EDUCATION THROUGH VIRTUAL BATTLES

It's cool to be a student these days. You get to handle the SAR 21 rifle and engage in war-fighting video-gaming activities, all as part of National Education to boot.

For more than 1,200 students from secondary schools, institutes of technical education, junior colleges and polytechnics, this has been their experience for the past few months as they got a taste of army life - through the inaugural National Education Gaming Championship (NEGC).

Organised by Nexus, the central coordinating agency for National Education, with the support of the Ministry of Education (MOE), this inter-school digital gaming competition allowed youths and the public to experience war-fighting through a video game called Virtual Battlespace 2 (VBS2).

The NEGC began in July this year when 64 teams from 38 schools signed up to compete on the VBS2, a PC-based virtual simulation training software used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to train its soldiers. And now, the top 32 teams are competing in the finals from 24 to 27 Nov, at the D'Marquee of Downtown East.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean said: "National Education is integral to our efforts to build a strong sense of community and national identity."

Mr Teo said: "NEGC is MINDEF's first foray into the area of gaming, and it marks a new way to engage young Singaporeans." He also noted the success of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the SAF in exploring innovative ways to reach out to young Singaporeans, such as through social media and PIONEER magazine on the iPad.

He added that the NEGC is also a great way for young Singaporeans to find out more about the 3rd Generation SAF and its capabilities.

Deputy Director of Nexus Senior Lieutenant-colonel (SLTC) Ong Kheng Hoe explained that the agency is constantly on the lookout for new and creative ways to engage youths to convey messages in an educational and entertaining manner.

SLTC Ong explained: "While engaging in the VBS2, students get to find out what military operations are really like through communication, teamwork and role-play."

He added that teams which did well in the competition were those which "developed strategy, communicated well and executed their strategies well".

Tan Jee Wang, one of the players representing Singapore Polytechnic in the finals, felt that the game was quite challenging as his team had to come up with different strategies to tackle the different attack and defence scenarios.

Other than the opportunity to better understand the SAF's weapons through the game, the 18-year-old added that he also learnt how to navigate using the compass, coordinates and maps.

Taking part in the NEGC has also changed his perspective of the importance of teamwork.

"I used to imagine National Service will be a very tough two-year experience. However, now, I believe it won't be as bad as long as we go through it as a team and explore strategies together," Jee Wang said.

Opened to the public, the NEGC will not only allow visitors watch the teams competing, but also give them the opportunity to touch and feel the actual military weapons featured in the VBS2.

The grand final will take place on 27 Nov, and the champion team will walk away with $3,000, a challenge trophy, a school trophy as well as individual medals.

For more information, check out the official NEGC website and the NEGC Facebook page.