Associate Professor Ng Wee Tong has spent most of his career working in Occupational Medicine, first in the Republic of Singapore Air Force and then in the commercial sector. He is also a specialist in Aviation Medicine, which was a core requirement during his time in the military.
What have you been working on since you joined the School in January?
A key part of my role at the School is to provide translational expertise and generate evidence for policy formulation related to workplace safety and occupational health and well-being. For example, I was recently presenting to key stakeholders in the Bintan and Batam industrial parks to support the implementation of COVID-19 measures in the workplace vis-a-vis Singapore.
Another recent piece of work I was involved in was the drafting of a paper on migrant worker dormitory design in relation to infection prevention and control. This involved scanning the literature for evidence on outbreaks in high-density population settings and the impact of the setting on transmission of infections (e.g., number of people per room, having a shared bathroom or shared kitchen, and so on).
In addition, I also lead the Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes at the school. Over the last two years, I completed a Masters in Adult Learning and I am now a staunch advocate for lifelong learning! On this front, we work closely with the NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE) to deliver CET courses to the public and special interest groups.
What are your thoughts on faculty development in education and the impact of COVID-19?
I believe that developing teaching skills should be ongoing. It is interesting that our most qualified educationalists teach children and yet within higher education there can be the assumption that formal education qualifications are less relevant.
When I started the Masters course, I realised that my teaching style was based on my personal experiences of ‘good’ teachers, and so was somewhat dated to that decade in time! Over time, I opened up my perspective to new ways and styles of teaching and I hope to channel my enthusiasm for teaching in my role at the school.
Our current focus is the shift to online learning or blended learning because of the COVID-19 restrictions. As the teacher develops confidence in the use of online technologies, they are better able to integrate multiple tools to create active learning experiences.
If you are new to online teaching, starting with replicating the classroom experience can be an easy first step. Subsequently, build up your experience and learn from others in using multiple platforms to support more interactive experiences for the learner.
What are your thoughts on workplace safety during the pandemic?
Singapore had the advantage of having a ‘Pandemic Playbook’ to tap on when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a threat. Our experience with SARS and H1N1 developed an awareness of the key issues to consider at the outset.
This organisational memory from previous pandemic threats is a valuable go-to tool, alongside learning from people who had key roles at the time. For example, having the leadership focus and logistical support in place at an early point, and the assurance of stockpiles of personal protective equipment.
During my time in the commercial sector, there was regular gaming of pandemic scenarios for companies, although there’s only so much an individual sector can prepare for when much of the impact comes from the country’s responses. In the case of aviation in the COVID-19 pandemic, airports are open and planes can fly, but the issue is border control, which the industry has limited influence over.
In terms of the workplace, it is likely that measures will need to be maintained for the foreseeable future. Borders will eventually be reopened further and this carries with it the increased risk of another spike in cases. The Singaporean population is at an advantage as they have become used to the measures and there is an acceptance of mask-wearing for the good of the whole population. Hopefully, any future clusters can be contained due to the ongoing vigilance of the whole population.
As working from home is broadly continuing, one area that we should work to develop further is the connections between people. Reaching out beyond our own individual teams so that we can find synergies to our work and develop our thoughts and creativity, be it research or teaching. Before COVID-19, this could be a challenge but even more so now. It is something we should consider actively addressing.
Tell us something surprising about yourself.
In each of my previous workplaces I have always said I am eternally 28 years old… because I remain a 28-year-old geek at heart. I enjoy table-top board games and card games, such as Magic: The Gathering, the great grandfather of collectible card games.