Standing on the shoulders of giants

The 2019 iBuildSG Scholarship and Sponsorship programme saw the participation of 89 sponsoring firms – a mix of architectural firms, engineering and construction firms, as well as real estate developers.

By BCA

A common fascination with unique structures and a desire to know how things work – these were the childhood inspirations that led 21-year old Elisabeth Lee and 28-year old Eugene Koh to choose a career in built environment. Both were among the 351 sponsorship recipients at the 2019 BCA iBuildSG Scholarship and Sponsorship Ceremony.

The awards represent the coming together of government, industry and educational institutions to groom the next generation of young talents for the built environment sector. Established in 2013, they allow companies to identify and equip promising people with the relevant skills and training to join the industry.

Scholarship and sponsorship recipients will be inducted into the Future Leaders Network to build networks, seek mentorship and gain exposure to the latest developments in the built environment sector.

Scholarship and sponsorship recipients will be inducted into the Future Leaders Network to build networks, seek mentorship and gain exposure to the latest developments in the built environment sector.

This year saw the participation of 62 firms – a mix of architectural firms, engineering and construction firms, as well as real estate developers. As a sign of greater industry commitment to nurture talents, recipients of postgraduate sponsorship have more than doubled to 26 this year, up from just 10 in 2018.

Scholarship and sponsorship recipients will also be inducted into the Future Leaders Network – an exclusive platform for them to build networks, seek mentorship and gain exposure to the latest developments in the built environment sector.

Interns to industry professionals

Recipients are commonly talent-spotted during internships at the companies, which expose them to on-the-job demands and opportunities to work on large-scale projects.

Sponsorship recipient Elisabeth Lee with Minister Lee at the award ceremony. To bring in talents in collaboration with the industry, each joint recipient is paired with a sponsoring firm for a minimum of two years to serve out a bond.

Elisabeth and Eugene impressed their respective employers, CPG Consultants and Mott-MacDonald, so much with their positive and can-do work attitude during their internship stints that both were offered sponsorships for their studies and full-time positions upon graduation.

“I was involved in a S$500 million Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) mega project and tasked to design a substation from scratch by myself. The experience made me realise that an engineer must not only be strong in technical knowledge, but also be able to coordinate and communicate well with others”, said Elisabeth, who will be joining CPG as an engineering consultant after her graduation next year.

Award recipient Eugene Koh receiving a congratulatory handshake from Minister Lee. Postgraduate recipients like Eugene have more than doubled to 26 in 2019, up from just 10 in 2018 - a sign of greater industry commitment to nurture talents.

For Eugene, the guidance and friendship from his co-workers from Mott-MacDonald made the company an attractive place to work. Now a geotechnical engineer there, he designs rail and transport infrastructure for the Thomson-East Coast Line and the new North-South Corridor, while pursuing his postgraduate in Master of Science part-time at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The iBuildSG Scholarships and Sponsorships

The iBuildSG Scholarships and Sponsorships programme was flexibly designed to meet the varying needs and profile of the recipients. This means it is tenable for an extensive range of full-time and part-time BE courses at local Universities, Polytechnics, ITEs and the BCA Academy.

To tighten the industry connection, each recipient is paired with a sponsoring company for a minimum of two years to serve out a bond, while sponsors are obligated to provide the graduate with on-the-job training and sponsor further skills upgrading courses during the bond period.

For Elisabeth, the sponsorship is a boon. “I wanted to ease the financial burden of my parents, as well as secure a job before graduation, in an industry that I am passionate about”, she said.

Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee posing for a post-event wefie with award recipients, young leaders and BCA management.

Shaping the future of the BE industry

For sponsorship recipients like Eugene and Elisabeth, the future of the built environment industry is bright. As Eugene puts it: “It is a traditional industry capable of modern transformation. And it is already doing so.”

Just as today’s Singapore skyline is built from the collective efforts of past generations, the work of building Singapore will not cease. To echo the words of Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, it is the savvy new generation of BE professionals who are torchbearers “in shaping the future of Singapore – how it looks like, how we live, how we work, how we play and how we interact.”

Interested to shape the future landscape of Singapore? Check out BuildSG.gov.sg for more information.