Development

Moulding Tomorrow’s Leaders

PSC scholarship holders participate in a series of milestone programmes and developmental opportunities during their studies. These programmes help them to develop a diverse set of experiences and prepare them to make impactful contributions.

2023 Preparatory Course

The annual Preparatory Course aims to prepare new PSC scholarship recipients for their studies and equip them for their roles as ambassadors of the Singapore Public Service. The programme also provides them with a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges ahead for the Public Service. The 2023 Preparatory Course was conducted from 15 to 28 June 2023, and included a three-day Outward Bound Singapore component, incorporating key elements on building self-awareness, leadership skills and team cohesion.

As part of the Preparatory Course, all scholarship recipients also took part in the Youth Corps Leaders Programme (YCLP), which enables them to identify, plan and execute projects that address issues in the community and support a meaningful cause. There were eight YCLP projects completed in 2023. Of which, three are featured in the following paragraphs.

KITA

KITA worked with Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities to empower seniors residing in rental flats to better manage their health through befriending, health education and literacy efforts. The project focused on engaging and reinforcing health-seeking behaviours, while helping to prevent and reduce the prevalence of social isolation in these seniors.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse sought to provide long-term, one-on-one social support for youths aged 13 to 25 years who are emotionally vulnerable or have mental health concerns. Working with Social Services institutions such as the Institute of Mental Health’s CHAT (Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health) and Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), the team provided volunteers with sponsored training in peer befriending and matched these volunteers to the socially vulnerable youth for a three-month befriending period under the guidance of a core team mentor.

TechBridge

TechBridge focused on bridging the digital literacy divides between underprivileged students and their peers, through the building up of essential digital skills. Working with the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), the team held digital clinics to address digital difficulties faced by both parents and students from upper primary and lower secondary, promoting a family-centric approach and empowering underprivileged children to succeed in an increasingly digitalised society.

2023 PSC Scholarship Holders’ Mid-Course Programme (PSMP)

The PSMP, held midway through a scholarship holder’s undergraduate studies, builds on the foundations laid in the Preparatory Course and the scholarship holder’s undergraduate experiences. The programme provides greater context to the realities of governance and highlights recent developments in Singapore. The PSMP includes a six-to-eight-week internship component with a government agency, where scholarship holders gain first-hand experience in the Public Service. 77 scholarship holders attended the PSMP held from 3 to 7 July 2023.

Organised together with the PSMP, the Singapore Seminar on 26 July 2023 brought together scholarship holders from various agencies under the theme “Strengthening Our Social Compact: Education in Transition”. The forum featured insights and perspectives, as well as discussion on how the key shifts in Singapore’s education landscape contribute to strengthening our social compact.

Diverse Experiences through Academic Programmes, Internships and the Gap Year

Scholarship holders are encouraged to actively seek out diverse experiences, particularly in areas of strategic interest to the Public Service, to complement their formal education and provide them with a broader worldview.

In 2023, PSC scholarship holders took part in academic programmes across a wide range of countries including Antarctica, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, to widen their horizons. Some of these programmes offered unique experiences, for example, studying the sustainable use of natural resources through field trips into the marine and terrestrial biology of the Antarctic Peninsula, and understanding the intricate issues surrounding migration and refugees in European nations through a summer term in the Freie University of Berlin.

Beyond academic programmes, scholarship holders took part in internships outside of the Public Service. In 2023, these included stints with the Berggruen Institute of China Centre, LinkedIn and GIC Singapore.

Scholarship holders also have the option of a Gap Year programme either locally or overseas with international organisations, reputable non-governmental organisations and private companies. The experiences from these stints inject diversity into the talent pipeline and build global networks. In 2023, scholarship holders did Gap Year programmes with the following organisations: FICCI.AI (United States), ClientEarth (United States), Allozymes (Singapore), Interpol (United States) and the UNESCO offices in France, Thailand and Kenya.