Successful ITE graduates to be recognised under a new fellowship in President's Challenge 2025
Successful ITE graduates to be recognised under a new fellowship in President's Challenge 2025
SINGAPORE - A new fellowship to recognise Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates who have had outstanding career achievements was among three tracks launched under the refreshed President's Challenge on May 28.
The ITE Inspire Fellowship recognises those who have achieved success following a technical education background to serve as role models and mentors to motivate others.
The fellowship was introduced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam during a visit with Netball Singapore, an organisation receiving funding this year under the President's Challenge.
The President's Challenge was established in 2000 by then-President S R Nathan to raise money for and support various social causes. It has provided funding for many social service agencies to run their programmes.
The two other fellowships launched in 2025 are the Civic Action and Springboard fellowships, which aim to develop new approaches in the social sector as well support individuals who are bouncing back from major setbacks respectively.
The Civic Action Fellowship will be open to social sector professionals and allow them to deepen their expertise and develop new approaches for the sector through full-time and part-time sabbaticals that span one to two years.
The Springboard Fellowship will help those bouncing back from adversity and provide them with education, skills and entrepreneurship training so they can embark on new career paths.
The three fellowships will tap partners like Quantedge Foundation, Singapore Institute of Management and Singapore Business Federation Foundation for their resources and networks.
Applications for the Civic Action and ITE Inspire tracks will be open from June 3 to July 18 via the President's Challenge website. Nominations for the Springboard track in the first year will be sought through agencies in the social and civic sector.
Speaking to media at the event, Mr Tharman said the fellowships aim to broaden the 'canvas' of leadership in society.
'We want more catalysts and role models, and they come from different walks of life,' he said.
He said he wanted the Springboard Fellowship, which helps people bouncing back from adversity, to be part of the President's Challenge to show that it is important to recognise that there are many paths in life. And very often, the path involves a setback along the way.
Singapore is at a stage of development as a country where intangibles matter greatly, he said, adding that the ultimate objective of the President's Challenge is intangible - to build a community of respect.
'This intangible respect for all is how we motivate and uplift each other, recognising the very different life circumstances we all have, putting ourselves in someone else's shoes and realising that they face obstacles, and encouraging and motivating everyone to overcome those obstacles.'
In 2025, the President's Challenge will support 60 programmes from 52 organisations, including six initiatives that will receive more funding.
These programmes will receive funding ranging from $715,000 to $1,250,000 over five years, enabling them to scale their impact.
This includes a therapeutic horseback riding initiative for those with disabilities run by the Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore, and a community patrol initiative that engages youth facing adversity by Shine Children and Youth Services.
New Life Stories' Family Strengthening Programme is also one of the six that will receive significant funding this year. The programme, which helps inmates and their families, supported more than 650 families in 2024.
'The funding will not only help us increase the number of families that we support, but also allow us to go further in-depth with each family and improve the quality of service we provide so we can make really deep, meaningful impact in their lives,' said chief executive of New Life Stories Saleemah Ismail.
The initiative helps incarcerated parents connect with their children through open visits and special activities like letting the parents write storybooks in prison that their children can read.
Another programme that will receive extra funding this year is Women At Work, an initiative by Yayasan Mendaki to help unemployed Malay-Muslim women get back into the workforce.
Programme lead Zuria Yusope said the programme helped 200 women in 2024, 54 per cent of whom attained a job within six months.
'With this sustained funding over five years, we will be able to reach out to even more women and increase the number of sessions that we hold to improve their employability,' she said.
This year's grant call attracted applications from 272 programmes, more than twice of that for 2024.
Other than the six initiatives receiving extra funding, the President's Challenge will also support 54 other programmes with funding of $105,000 to $300,000 each, spread over three years.
This includes Netball Singapore's Netball Rising programme – a new initiative to provide regular coaching and competitive opportunities to potential athletes aged 12-17 from underprivileged backgrounds.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam throwing a netball at the Kallang ActiveSG Netball Centre on May 28. Looking on are President Tharman's spouse, Ms Jane Ittogi (right), members of NorthLight School's netball team and their coach Liew Hin Joon (foreground).
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
The President's Challenge 2025 expanded its scope to include support for arts and sports.
The National Arts Council (NAC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) will act as partners to the President's Challenge and help with talent discovery, especially among those from less advantaged backgrounds.
Under its partnership with SportSG, the President's Challenge will support the Enabling Sports Fund to expand community-initiated disability sports and support early identification of talents among young people with disabilities.
Support will also be given to NAC's and SportSG's scholarships, to empower more individuals to develop their aspirations in the arts and sports.
The logo for President's Challenge was also changed this year after a logo competition was opened to polytechnic, ITE, and University of the Arts Singapore students. The winning design among 153 entries was by Xandrea Alfie Isa from Temasek Polytechnic.
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New Singapore College of Islamic Studies to have its own campus The upcoming Singapore College of Islamic Studies will have its own campus next to the Singapore University of Social Sciences campus in Rochor. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM The upcoming Singapore College of Islamic Studies (SCIS) will have its own campus next to the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) campus in Rochor. SCIS and SUSS will be housed in their own buildings, reflecting their unique identities and purpose. SCIS students will be able to take SUSS' social science courses as part of their studies. Both institutions will also share facilities, ensuring that students from both institutions can better interact with one another and enrich their time on campus. 10. Future developments and coastal protection Kranji will become a new public housing estate for up to 14,000 homes, while new concepts for dining, shopping and housing are in the pipeline for Sembawang, with plans being formulated for its waterfront. 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