SINGAPORE: Nine recipients were awarded the inaugural Smart Nation Scholarship on Friday (Aug 17).
The scholarship was launched in March this year to develop and nurture a pool of next-generation leaders who will spearhead the national digital transformation.
AdvertisementIt is jointly offered by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), Government Technology Agency (GovTech), and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
“We will invest in our long-term engineering capabilities, to ensure that we have a core group of passionate innovators to lead and drive technology change, both within the civil service and across the private sector,” said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative.
He pointed out that the Government had outsourced much of its software development services to other countries a decade ago, but that has since changed.
Dr Balakrishnan added that attracting and retaining local talent was necessary as global competition for talent has never been stronger.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Smart Nation Scholarship recipients were selected through a rigorous assessment process comprising aptitude tests, management interviews, and agency-specific assessments.
They will be pursuing undergraduate studies in information and communications technology (ICT)-related disciplines, such as computer science, information security and mathematics, at local and overseas universities.
Most of them were self-taught in their technical knowledge and skills such as programming and data visualisation. They had also taken part in various ICT competitions.
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