BOND-FREE SCHOLARSHIPS

BOND-FREE SCHOLARSHIPS

25.

Assoc. Prof. Ong Soh Khim asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many bond-free scholarships are awarded by A*Star and his Ministry's statutory boards annually to overseas students of all levels to pursue their education in Singapore; (b) what is the total value of these bond-free scholarships; (c) what are the objectives of providing these bond-free scholarships; and (d) with regard to past recipients of these bond-free scholarships, what is the average number of years they work in Singapore after completing their studies and how many have become Singapore citizens.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Singapore has been offering bond-free awards to young talented non-Singaporeans to study in our schools. These youngsters enrich our Singapore schools and universities, and add to our talent base.

A STAR supports our educational institutions in these efforts by bringing outstanding students from ASEAN and Asia to our secondary and tertiary institutions. A STAR has two non-bonded scholarships for such students, namely the Young Researcher's Attachment Programme (YRAP), and the International Graduate Scholarships (IGS).

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Young Researcher's Attachment Programme (YRAP)

The Young Researcher's Attachment Programme (YRAP) selects foreign students who have a strong desire to pursue Science studies in secondary schools and junior colleges in Singapore. On attaining outstanding 'A' level results, these students are eligible to compete for various A*STAR bonded scholarships to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

The YRAP was launched in July and has 30 participants. The YRAP programme covers school-related fees, school hostel accommodation and living allowances. It costs A*STAR S$11,500 to support one YRAP scholar per year.

_International Graduate Scholarships (IGS)
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The International Graduate Scholarships (IGS) provides support and facilitates the enrolment of top science and engineering talents to undertake two-year graduate programmes at NUS and NTU, leading to a research Masters' degree.

The IGS strengthens Singapore's international ties in scientific and education collaborations. Top international graduate students gain access to the excellent academic and research facilities here. Besides diversifying the nationality profile of students in our universities, these foreign scholars will be ambassadors for Singapore on their return to their country, bringing back personal and educational experiences from their time in Singapore.

A*STAR provides a grant to NUS and NTU to support the course fees and living allowances for these scholars. Each IGS scholarship is worth S$26,500 per year. 24 IGS scholars have commenced their studies at NUS and NTU in July 2005, while four more will start in January 2006.

As both YRAP and IGS are new schemes, the first batch of scholars would not have completed their studies yet.

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