2017 PSC Scholarships Award Ceremony: Opening Address by Mr Eddie Teo, Chairman, Public Service Commission

OPENING ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, MR EDDIE TEO  AT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION SCHOLARSHIPS AWARD CEREMONY ON 12 JULY 2017 AT GRAND COPTHORNE WATERFRONT HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM

Deputy Prime Minister Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minister in charge of the Civil Service, and Coordinating Minister for National Security,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

     Good evening and welcome to the 2017 Public Service Commission Scholarships Award Ceremony. Congratulations to the 71 PSC scholarship holders this year, who were selected from a pool of over 2000 applicants.

        My congratulations also extend to your family members, principals and teachers who have played a role in developing and supporting you. This evening’s ceremony is an occasion of great pride and joy for you and for them. Much of what we achieve in life is never due to only our own effort and we must all have the humility to realize this and recognize the nurturing care, guidance and support from others.

A Heart for Singapore and Singaporeans

        You are here today not only because you recorded stellar academic performances or have high intellectual abilities. An academic high-achiever without integrity, a drive for excellence and a heart for service is a poor fit for the Public Service.

         As PSC Scholarship recipients, you have committed to serving Singapore and Singaporeans through a Public Service career. The PSC believes that you have the values and qualities, such as compassion, integrity and empathy to contribute to Singapore’s progress and provide excellent service to the citizens through the different career tracks which you will embark on.

A Tapestry of Diverse Talents

        Today we live in a complex world with many uncertainties. But for Singapore, being small is a certainty which we forget at our own peril. Being small means we cannot be complacent and depend on past success to propel us into the future. The Public Service cannot rely on successful past formulas to meet future challenges. As future public officers, you need to continuously ensure that the Public Service is future-ready to solve problems which you may not even be aware of today. Meeting such problems requires new, innovative solutions. Being innovative requires you to be brave enough to challenge old, conventional thinking, and risk failure and criticism. Facing an uncertain and complex future requires us to build a Public Service which has a diverse set of talent to generate a wide range of ideas to formulate robust policies.

          Therefore, I am pleased that our scholarship holders this year come from quite different backgrounds.

        We have Miss Jacinth Chia from Pioneer Junior College, who showed strong community involvement by conducting events like the Values-In-Action project and exercise classes for her school and the community. We also have with us Mr Soon Qing Rong from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He exhibited community-mindedness through his Final Year Project which explored a method to diagnose premature deliveries among women, which in turn allows an earlier and better management of the health impact of pre-term delivery on the infant.

        It is encouraging to see excellent candidates from across 15 different schools with the desire to make a difference through a career in the Public Service. They will bring valuable insights to the Public Service and enrich the discussions within.

         I encourage students from all schools who are interested in pursuing a career with the Public Service through a Government scholarship not to hesitate to take the first step of putting in an application. The PSC has no quota for scholarships awarded nor do we prefer students from certain schools. Rather, beyond academic excellence, the PSC takes into consideration whole-person qualities and awards the scholarships based on merit regardless of the candidate’s background.

        I am also heartened that some of our scholarship holders will be taking the path less well-trodden to study in the non-traditional countries.

        This year, 2 scholarship holders will be going to non-English speaking countries for their undergraduate studies. Miss Yuki Chong Yu Qi will be furthering her studies in China, at Peking University. We also have Mr Jasdeep Singh Hundal, who will be heading to France as part of his dual-degree programme at Sciences Po and UC Berkeley to read Social Sciences and History.

        The rich and unique threads of experience that they will bring back from their time abroad will add colour and vibrancy to the Public Service tapestry.

Building up Engineering and Technological Capabilities for the Public Service

        In December 2016, we launched the PSC Scholarship (Engineering). This year, we have a total of 17 recipients choosing to study a STEM subject. 8 scholarship holders will be doing so under the PSC Scholarship (Engineering). The favourable response from the applicants shows that the younger generation is eager to contribute to our goal of being a government at the forefront in using technology to improve the lives of our people.

Conclusion

       Our new scholarship holders have significant roles to play in the next chapter of the Singapore story. Keep yourselves up-to-date with developments in our country, and if you are overseas, an important role you have is to make friends not only for yourselves but also for Singapore. Always watch and observe what you can bring back to Singapore to help improve the lives of your fellow citizens.

       I am confident that you will fly Singapore’s flag high wherever you are, and I look forward to your future contributions to Singapore.

        Congratulations.

       Thank you.