient and fun," Zhen Jie said. Next semester, houses will compete to see who recycles the most, with prizes for the winners.

Cecillia Parman's (Year 4) team (Nayana Mahesh, Tan Ying Xun Megan, Sun Yufei, Cecilia Parman, Ha Quang Anh) is cultivating something different - literally. Their gardening project addresses a gap in RC4's culture. While the college has explored vertical farming and growth bags, these efforts have remained underutilized. The team plans to carve out a gardening space at Basement 1 of RC4 with growth bags for ornamental plants and edible vegetables. The larger vision? Establishing a gardening pod where residents can collaborate through shared responsibility and interest, cultivating gardening as a community practice.

Taking the teaching path

Not all seniors chose project-based work. Lex Lee (Year 3) signed up as a UTOP teaching assistant for UTC2704: Mastering Causal Inference, a course that challenges the assumptions behind Systems Thinking. The TA role varies by course, but for Lex, it meant sourcing community partners, evaluating course materials, and preparing lessons on research skills. "I meet with Prof Cindy approximately once a week for these matters," Lex said. The experience has given Lex a fresh perspective on RC4's curriculum.

"I was fully ready to talk to Prof Naviyn about helping out with (the course UTC2704) Projects in Systems in some way for the SR Project - which I'm still doing, but, for the love of the game,” Lex said, "but I'm glad that UTOP is acknowledged here as a contribution back to the college."

Building a lasting impact

Many seniors see their projects as just the beginning. Scormon's team plans to train future project leaders in using their evaluation framework. Andre wants his leadership materials to reduce confusion for incoming committee members. Cecilia’s team envisions a community of gardeners in RC4 to continue their legacy in transforming spaces in RC4.

Cavan's reflection captures what many seniors feel, "As someone who greatly benefitted from my time here in so many aspects, I definitely felt the desire to contribute back to the RC to continue shaping the positive cultures and experiences here so that future residents will feel the same sense of wonder."

The Senior Project course has actualised the roles of RC4’s more experienced residents. They are no longer just staying longer. They are also building the foundation for everyone who comes after them.

Puppet Making team (Amanda, Charleston, Yue Tong), after completing their puppet showcase at RC4 Slumber Party.

Overview of Senior Projects: