新科大获机构与企业捐赠400万元 用来设立助学金与补助金
Lianhe Zaobao, 24 Oct 2019, SUTD receives donation of $4 million from institution and corporation (translation)
The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) received donations amounting S$4 million from two organisations. The funds will go towards bursaries and grants to support students with financial need.
Quantedge Foundation donated S$3 million for the SUTD Education Opportunity Grant, which is eligible for students who are Singapore citizens with monthly per capita income ranging S$690 and below, and enrolling into SUTD from academic year 2020 onwards. Students who meet the eligibility criteria will receive a grant of S$7,500 for up to four academic years.
Expand Construction donated S$1 million to SUTD. This will go towards setting up the Von Lee Yong Miang-SUTD Bursary Award, where a student will receive a bursary of S$7,500 per academic year. Mr Lee Yong Miang is the Chairman and Founder of Expand Construction. The Bursary is open to Singapore citizen undergraduate students, in any year of study, with monthly household per capita income of S$2,250 and below.
In addition, from 2020, SUTD will introduce the Global Excellence Scholarship. Not only will the scholarship support undergraduate students, it will also provide a grant of up to S$15,000 to cover tuition fees for a postgraduate degree programme. 15 students a year can benefit from this scholarship. Students will also have the opportunity for overseas exchange. Applicants will need to have achieved excellence across multiple aspects beyond stellar academic performance, for example, contributions to the community, achievements in sports or design innovations, etc.
SUTD announced these financial aids and scholarship at its 10th anniversary fundraising gala dinner last evening.
Heng Swee Keat affirms SUTD’s performance
SUTD also announced that Executive Chairman of Tee Yih Jia Group, Mr Sam Goi, has taken over as SUTD’s Patron for Advancement, taking over the mantle from Emeritus Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong. Mr Sam Goi was one of SUTD’s pioneer Board of Trustees and a major donor to the university. He also led the university’s fundraising activities. As patron, he will continue to assist SUTD with its fundraising efforts.
This year, SUTD is also giving out its inaugural SUTD Benefactors Fellows Award to Mr Sam Goi and SUTD Founding Chairman, Mr Philip Ng, affirming their contributions to the university. SUTD president, Prof Chong Tow Chong also thanked outgoing Patron for Advancement, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. He helped with the University’s fundraising activities as patron during its early days. Around 39% of SUTD students who come from low income families have received either financial aid or needs-based scholarships.
Guest-of-Honour of the event, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat affirmed SUTD’s performance. When he was Minister for Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat attended SUTD’s inaugural graduation ceremony and during that time, he pointed out that the government established SUTD as the fourth university with the aim of providing an education that focuses on design thinking incorporated into the sciences and humanities.
The outstanding performance of graduates also confirms the effectiveness of this university’s pedagogy. Using pioneer batch graduate Ken Chua as an example, he was named one of 2019’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Social Entrepreneurs. Ken’s social enterprise start-up designs and builds assistive technology products for persons with disabilities and he has worked with Grab to simplify the ride-hailing process for deaf and visually-impaired users. He is currently helping Japan’s Nippon Closures, a manufacturer of bottle caps, to explore inclusive bottle packaging designs for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Under the “Singapore Together” movement, SUTD’s interdisciplinary design and technology education can generate many partnership opportunities, allowing faculty and students to explore solutions for social issues such as climate change and ageing.
SUTD admitted its eighth batch of students this year and graduated four batches of over 1,000 students.
