SIT deepened its longstanding partnership with the Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) and has been appointed as one of the key partners for the newly launched Centre for Healthcare Innovation Sustainability Academy (CHI SA). This focus on collaboration extended to the inaugural CHI x SIT Healthcare Sustainability Innovation Challenge, showcasing the power of diverse perspectives uniting to innovate green solutions.
 

If the healthcare sector were a country, it would rank globally as the fifth-largest carbon emitter. The scale of the problem is evident in everyday procedures: a single cataract surgery produces 3kg of waste. Tan Tock Seng Hospital's (TTSH) specialist centre in Ang Mo Kio performs 2,400 such surgeries annually, which amounts to 7,200kg of waste from this procedure alone.

This was just one of the problem statements addressed at the inaugural CHI x SIT Healthcare Sustainability Innovation Challenge. Held on 4 and 5 July during the annual CHI INNOVATE 2024 conference, the challenge brought together healthcare professionals from across Singapore’s public healthcare clusters in a high-energy pitching session. 

Together with SIT faculty, who gave expert coaching and mentoring pointers to the teams over two months, the Challenge saw nine teams present innovative and sustainable solutions. The prize eyed by all teams were $3,000 cash and the opportunity to develop their ideas into viable solutions at the CHI Sustainability Academy. 
 
Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Healthcare

Team Project to Reduce the Impact of Medication wastage on Environment in Community Care (PRIME)​ Matching Donors with Recipients to Reduce Medication wastage (MedMatch) PRIME_MedMatch, a collaboration between several healthcare institutions, aims to match medication donors with recipients significantly reducing unused medication that would otherwise be trashed. (Photo: NHG)

Team Algorithm-driven Optimisation for Sustainable Cytotoxic Drug Compounding in Healthcare is looking to perfect the selection of drugs for robotic compounding with the aim of zero production waste with an AI-driven SMART calculator. (Photo: NHG)  

Team Weaving Challenges into Sustainable Uniforms rethinks the materials used to make uniforms, developing a 100% recyclable PET uniform prototype. (Photo: NHG)

Healing Hands, Environmental Stewards

This challenge is a result of a longstanding partnership between SIT and CHI since 2016. On the sidelines of the conference, an MOU was signed to renew SIT’s collaboration with CHI and the National Healthcare Group. This collaboration has fostered applied learning and healthcare innovation through initiatives like the Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP) and various applied research projects, such as helping patients with severe spinal cord injuries walk again.

Since 2016, SIT and CHI have partnered to foster applied learning and healthcare innovation. At the CHI INNOVATE 2024 conference, an MOU was signed to renew our collaboration with CHI and the National Healthcare Group.
 

Among the new initiatives under the renewed partnership is the appointment of SIT as one of the partners of the newly launched CHI Sustainability Academy (CHI SA), which will serve as a hub for the healthcare community to advance sustainable healthcare practices. It also aims to empower healthcare professionals to acquire sustainability skills to implement sustainable practices in their daily work and be effective agents of change in the healthcare sector. These could include areas like waste reduction, energy conservation, and water management.

A/Prof Wong Hon Tym, Clinical Director at the Centre for Healthcare Innovation, who leads CHI SA, shared that having strategic partners who share the same vision is important in tackling a complex challenge like sustainability. "This strong partnership with SIT will promote a more robust healthcare system through collaborative problem-solving, leveraging our combined strengths to address sustainability in healthcare."

As a key partner of CHI SA, SIT will co-develop and co-deliver curriculum courses, providing expert coaches in crucial areas such as energy, built environment, material use, ICT, and sustainability measurements. Both organisations will also work together on joint innovation projects. The partnership builds on the strong foundation and momentum that has been established over the years.

A/Prof Ethan Chong, Head of Sustainability (Education & Research) at SIT, also highlighted the importance of taking a multidisciplinary approach to address complex sustainability issues. 

“The projects are bold and have the potential to make a difference in the healthcare sector, improving patient care while minimising environmental impact. It was wonderful to see SIT colleagues from various academic clusters provide expert coaching and practical insights for implementation. This experience provides invaluable data points for our faculty on the industry's sustainability issues, which they can contextualise as teaching material for our students.”

SIT faculty will provide expert input to CHI projects, as well as co-develop and co-deliver courses at CHI SA. (Photo: A/Prof Ethan Chong)
 

This challenge is supported by the National Youth Council and MSD (Pharma) Singapore.