Undergraduate Studies
 
 

 
   
SoC Start-up Clinches Grand Prize in National Entrepreneurship Competition

 

Three SoC students have won the National Infocomm Scholarships (NIS) this year, given in recognition of excellent academic results, passion for infocomm and communication skills.

Desmond Loh Chin Choong, James Tan Ying Jie, and Steve Teo Wai Ming received their scholarships at a ceremony on 16 September 2006.

Desmond and James, both pursuing Computer Engineering at SoC, are in their fourth and third year of studies, respectively. Steve, a graduate of Temasek Polytechnic, will be matriculating at SoC in 2008 after his National Service stint.
 
 


                      Proud Moment: James Tan (right) receives his scholarship from IDA CEO Mr Chan Yeng Kit.

 
NIS are given by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), in partnership with leading infocomm companies in the country. The scheme is run with support from the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) and the Singapore Computer Society (SCS).

NIS scholars will be given the opportunity to go on a six-month attachment and mentorship programme with their sponsoring infocomm company.

Attachments in the NIS scheme take place at the overseas offices or research facilities of the sponsoring company, during the scholar’s final year of undergraduate studies.

The industry-sponsored attachments are expected to give the students wider exposure, international working experience and industry guidance even before they graduate.

Steve, whose sponsor is Microsoft, says he has always been interested in developing web applications since primary school. Other programming fields like application programming would also intrigue him.

Desmond is working on a Higher Year Project in network forensics tool development that comes with an internship at Defence Science Organisation (DSO). Becoming an NIS scholar under the sponsorship of National Computer Systems Private Limited (NCS), he stands to gain additional industry exposure.

James has recently returned from an overseas attachment stint with Oracle. Now sponsored under NIS by Novell Singapore Private Limited, a firm with 50,000 customers in 43 countries, he may look forward to an even more varied industry experience.
 
 


                      One for the Album: (Left to Right) James Tan and Desmond Loh pose with SoC Dean
                      Prof Joxan Jaffar, and the parents of Steve Teo (they received the scholarship on
                      behalf of their son who could not be present because of National Service duties).

 
In total, 567 junior college, polytechnic and university students vied to be NIS scholars this year. Of this bumper crop of applicants, which was four times more than last year’s number, 36 were chosen. IDA Chief Executive Officer Chan Yeng Kit presented the scholarships at a ceremony held in Singapore Polytechnic.

NIS scholars receive either a full scholarship or a partial scholarship. The full scholarship allows recipients to pursue a Bachelor and Master degree at a top overseas or local university. It covers tuition and other compulsory university fees, hostel fees, annual living allowances, and cost of a six-month internship. Partial scholarships are given to outstanding third-year undergraduates pursuing an infocomm related degree in the three local universities, and it covers the student’s final year of studies.
 
 


Scholarly Lineup: NIS scholars 2006 gather for a group photograph.

 

 
 
 
   
   
 
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Last Modified on: 20 September 2006


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