Skip to main content
Yuying Secondary School

Applied Learning Programme

Discover how the Applied Learning Programme uses Design Thinking to help students innovate and solve real-world problems.

Last updated 10 July 2026

Applied Learning Programme

Fostering Innovation through Design Thinking

ALP Outcomes

  1. Students apply knowledge learnt across subject disciplines to innovate and create value

  2. Students are exposed to application of critical and inventive thinking through authentic experiences

  3. Students apply Design Thinking principles to solve problems

  4. Students understand innovation and entrepreneurship as value creation

Five colored hexagons show design thinking steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test, with diagrams for iterative and divergent thinking.
Slide titled 2024 Sec 1 Eco-Innovators showing a two-semester Design Thinking programme plan with SIT and Mr Bean logos.
A 2024 program timeline for Sec 2 students on Caring for the Elderly, split into two semesters with design thinking steps.

Partnership with Relevant Industries

  • Food and Beverage, Product Design, Social Enterprise

Students participate in a Granola Challenge collaboration with Mr Bean Singapore, shown cooking and posing in a kitchen.

ALP Framework

Four nested circles labeled Dream, Innovate, Application, and Discovery from innermost to outermost.

1.    Discovery – Ideate and discover possibilities

2.    Application – Apply Design Thinking to meet real needs and solve problems

3.    Innovate – Innovate and embark on innovation projects

4.    Dream – Learn from local entrepreneurs who pursue their dreams and to define their own dream to improve people’s lives

Stages of Development

Stage 1: Ideate

Students learn about concepts such as product design and value creation. They apply brainstorming and ideation techniques to innovate.

Stage 2: Apply Design Thinking

Students apply Design Thinking Process (DT), which consists of these steps:  Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test . Opportunities are provided for students to gather information from users and analyse their needs. Students take the extra step in consulting  (Empathise) and confirming with users what those needs are  (Define). Then they proceed to brainstorm and apply ideation techniques to come up with possible solutions  (Ideate). They do a prototype  (Prototype) and check with users if this prototype is able to meet their identified needs. After users have experience with the product or service, their feedback is sought  (Test).

Stage 3: Innovation

Students embark on innovation projects to apply what they have learnt through Design Thinking. These are carried out through school projects and external competitions.

Stage 4: Dream

Students connect design innovation with entrepreneurship. They learn from local entrepreneurs how a business is grown from the idea of value creation and how it benefits groups of people in our community. These are carried out through talks, learning journeys and short attachments or authentic learning experiences. Students are encouraged to reflect on their ALP journey and start looking for problems to solve and where to contribute. They make their own choices and follow their interests and passions, using their strengths and applying Design Thinking to create value.

A two-tier pyramid showing Tier 1 broad base in yellow for all students and Tier 2 interest-based in blue at top.
Table showing Tier 1 and 2 ALP themes including sustainability, aging population, product innovation, food innovation, and retail innovation.

Tier 1 Programmes (for every student)

Sec 1: Food Design Challenge; exploring food flavours, packaging or marketing strategies from given design challenge

Three masked schoolgirls in uniforms gather around a laptop at a desk in a busy classroom.

Empathy map for target user

Five male students wearing face masks and matching uniforms sit at desks with laptops in a classroom.

Enjoying healthy snack as an inspiration of existing product

Students wearing masks sit at desks in a classroom, using laptops displaying a colorful dial chart.

Group learning

Sec 2: PW-ViA; exploring product/service for the elderly (in collaboration with school’s LLP programme)

Five masked students in school uniforms gather around a desk, looking at papers and a phone in a classroom.

Group discussion

Four masked students in school uniforms sit around a desk, working together on papers and a notebook.

Group discussion

Thumbnail for YouTube video player

Learn a new skill to teach elderly

Sec 3: Innovation and Entreprise Design Challenge; Brainstorm ideas to resolve real-life I&E challenges

Students in white and red uniforms sit at desks facing a teacher presenting slides on a projected screen.

Learning design thinking in depth

Two masked students stand beside a large projected screen showing an empathy map presentation in a classroom.

Presenting of their ideas

Three masked students in school uniforms sit in a circle during a classroom activity, with a Maths 360 textbook visible.

Discussion and recording of key points

Tier 2 Programmes (for selected group of students)

Design and Entrepreneurship Club

A laughing boy in a classroom wears a cardboard prosthetic leg strapped to his knee, standing near a whiteboard.

Empathy exercise

Grow-Inc Club

Two masked students stand near shelves of labeled seedling trays in a school greenhouse.
Masked students in uniform inspect seedlings on greenhouse shelves and plant in soil trays outdoors.
Two masked students present a pie chart on household water usage, showing shower at 29% as the largest share.

Virtual presentation

A video call screenshot showing 17 participants in a grid layout with name labels visible below each tile.

Presenting to panel of judges

Virtual award ceremony for North East G!nnovation Challenge 2021, announcing Yuying Secondary School Team 1 as Champion.

Winning the challenge!

Sec 2 Food Design Challenge

Two masked boys wearing aprons whisk batter in a steel bowl during a cooking class.

Creating their own unique product

Six baked scones topped with sunflower seeds, nuts, and blueberries on a parchment-lined metal baking tray.

Healthy granola cookie!