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The Clean Energy Programme Office (CEPO) launched a S$25 million programme for Clean Energy Scholarships today. This follows after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announcement of the Government’s efforts in Clean Energy during the Opening Ceremony of Global Entrepolis @ Singapore 2007 last evening.
The scholarships are managed by the CEPO and funded by the National Research Foundation, and will be used to develop technology and industry leaders in the Clean Energy Industry in Singapore. Part of the broader strategy of manpower development for the Clean Energy industry, the scholarships aim to sponsor some 130 students over 5 years to take up post-graduate degrees relevant to the sector.
This programme follows on the announcement in March 2007 that Singapore will pursue Clean Energy, with an emphasis on solar energy, as a key growth area. The National Research Foundation (NRF) has allocated S$170 million to build up R&D and manpower capabilities in the Clean Energy industry. CEPO targets the Clean Energy industry to contribute S$1.7 billion to the GDP and create 7,000 jobs by 2015.
“The worldwide clean energy industry is expanding rapidly in the face of rising costs of conventional sources of energy and climate change. Singapore is developing the clean energy as a future growth area. With the Clean Energy Scholarships, we hope to groom future technology and industry leaders to power our clean energy industry forward,” said Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, Executive Director for CEPO and Managing Director of EDB. “The scholars can look forward to exciting job opportunities in clean energy companies or research organisations upon graduation, and at the same time contribute to making the world a ‘greener’ place.”
Clean Energy Scholarships
The S$25 million Clean Energy Scholarships will deepen our manpower effort and kickstart the training of postgraduate manpower, namely at the Masters and PhD levels.
There are two specific scholarships programmes – the NRF (Clean Energy) PhD Scholarships, which is wholly supported by the government, and the NRF (Clean Energy) Company Scholarships, which involves the sharing of training cost between the industry and the government.
NRF (Clean Energy) PhD Scholarships
The NRF (Clean Energy) PhD Scholarships aim to train the next generation of research and professional leaders in the Clean Energy industry. The overseas PhD scholarships will be available to Singaporeans only, while the local PhD scholarships are open to Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and foreigners. Besides having the opportunity to work in selected R&D areas in line with our Clean Energy technology roadmap, scholars will also work with professors who are renowned experts in these fields. Upon graduation, the scholars will have to work in the Clean Energy area in Singapore for the initial years.
NRF (Clean Energy) Company Scholarships
For the NRF (Clean Energy) Company Scholarships, CEPO, in partnership with companies, will co-share the cost of Masters and PhD scholarships for study at locally-based universities. After graduation, the scholars will work for the partner companies and play an important role to accelerate technological development in these companies. This scholarship is open to Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and foreigners.
CEPO is also working closely with the Universities and Polytechnics on specialized Clean Energy programs to train skilled manpower both at diploma and degree levels. Together with the scholarship scheme, the combined efforts will churn out 200-250 skilled manpower for the industry every year.
QUOTES
Erik Thorsen, President and CEO, Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) said: “REC is very keen to participate in the NRF (Clean Energy) Company Scholarships scheme. Following our decision to locate what could be the world’s largest solar manufacturing complex in Singapore, we would need to build up a strong base of talented engineers quickly to kickstart our Singapore operations. We are very glad to see strong support from the Singapore government to train manpower for this sector. This is one of the reasons that have led us to choose Singapore for our planned manufacturing complex.”
ABOUT CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMME OFFICE
The CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMME OFFICE (CEPO) is Singapore’s key inter-agency workgroup responsible for planning and executing strategies to develop Singapore into a Global Clean Energy Hub where clean energy products and solutions are developed here and exported globally.
Set up in April 2007, CEPO leverages upon the strengths of various government agencies - the Economic Development Board (EDB), Building & Construction Authority (BCA), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), Energy Market Authority (EMA), National Environment Agency (NEA), International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) for a comprehensive approach to develop the clean energy industry.
Through the various agencies, CEPO grows and nurtures local and foreign Clean Energy companies through comprehensive cluster development, targeted internationalisation efforts, fostering of world-class research and technology development, and long-term manpower planning.
Individuals and companies interested in the Clean Energy Scholarships may log on to http://www.cepo.sg/ for more information.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Mr Alex Tan
Marketing Communications
Economic Development Board
Tel: (65) 6832-6284
Mobile: (65) 9841-0392
Email: Alex_Tan@edb.gov.sg
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