Where Compassion Meets Capability

In Singapore, an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 persons live with intellectual disabilities, yet fewer than 10% of working age persons with intellectual disabilities (PWID) are in open employment.⁸ Many rely on organisations like MINDS, which supports more than 9,000 clients through a network of 30 centres across the island, providing essential pathways for skills training, employment, and social participation.⁹ 

This landscape highlights the expanding opportunities to build both compassion and capability, inspiring stronger community partnerships and ongoing innovation across Singapore’s social sector. Over several project cycles, SMU-X students from the Schools of Computing and Information Systems, Economics, and Business have partnered with MINDS, one of Singapore’s largest social service organisations supporting PWIDs. 

Through a network of schools, employment development centres, and community-based services, MINDS empowers its clients with the skills, support, and opportunities to live independently, contribute meaningfully, and be included in society. 

What began as a single Internet of Things (IoT) experiment has since grown into an interdisciplinary journey in inclusive innovation across various disciplines. 

“We face many significant challenges, but lacked the manpower and expertise to address all of them on our own,” said Julia Ng, Manager of Befriending and Respite Services at MINDS. “The SMU-X students came in with empathy, strong ideas, and the willingness to understand what was truly needed. They gave us grounded, practical, and thoughtfully designed solutions we could use for the people we serve.”

It’s more than building something; it’s about understanding what people truly need.

－Pius Lee

One such project was Potty Pal, developed through the SMU-X course Foundations of Cyber-Physical Systems. It was an Arduino-powered toilet assistance system that used motion and sound sensors to alert training officers (TOs) only when clients needed help. The goal: reduce disruptions while preserving dignity. “Toileting used to take up a lot of our TO’s time, and caused their teaching duties to be compromised,” Julia explained. “The students helped us turn this pain point into a thoughtful, tech-enabled solution.” 

Another team created Recollie, a gamified task-reminder app featuring a virtual pet to encourage daily independence. “We wanted to build something engaging, something that PWIDs would genuinely enjoy using,” shared Jenna Cheo, one of the student developers. The project was piloted with real users, who responded with smiles and affection. “We even created a plush toy of Collie and gave it to Anna, our user,” another student added. “It felt real. It meant something.” 

At the MINDS Community Hub (Yishun), SMU Economics students reading the SMU-X course Economic Development in Asia took on a different challenge: how do you quantify the value of social good? Their project built a Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework to demonstrate how every dollar invested in Community Hub (Yishun) yielded measurable benefits, including increased client independence and reduced caregiver stress. The findings were shared with senior leadership at MINDS and helped secure approval for new job roles, such as programme developers and Transition Support Officers. 

In a separate SMU-X course Design Thinking and Innovation led by adjunct faculty Wilson Teng from the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, students tackled the issue of volunteer retention. The solution? A colour-coded name tag system that discreetly indicated roles and improved interaction at events. “Sometimes the simplest tools make the biggest difference,” Julia reflected. “We would never have thought of it ourselves. The students did.” 

Across these diverse projects, one thread held strong: a deep commitment to seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. Lecturer Pius Lee from the SMU School of Computing and Information Systems, who supervised several computing projects, noted, “It’s more than building something; it’s about understanding what people truly need.” Associate Professor Madhav Aney from the SMU School of Economics, who mentored the SROI team, added, “It was rewarding to see students apply economics for purpose, translating theory into something truly meaningful.”

The students, too, walked away transformed. “Working with MINDS taught me that good design is about empathy,” shared student Liu Yue, who worked on the name tag system. “Because I have a family member with an intellectual disability, this project hit close to home. It reminded me why this work matters.” 

From IoT prototypes to data models, each SMU-X initiative left a mark. But for Julia, the most powerful impact was less tangible. “Some of the students came back to volunteer. That’s impact beyond the project. That’s advocacy.”