Cheng Chye graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics), Post-Graduate Diploma in Education and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Language.
Early in his teaching career, Cheng Chye was seconded to Outward Bound Singapore as Head (Programmes and Development), following which he returned to teach Mathematics and English at Outram Secondary School; and General Paper at Temasek Junior College. Cheng Chye also spent 5 years as deputy director of Youth Expedition Project (YEP), a programme of Singapore International Foundation. Prior to joining SOTA, Cheng Chye was Curriculum Development Specialist and Head of the Raffles Institute for Experiential Learning, a specialist unit of Raffles Junior College.
As an experiential educator, Cheng Chye strives for practice informed by theory, specialising in the field of Service-Learning, Adventure Education and Diversity Education. He has presented papers at various conferences including the Asia Pacific Conference for Gifted Education and the National Youth Leadership Conference. An outdoor enthusiast, Cheng Chye represented Singapore in the first ASIAN Sport Climbing championship in South Korea and was an Instructor Assessor for Singapore Mountaineering Federation and the then Singapore Adventure Leader Council.
In the field of Service-Learning, apart from developmental work, Cheng Chye has been providing training for academic staff from the National Institute for Education and Ministry of Education (MOE) teachers since 2006. In 2009, he was engaged by National Youth Council as Consultant to establish the YEP Train-the-Trainer scheme.
In his own time, Cheng Chye is a volunteer facilitator for Onepeople.sg’s Exploration in Ethnicity programme. He also volunteers for the Outdoor Education Association, International Volunteerism Association and is a member of the YEP Training Advisory Panel.