Over 70 awarded Public Service Commission scholarships
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 26 July 2008 1828 hrs
SINGAPORE : Singapore's Public Service Commission (PSC), tasked with identifying young and talented individuals for the civil service, is strengthening its outreach efforts.
It is launching an internship programme for top junior college students at the end of the year.
This was one of the initiatives announced on Saturday at the Public Service Commission Scholarships Awards ceremony.
Over 70 PSC scholars will go to prestigious universities in countries like the US, UK, China and even Singapore to pursue an education that will eventually see them holding senior positions in government, academia and the private sector.
Minister-in-Charge of Civil Service and Defence Minister, Teo Chee Hean, said: "Our public service scholars touch the lives of ordinary Singaporeans. Some teach our children or work in our Community Development Councils, strengthening community bonds and helping the needy. Others work to bring investments and jobs to Singapore."
So to engage the best talents, the government is reaching out to junior colleges (JCs). Top JC students can take up internships at the end of their first year of study or after the A-Levels.
Students will be attached to ministries for a few weeks to catch a glimpse of what work is like in the Civil Service.
PSC already has an internship programme for university undergraduates.
Other initiatives to better train and develop scholars include the first Public Policy Challenge for undergraduates from Singapore's three universities.
Participants will get to discuss policy issues. They will have a chance to see that in making public policy, tradeoffs are inevitable and difficult decisions often have to be made.
Mr Teo said: "How a policy is communicated can sometimes be as important as the policy itself."
It was a diverse mix of scholars this year. Award recipients included three mid-term scholars who are in their second or third year of studies, the PSC's first Masters' scholar and two polytechnic undergraduates.
One of the recipients is 27-year-old Marvin Kang, who took the road less travelled, opting to go to Raffles JC, then Ngee Ann Polytechnic before pursuing his degree.
He will be pursuing a course in Business Administration, Communication and New Media at the National University of Singapore.
He said: "I guess unlike some of the other students, I did quite badly when I was in JC, so I thought about giving myself a second chance at education. So after some soul searching, I decided to enter a polytechnic to resume my education.
PSC received more than 2,000 scholarship applications this year and conducted 370 interviews - the largest number conducted in the past five years. - CNA/ms
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 26 July 2008 1828 hrs
SINGAPORE : Singapore's Public Service Commission (PSC), tasked with identifying young and talented individuals for the civil service, is strengthening its outreach efforts.
It is launching an internship programme for top junior college students at the end of the year.
This was one of the initiatives announced on Saturday at the Public Service Commission Scholarships Awards ceremony.
Over 70 PSC scholars will go to prestigious universities in countries like the US, UK, China and even Singapore to pursue an education that will eventually see them holding senior positions in government, academia and the private sector.
Minister-in-Charge of Civil Service and Defence Minister, Teo Chee Hean, said: "Our public service scholars touch the lives of ordinary Singaporeans. Some teach our children or work in our Community Development Councils, strengthening community bonds and helping the needy. Others work to bring investments and jobs to Singapore."
So to engage the best talents, the government is reaching out to junior colleges (JCs). Top JC students can take up internships at the end of their first year of study or after the A-Levels.
Students will be attached to ministries for a few weeks to catch a glimpse of what work is like in the Civil Service.
PSC already has an internship programme for university undergraduates.
Other initiatives to better train and develop scholars include the first Public Policy Challenge for undergraduates from Singapore's three universities.
Participants will get to discuss policy issues. They will have a chance to see that in making public policy, tradeoffs are inevitable and difficult decisions often have to be made.
Mr Teo said: "How a policy is communicated can sometimes be as important as the policy itself."
It was a diverse mix of scholars this year. Award recipients included three mid-term scholars who are in their second or third year of studies, the PSC's first Masters' scholar and two polytechnic undergraduates.
One of the recipients is 27-year-old Marvin Kang, who took the road less travelled, opting to go to Raffles JC, then Ngee Ann Polytechnic before pursuing his degree.
He will be pursuing a course in Business Administration, Communication and New Media at the National University of Singapore.
He said: "I guess unlike some of the other students, I did quite badly when I was in JC, so I thought about giving myself a second chance at education. So after some soul searching, I decided to enter a polytechnic to resume my education.
PSC received more than 2,000 scholarship applications this year and conducted 370 interviews - the largest number conducted in the past five years. - CNA/ms
