An act of service through music
By the Communications and Project Fuxi teams
15 November 2022
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The overarching goal of Project Fuxi is to improve the wellbeing of the elderly through the power of music in awakening memories. Project Fuxi engaged UWCSEA’s community network and student-led project groups to develop a user-friendly and cost-effective way for persons with dementia to enjoy and benefit from music therapy. Research shows that music awakens parts of the brain in persons with dementia and improves their quality of life. For many years, East Campus students have worked with partners at Apex Harmony Lodge on music therapy, and Project Fuxi is an extension of the many years of collaboration and learning.
Led by Eivind Lodemel, Head of High School Music on East Campus, the project involves students with diverse backgrounds and abilities coming together for a good cause. In this story, get to know three of the students involved in Project Fuxi – Hanming, Kartik and Thompson – and their inspiration, skills and dreams for the outcome of the project.
A fusion of ideas and peopleHanming calls Project Fuxi “a sprouting sapling” because “it draws from its many roots, each tapping into the potential of students from a different part of school, from service and music to coding and data analysis. These roots combine to form the stem of Project Fuxi, an interdisciplinary fusion of ideas and people.” Project Fuxi combines coding, AI (matching biographical information with musical heritage), tracking EEG brain activity data, and the creation of links to existing music libraries to create cloud-based software on an open-source platform that anyone can use. So far, students have worked with Spotify and EMOTIV (a company that makes EEG headsets) to kickstart this project.
Hanming supports data analysis efforts and brings his experience as a member of Project Zero, an incubator for student ideas that aims to produce change within the local community. Kartik contributes his service learning experience working with the elderly residents of UWCSEA’s service partner, Apex Harmony Lodge, over the past three years. Thompson, a member of East Campus’ Coding for Good student group, is a founding member of Project Fuxi. He leverages on his coding background to contribute to the project development.
Do you think of yourself as an innovator? scientist? designer?
If there’s one word that holistically captures who I am, it’s “entrepreneur”. After having found an idea, we slowly but surely bring it to reality by pitching it to key stakeholders, forming teams, combining resources, and gathering support. Along this process, we constantly switch between different roles.
– Hanming Ye '24
I definitely think of myself as an innovator as I pride myself on identifying problems and taking the initiative to find solutions for them.
– Thompson Tong '23
I would describe myself and my fellow peers as researchers within the context of this project. It is our job to collect primary data both through the questionnaire design and to test the product in all its stages to ensure its optimisation.
– Kartik Raghunathan '23
Student involvement from day one
Thompson fondly remembers the moment Mr. Lodemel first presented Project Fuxi to the Coding For Good student team, giving them the opportunity to present their unique ideas for finding suitable songs for dementia patients. The team got together over a Hackathon-style weekend to create a prototype and get the groundwork done for Project Fuxi. Along with guidance from staff and industry mentors, the students were given the opportunity to think outside the box, ideate and come up with unique and creative solutions for data collection. “One of the exciting moments that impressed me during the weekend was how students took initiative to lead discussions to tackle problems like optimising the structure of the database, identifying the needs of the front end, and finding a suitable solution for the recommendation algorithm.”
Hanming adds that when Mr. Lodemel first presented the EEG aspect of Project Fuxi, it showed him that his skills in STEM can be brought to use. “It filled me with hope and ambition to think that we, as students, have the keys to unlock such impactful changes, and put smiles on others' faces. In fact, having been presented with the differences my toolbox of skills can make, I feel a sense of duty to hurry forth and realise them.”
Kartik also acknowledges the amount of student involvement that the team has put in and the importance of this. “What I am most proud of with this project is to see the immense degree of collaboration within Project Fuxi, both within and outside our UWCSEA community, as well as the paramount importance of student leadership in propelling this project forward.”
Giving meaning to purpose
For Thompson, being involved in Project Fuxi has a personal meaning. His grandfather suffered from dementia, so he understands the positive impacts that Project Fuxi can have on dementia patients. “I can only imagine the joy that Project Fuxi can bring to not only the family members suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease but also the caretakers who can finally engage with their loved ones.”
Hanming remembers the moment he knew that being part of Project Fuxi would make a big impact, when he was listening to Mr. Lodemel introduce the project to the students at lunchtime. He describes how Mr. Lodemel “vividly illustrated the goal of providing moments of happiness and recollection to senior citizens, even those afflicted with dementia. The powerful image of a bedridden elderly cracking a smile as they listen to nostalgic melodies was imprinted in my mind.”
Kartik has been volunteering his time at Apex Harmony Lodge through the College’s service learning programme for three years. He first joined the local service Music Therapy with Apex Harmony Lodge in Grade 9 and is now serving as its current chair. He signed up to be a part of Project Fuxi because it served as an outlet to combine his musical interests with the opportunity to care for others.
“UWCSEA has always placed an emphasis on service learning, both in its mission and its five elements of learning. Prior to entering High School, I had realised this through my engagement with several Global Concerns. I desired to shift that engagement towards the local context of Singapore – to be able to witness the direct impact of service in the first person. It has really been worth it. The beauty of the work we do is that you can see the immediate and profound effect of what we do on the residents we meet every Friday after school at Apex Harmony Lodge.”
Overcoming challenges
One of the most challenging aspects of this project for Thompson has been project management. “Because I have never led a project of this scale, there was definitely a learning curve to using the correct technologies to capture everyone’s ideas, organise code from different teams, and also make sure that everyone felt the contributions that they were making to the project.”
Hanming points out that there are always challenges in innovation such as an algorithm that might be prone to error, or a product that isn’t favoured by the target audience. He explains how the team overcomes such challenges by drawing on the expertise of each team member. “The computer science experts review the code, and the art student reconsiders the aesthetics of the design. Teachers, alumni, and industry experts assist in this process with their experienced perspectives too.”
What advice would you give to students who are aspiring to participate in projects like Project Fuxi?Finding meaning and purpose to contribute to projects is important to Hanming. His advice to students is to “follow your heart and indulge yourself in UWCSEA’s wonderful activities and clubs. Projects like Fuxi are the intersections of the passions of students around school: it combines music, service, and STEM. In those clubs, as you work amongst zealous peers and with caring teachers, you inevitably find yourself involved in a wonderful project that allows you to apply your unique set of skills in the real world.”
Kartik and Thompson also welcome students who are interested in Project Fuxi to get in contact with the Coding For Good team or the Apex Harmony Lodge service. They share that the team is excited to work with more people who bring diverse and new ideas to the table.
This project was catalysed by the 50th Anniversary Annual Fund Innovation Incubator. #UWCSEAGiving represents a future with possibilities and potential, inspiring the younger generation to be the change they want to see in the world. Community gifts fund programmes like Project Fuxi across the College.
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