We are excited to share that Gametize have started our 4th collaboration with Singapore Management University (SMU-X Program) on a 12 weeks long “hackathon” to combat drug abuse using Gametize’s gamification solution primarily. The key focus will be on youths for prevention, and rehabilitating individuals. Previously, we have worked with more than 250 students to promote sustainability and tackled close-to-heart issues affecting aging population and their caregivers, such as dementia, social isolation, volunteerism.  While the students are graded as part of the Leadership and Teambuilding Course, they are also encouraged to continue on with the projects, which will be “open-sourced” to any non-profit organizations willing to adopt them.

Did you know the mean age of people in SG abusing substances is 15.9? According to a Feb 24 2024 In Focus article on CNA, titled “Why is there a rise in new young drug abusers in Singapore?”, there has been a marked increase in new drug abusers under the age of 30 – an increase of 20% was reported by CNB. Among those arrested in 2023, the youngest abuser was just aged 14. More recently, three teenage girls were arrested for consuming crystal meth or ice, with two of them just 13 years of age.

The obvious harm to anyone abusing such drugs include damage to brain structure and function, with outcomes much worse for developing teens. It can also be said that the younger one starts, the more likely it is going to be a more severe form of abuse, and the risk of relapse is greater, according to Dr Mythily Subramaniam, assistant chairman of the medical board (research) at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

Demo Day Details:
Our Demo Day will happen on 6th November 2024, 12pm to 3pm, focusing on these 2 topics of Prevention Strategies, and Health Impacts and Rehabilitation. There are a total of 6 teams, with 3 tackling each topic. Each team will present a gamified prototype experience powered by Gametize.com as they explore engaging and educational campaigns addressing challenges of drug abuse awareness, treatment options, recovery programs and community/family support, etc. They are also encouraged to be creative in their methods and to integrate other relevant digital solutions, such as ChatGPT. The students are actively mentored by a panel of industry experts; the mentors have volunteered a total of 4-5 hours of their time for the cause. We really appreciate their time, dedication, and their support for this program. Check out our superheroes at https://app.gametize.com/topic/72214 featuring Dr. Gabriel Ong, Ahmad Firdaus Daud, Alexis Fosler, Arjay Gavankar, Iman Ismail, Grace Wong, Lovelynne Chong, Douglas Peris, Pratima Krishnan and Nanz Lim Nanli.

About SMU-X LTB and Collaboration with Gametize:
SMU-X LTB is a program at SMU Lee Kong Chian Business School to facilitate the building of Leadership and Team-building skills whilst accomplishing a 12-week long project. Gametize has been an industry partner for 3 runs collaborating with Dr Rani Tan. Previously, the teams have been given the topic of Sustainability and Ageing Population where they will design gamified experiences with engaging content to address a particular issues – all powered by Gametize’s gamification and community solution.

You may refer to the following articles on past projects:
https://corp.gametize.com/smu-x-ltb-2024-gametize-hackathon/
https://corp.gametize.com/2023/04/17/post-sustainability-series-1/
https://corp.gametize.com/2023/11/20/post-sustainability-series-2/

About Gametize:
Gametize (gametize.com) is the world’s simplest enterprise-grade gamification platform for community engagement and advocacy. Clients use Gametize to motivate target behaviours for various purposes, such as in employees training/performance management, or consumer marketing/sales advocacy. The highly customizable and versatile solution is available on both cloud and on-premises.

The Briefing Deck for Students can be accessed below: https://bit.ly/SMULTBAUG24slides