Possible themes
For this case challenge, you have free reign in your choice of topic as long as it contributes to food waste reduction in campus!
Here are some ideas to get you going! :)
Here are some ideas to get you going! :)
- Acquisition and effective use of food waste data in NTU
A key issue in tackling the issue of waste in general on campus is the lack of data. Currently, we have very limited sources of data: we only have the total volume and the percentage breakdown of the types of waste produced.
How else can we develop a way to obtain more detailed data about food waste on campus? What solutions would these data create, and how will you implement these solutions? - Developing technology-based solutions
You can find an application for almost everything you can imagine in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. However, non-profit organisations and environmental groups have been slow to catch on and make use of such new platforms. Some of the most commonly cited reasons include the lack of technical expertise to develop them and the high cost of hiring developers.
How can we tap on the connectivity that mobile devices provide, or even use IoT technologies to help us reduce food waste? - Introducing nudges and behavioural change methods
Another school of thought posits that the success of any waste reduction initiatives hinges on us accepting the need to change our habits. No technological solutions can work effectively without first getting people to buy the story.
How should we convince the NTU population to take greater action in tackling the food waste issue? - Ways to improve communications and message delivery
Given the choice between a cheaper and a more expensive way to achieve the same goal, it is natural for us to pick the cheaper option. Arguably, food waste reduction efforts provides a cheaper way of living: a non-excessive approach of buying and consuming only what you need, maximising the use of our resources and not making unnecessary purchases. With food waste reduction methods providing such benefits, it makes sense that people will adopt such habits. But it is evident from the statistics that we are not picking them up.
Could this be due to the ways that environmental groups have brought across their messages? How else could we better communicate our ideas and encourage the NTU population to adopt food waste reduction practices? - Suggestions to improve the effectiveness of school policies
Perhaps it is a forlorn attempt to go against the tide: how is it possible to convince people to think beyond themselves? Some might opine that such externalities can never be resolved by individuals as we are all innately tuned to take care of ourselves and a few others that are close to us. And that’s why we have laws in place to enforce social order, rules and regulations to make sure that we do things that we wouldn’t have naturally done otherwise, all in the name of achieving the greater good.
Placed in the context of a university campus, what kind of policies should the school administration put in place to ensure that food stall owners and the NTU population contributes towards our grand aim of a zero food waste campus? - Adopting predictive analytics in food inventory management
By now, there is likely to be at least a budding data analyst within your peers that believes in the omnipotence of data. Certainly, data can help us make better decisions and despite its relative scarcity in waste management, the omnipresence of data allows us to approach the food waste issue from alternative angles: applying it in inventory management!
How can food store owners, or perhaps even households, develop a cost effective way of managing their food storage? Or more generally, how can we use the omniscience of data to help us reduce food waste in campus?