The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) said it has underlined its commitment to investing in the future of the Singapore and global shipping industry by sponsoring S$50,000 through three scholarships during the 2014/2015 academic year.
The scholarships will come under the the MaritimeONE Scholarship Program administered by the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) and will be offered to students attending the Singapore Management University (SMU) and Singapore Maritime Academy at the Singapore Polytechnic. Applications for MaritimeONE scholarships will be from April 1-May 31, 2014.
Under an agreement signed with the SMF, the SSA will fund one S$10,000 scholarship towards a three-year diploma course at the Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA). This scholarship is only open to local graduates of the Institute of Technical Education who are enrolled in SMA’s Diploma in Maritime Business, Diploma in Marine Engineering or Diploma in Nautical Studies courses.
Additionally, two undergraduate students who embark on the newly launched Maritime Economics Concentration at SMU will each receive S$10,000 per annum in their third and fourth year of undergraduate studies. SMU welcomed its first cohort of students for the Concentration at the start of the new academic year in August 2013. The program, which allows undergraduates with a first degree in economics to specialize in maritime disciplines, aims to groom local talent for the maritime and related sectors in Singapore.
Since 2007, a total of 160 MaritimeONE Scholarships have been awarded to outstanding and deserving students to pursue maritime-related courses.
SSA President Patrick Phoon, said, “The SSA strongly supports the education of young people who have an interest in joining our shipping industry. Through a number of initiatives, including our support of MaritimeONE, the provision of scholarships by both the Association and its members, as well as our support for our SSA YEG (Young Executives Group), to encourage the youth to join our industry, is an absolute key objective of the SSA.”
He stressed that the SSA scholarships would provide the needy students with a much needed leg-up to the opportunities their peers may have. “They may not be the top of the class but as long as they show commitment in their studies and are mindful in contributing back to the maritime industry, let us give them a chance,” he said.
“We want to show the young people in Singapore and around the world that the maritime industry is not the rough and tough industry people think it is. We also want to showcase that the maritime industry is the lifeblood which keeps world trade in motion and that our youth have a significant role to play in ensuring continuity of such an important industry,” he said.
