Enhancements to Defence Scholarships to Continually Attract Nation’s Top Talents

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship to six recipients, Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarship (Engineering) – Defence and Security to five recipients, SAF Merit Scholarship to 22 recipients, SAF Engineering Scholarship to five recipients, Defence Merit Scholarship to 17 recipients, SAF Medicine Scholarship to eight recipients, and Defence Science and Technology (DSTA) Scholarship to 34 recipients at a scholarship awards ceremony held at the Istana this evening.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Ng said that in the current uncertain global environment and ever-evolving security landscape, it is important for Singapore to be prepared for any and all changes. Dr Ng emphasised that “the ability for Singapore to face present and future challenges needs unity of mind, heart and effort” and that this needs to be built by the leaders of the future generation.

To this end, Dr Ng highlighted MINDEF/SAF’s commitment to enhance existing scholarships to attract the best talents across Singapore and to groom the next generation of leaders. This included reducing the bond duration for The SAF Scholarship recipients who study locally from six to four years, and extending opportunities for gap year provisions to SAF Merit Scholarship, SAF Engineering Scholarship and Defence Merit Scholarship recipients from this year onwards to broaden their exposure. Dr Ng also announced that MINDEF/SAF will be introducing the Mid-Term for The SAF Scholarship from 2024 onwards for promising leaders who are pursuing their tertiary education.

In closing, Dr Ng reminded the scholarship recipients of the important responsibility they have as part of the defence sector and expressed his hope that they will “bring diverse perspectives and competencies together to create a vibrant defence ecosystem”.

This year’s 97 scholarship recipients have demonstrated academic excellence and outstanding leadership qualities. They will be pursuing their undergraduate studies at reputable local and overseas universities. Upon completion of their tertiary education, recipients of the uniformed scholarships – The SAF Scholarship, the SAF Merit Scholarship, and the SAF Engineering Scholarship – will return to the organisation to assume a variety of challenging appointments that will groom them for senior command and leadership positions in MINDEF and the SAF. Recipients of the SAF Medicine Scholarship will return as Medical Officers, and be groomed for senior medical positions in the SAF Medical Corps. The Defence Merit Scholarship recipients will return as Defence Executive Officers, and be groomed for senior management positions in MINDEF by taking on varied job challenges to hone their skills in critical defence areas. The PSC Scholarship (Engineering) – Defence and Security, and DSTA Scholarship recipients will be groomed through multiple career pathways for engineering and technological leadership positions in the defence technology community.

Also present at the awards ceremony this evening were senior officials from MINDEF and the SAF, DSTA, DSO, CSIT, members of the PSC, school representatives, as well as the invited guests of the scholarship recipients.