With options aplenty for scholarships, the Singapore-Industry Scholarship (SgIS) stands out. It is the only multi-industry scholarship on offer, allowing scholars to choose from 118 sponsoring organisations in the fields of arts, biomedical and pharmaceuticals, electronics, engineering, lifestyle and food, social services and many more.

The awardee can then pursue a related university education while enjoying tailored internship and networking opportunities through the SgIS Development and Engagement Programme, and finally serve his or her bond with the organisation to get a head start towards success in the field.

Ng Teng Han and Phianne Calista Io are among the 1,272 students who received the SgIS since its inception in 2012, and their interests could not be more disparate. A testimony to the wide reach of the SgIS. Teng Han is a Marketing Executive with Aztech Technologies Pte Ltd, while Calista is studying to be an engineer and will join ST Engineering upon graduation.

In narrating their choices, hopes and successes, they also painted a picture of SgIS and the beauty of choosing the best possible path.

WHY SgIS?

Both scholars discovered the scholarship during school fairs but were attracted to different aspects of SgIS’ multifaceted offering.

“I felt that my university learning experience was limited to the four walls of a classroom, and experiential learning was something that I could only seek outside of the classroom. Hence, I needed industrial experience, and SgIS allowed me to pursue an internship and ad-hoc courses while studying to keep myself relevant to the current job market,” said Teng Han. “I chose SgIS over other options because SgIS has an established base of scholars and alumni whom I can have the exclusive chance to connect and interact with to further expand my network.”

“There were also ample opportunities for undergraduates in different industries like Infocomm Media, Lifestyle and Food, Maritime, and many more! It really was an eye-opening experience.”

In Calista’s case, she was attracted to the array of sponsoring organisations from many different industries. “This made it a very attractive choice for me as I could apply with organisations that best suited my career aspirations,” she detailed. “Also, I felt that the SgIS would benefit my career more as compared to a non-bonded scholarship as it would allow me to gain valuable working experience while serving my bond at my sponsoring organisation. I also would not have to worry about searching for a suitable job upon graduation.”

Valuable Learning Experiences

SgIS Scholars also benefit from the SgIS Development and Engagement Programme, noted for opening doors and building relationships.

Calista met scholars who were embarking on the same journey, which proved a source of inspiration and comfort. She also went outside her comfort zone and participated in the SgIS Orientation Camp in 2019, where she had the opportunity to interact with and befriend scholars from other sponsoring organisations. The camp introduced several important developmental and support aspects of the scholarship such as the Scholars’ Handbook, and the SgIS Scholars’ Network responsible for many SgIS events.

“I found these resources helpful for navigating through my journey as a SgIS scholar.”Teng Han also has fond memories of the camp, which made him feel like part of the SgIS family. And like any good family, the SgIS Scholar’s Network helped him score coveted development opportunities like an internship with his current company, Aztech Technologies.

“The internship allowed me to get a better sense of my job role in Aztech Technologies and how I can better value-add to the company after my graduation. In fact, I chose to extend my internship with Aztech just so that I can continue to be involved with multiple new projects!” he enthused. “This eventually made my transition into Aztech Technologies as a full-time employee a much more seamless and familiar process.”

Calista benefitted similarly, taking up two internships with ST Engineering during study breaks. “These internships have been very valuable learning experiences for me as not only did I have the opportunity to learn new skills and frameworks while working on my internship projects, but I also learnt more about my sponsoring organisation and managed to build social connections with my colleagues.”

Striving For Excellence

With their places in their respective companies secured, Teng Han and Calista could apply themselves wholeheartedly to their studies in Business and Computer Science.

Indeed, Teng Han was full of praise for the seamless transition from study to work, in no small part thanks to SgIS. Upon joining Aztech Technologies, he was immediately given the privilege of performing marketing activities for new technology projects from pre-launch to post-launch and after service support, managing the execution of marketing promotions and campaigns across four B2C eCommerce marketplaces and supporting various B2B retailers in their offline retail stores and even planning CSR events.

He found his education applicable in all these arenas, yielding great achievements. “Through my education in Marketing, I was made more aware about Consumer Behaviour and Customer Journey,” he remembered. “Aztech Technologies, being a developer, manufacturer and distributor of various electronic products, has enabled me to reach out to a wide customer base and explore multiple customer journeys and touchpoints like website, online marketplace, on-site visits, email marketing, mobile applications, brochures, showrooms, and many more!”

“The precious opportunity to directly apply what I’ve learned in school into what I do during my internship with Aztech is experiential learning in its finest form.”

Calista looks forward to the same when she graduates in 2023 and joins ST Engineering. “Something that I look forward to when I start work at ST Engineering is to be able to apply the skills and knowledge that I have gained in school to interesting real-world projects. I think it’ll also be an exciting experience to get to learn new frameworks and technologies which I may not have the chance to do in school.”

She also aims further: “What I hope to achieve at ST Engineering is to become a competent software engineer who is capable of taking on complex job responsibilities and contributing to the company with my skills and knowledge.”

Daring To Be Different

For aspiring applicants Calista has some words of advice. “For those who are interested in taking up the SgIS, I think it would be really helpful to do in-depth research about the sponsoring organisation of interest before applying so that you have a good idea of what it does and how this aligns with your personal achievements and career aspirations,” said Calista. “Also, it helps to think about your individual merits and the areas in which you stand out from other candidates and prepare your portfolio in a way that reflects these strengths.”

Teng Han similarly emphasised capitalising on individuality. “I was proud to be different and ventured into unconventional industries,” he smiled, hoping that more Marketing students would be interested in SgIS.

“The decision to venture into unconventional fields was also much more rewarding! I had the opportunity in my role at Aztech Technologies to explore not just smart home, but also products and solutions in the data security, optical, automotive, and lifestyle categories which were often unheard-of during internship sharing sessions. My honest advice for other students in my field are to ‘Dare to be different’ and ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’.”