United Overseas Bank (UOB) has collaborated with students from Singapore Polytechnic to set up a branch on their campus.

About 40 students and lecturers from the polytechnic attended a workshop to identify what they wanted from the bank branch, said UOB in a statement last Wednesday.

Students were given free rein to decide on the branch’s design elements such as its layout, colours and the use of gamification for engagement. The bank then built the space based on the final concept presented by the students.

The process took about eight months and operations at the branch started last November.

Ms Tan Yen Yen, director of the School of Business at the polytechnic, said the tie-up allowed students to apply what they had learnt in the classroom to a real project. “Students were able to build a branch from the ground up.”

OCBC Bank and DBS Bank also have branches in tertiary education institutions. OCBC has branches in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and the National University of Singapore.

Ms Lim Bee Bee, executive director from DBS Consumer Banking Group, said the bank works with students and educational institutions.

Students were given free rein to decide on the branch’s design elements such as its layout, colours and the use of gamification for engagement. The bank then built the space based on the final concept presented by the students.

“Our branch in Singapore University of Technology and Design was designed in collaboration with the institution’s students,” she said. “Today, the space is used for career planning sessions, learning and mentorship programmes around topics such as business analytics, social entrepreneurship, tech and APIs (application programming interfaces) – all run by DBS.”

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