Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship to nine recipients, Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarship (Engineering) – Defence and Security to six recipients, SAF Merit Scholarship to 16 recipients, SAF Engineering Scholarship to five recipients, Defence Merit Scholarship to 10 recipients, SAF Medicine Scholarship to seven recipients, SAF Local Dentistry Scholarship to one recipient, and Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) Scholarship to 30 recipients at a scholarship awards ceremony held at the Istana this evening. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Ng explained the critical need to invest in the future leaders of Singapore's defence. He said, "The scholarships we award today are the country's long-term investment, on a 20-year time-frame, to ensure that we have the right leaders, in values and aptitude to lead the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), SAF, DSTA, DSO National Laboratories and other government organisations. It is what this generation's leaders invest in for the next generation, so that in the next generation we can secure our  way of life and independence through a strong defence." 

This year's scholarship recipient cohort come from a wide number of schools and polytechnics, and include a greater number of females – double that of a decade ago. Affirming the success of Singapore's system of meritocracy which has allowed Singapore to come this far, Dr Ng emphasised, "The selection criteria must still be merit-based. But we should also give due recognition that those who come from families with fewer resources will need more encouragement and support…It is in MINDEF and SAF's interests to have such scholars succeed." 

The SAF Scholarship was introduced in 1971, and is a prestigious scholarship second only to the President's Scholarship. The SAF Merit Scholarship and Defence Merit Scholarship were introduced in 1983 and 2002 respectively. The SAF Engineering Scholarship was introduced in 2016 to attract engineering talent to join the SAF under the Military Domain Experts Scheme. The SAF Medicine Scholarship and SAF Local Dentistry Scholarship were introduced in 1991 and 2010 respectively. These scholarships are awarded to those who aspire to serve as military medical professionals.

Both the PSC Scholarship (Engineering) – Defence and Security, and DSTA Scholarship nurture top engineering talents for Singapore's defence and security sector. The PSC Scholarship (Engineering) was launched in 2017 to build and strengthen the Public Service's leadership pipelines in the engineering and technology sectors. The DSTA Scholarship was introduced in 2000 to attract budding engineers and scientists with a keen passion for science and technology to provide leading-edge technological solutions for Singapore's defence and security. 

All scholarships aim to recruit top students from each cohort of school-leavers to join the defence sector, and this year's scholarship recipients, who have demonstrated academic excellence and outstanding leadership qualities will be pursuing their undergraduate studies at reputable local and overseas universities. 

Upon completion of their tertiary education, recipients of the uniformed scholarships will assume a variety of challenging appointments that will groom them for senior command and leadership positions in MINDEF and the SAF. Recipients of the Medicine and Dentistry Scholarships will return as Medical Officers and Dental Officers, and be groomed for senior medical positions in the SAF Medical Corps. The Defence Merit Scholarship recipients will return as Defence Executive Officers, and be groomed for senior management positions in MINDEF by taking on varied roles to hone their skills and expertise in critical defence areas. 

The PSC (Engineering) – Defence and Security, and DSTA Scholarship recipients will be groomed through multiple career pathways for engineering and technological leadership positions in the Defence Technology Community . 

Present at the awards ceremony were senior officials from MINDEF, SAF, DSTA, DSO National Laboratories, members of the PSC, in-service scholars, school representatives, as well as the invited guests of the scholarship recipients.