ITE College East Students’ Winning Design Aims to Improve the Lives of Elderly and Disabled

SINGAPORE: Students from around the world gathered at ITE College East on Friday (Aug 22) to showcase projects aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities and the elderly.

The 7th Student Design Challenge, hosted by the International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology, saw 32 teams from countries including Singapore, Korea and Australia taking part.

Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing and Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn were the Guests-of-Honour.

There were two categories – technology and design – with three winners for each category. One of the winning entries in the technology category is an automated navigation system for wheelchair users. Among the winning designs was a cup for people who have difficulty drinking normally.

Mr Muhammad Adli B Nazli, team leader of Ez-Drink, revealed the inspiration behind the cup: “My friend and I went to the hospital to visit a friend of ours. There was a patient next to his bed that needed help because he can’t drink from a normal cup. A nurse passed him a straw but he couldn’t suck from the straw, so we saw a real need for this problem. Hence we came up with this idea.”

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/students-from-around-the/1325806.html