Temasek Academy - IP3-4
Temasek Academy - IP3-4
In IP1 and IP2, our students have already developed the instincts of a scientist and the hands of a maker.
In IP3 and IP4, we bring all of that together — and turn it up several notches.
Upper IP is where our students take on open-ended, real-world challenges with no fixed answers. They make meaningful decisions about their research direction, work across disciplines, and produce work that goes well beyond the classroom. Ultimately, our students are given exposure and guidance to become independent, confident scientific thinkers.
In IP3, our students take on the Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) Programme — one of the most ambitious and integrative experiences in the TA Science journey.
A microbial fuel cell harnesses the natural metabolic activity of microorganisms to generate electricity. Our students are tasked to design, build and investigate one themselves — from the ground up. This is not a prescribed experiment with a fixed outcome. Students choose their own parameters, form their own hypotheses, and engineer a fuel cell that they design digitally and fabricate using the College's 3D printers.
What makes the MFC Programme truly distinctive is how it weaves together all three sciences:
- Biology — understanding how microorganisms metabolise and produce energy
- Chemistry — exploring the electrochemical reactions driving the cell
- Physics — designing a structure that can generate and transfer electrical energy effectively
Our students work through the full cycle of scientific inquiry — planning, experimentation, analysis and iteration — developing both the skills and the mindset of a real researcher. By the end of IP3, they don't just understand how science works. They have experienced it in a way that stays with them.
"In TA Science, we don't just teach Science — we give students the tools and the space to live it."
IP4 is the culmination of the entire TA Science journey — and it belongs entirely to the students.
In the Sustainability Investigative Research (SIR) project, students propose and carry out an original research investigation in an area of Science that genuinely interests them. Guided by our Science teachers and STEM Instructor mentors, they:
Develop a focused research question of their own choosing
Design their own methodology and experimental approach
Collect and analyse real data, drawing on skills built across IP1 to IP3
Present their findings in a report
For some students, the journey extends further still — their projects have been fielded in external competitions, where they put their work to the test on a wider stage.
IP4 is not solely about individual achievement. As the most experienced cohort in our TA Science community, our IP4 students take on a meaningful leadership role — partnering with our teachers to co-organise the annual e-THINK© Challenge, a science competition held for Primary School students. It is a moment we look forward to every year: watching our students, having come so far themselves, step up to inspire the next generation of curious minds.
"In TA Science, we don't just develop researchers — we shape scientists who are ready to make an impact."