Thirty-three students have been awarded government scholarships in the environment and water sectors.
Of these, 27 received the National Environment and Water (NEW) undergraduate scholarship - the highest number awarded since it’s inception in 2009, signalling greater interest in these sectors.
Some of the recipients were selected after completing a four to six week internship with the National Environment Agency or Public Utilities Board.
This year, the agencies received a record number of more than 250 internship applications, a 58 per cent increase from last year.
Interns were exposed to the operations of the agencies and took part in challenging assignments.
Promising individuals were recommended for the scholarship.
Scholars will pursue their degrees at local or overseas universities.
When they graduate, the scholars will work in NEA or PUB, and be groomed for leadership roles.
Twenty-one-year-old recipient Saw Yong Kai said his experience living overseas inspired him to improve upon environments.
“I remember playing on a field right next to this factory, and it just spewed out smoke. It was just really bitter in your lungs. That was not a good feeling,” he said.
He will be studying environmental engineering at John Hopkins University in the United States.
Six scholars were also awarded the National Research Foundation (Environment and Water Technologies) PhD scholarship.
They will pursue studies in specialised areas such as optimising the waste water treatment process.
This is part of the government’s efforts to groom research experts to tackle today’s pressing water challenges and develop Singapore as a global hydro-hub.
Twenty-five-year-old recipient Leow Shijie will be heading to the University of Illinois in the United States.
His research project aims to transform sludge, a by-product of waste water treatment, into liquid fuels.
“Since young, I’ve seen Singapore go through water issues, be it securing our water supply, (or) having to ration water. We have come to a point where we can provide water to the people… we want to move forward on this,” he said.
