Sport Singapore introduces first group of 12 university students to receive spexEducation scholarship

Sport Singapore has awarded its first spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarships to 12 student-athletes recently. This is part of a new programme designed to help athletes succeed in both sports and studies.

The spexEducation scholarship is under the bigger Sport Excellence (spex) framework, which supports athletes throughout both their sporting and academic journeys.

Out of the 12 students who received the scholarship, nine athletes are managing both sports and university studies at the same time under the Dual Career Track, and three athletes are moving on to new careers after their time in competitive sports under the New Career Track. The programme supports athletes at different stages of their lives, whether they want to study while they compete or prepare for what comes next after their sporting career. 

Moreover, seven athletes from six different sports were added to the main spexScholarship programme, which gives financial and training support to top athletes. Twenty-six athletes from 15 sports joined the spexPotential programme as well, which helps younger or developing athletes grow and improve.

In celebration, Sport Singapore held its first-ever spexAthletes investiture ceremony at the Singapore Sports School with over 300 attendees. The event was also attended by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law, who showed strong support for the athletes and their futures.

Athletes who received the spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarships

The athletes receiving the Dual Career Track scholarship include Zeanne Law (Wushu) and Sheik Farhan (Pencak Silat). These athletes chose to continue competing in their respective sports while studying at university. Furthermore, on the New Career track, Jessica Tan, a former national badminton player, is returning to school to study sport management after retirement. Teong Tzen Wei, a swimmer who has made Singapore proud with his success, is also focusing on furthering both his education and career. 

Here is the full list of the 12 athletes who received the scholarship: 

All scholar-athletes have competed at a high level in major competitions. With support for their academics in areas like sport science, sport management, marketing, and accountancy, they can now focus fully on their goals with less financial concerns. 

Mr Kon Yin Tong, chairman of the spexScholarship and spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship Selection Committees and chairman of SportSG, said: “The expansion of the spex framework demonstrates our commitment to providing Team Singapore athletes the most conducive environment to train, compete and excel in their sport. Congratulations to our first batch of spexEducation Undergraduate Scholars – they are outstanding athletes who have consistently demonstrated sporting excellence. Through this scholarship, they can confidently pursue both their sporting ambitions and academic studies. By providing our athletes a holistic and integrated support ecosystem, we hope that this can encourage more athletes to confidently chase their sporting dreams and be assured that their future is secure. There are diverse paths to success, and we want to inculcate the mindset that sport can be a viable career pathway too, so that we can continue to develop a pipeline of strong sporting talent in the generations to come.” 

Sport Singapore (SportSG) partnered with the Singapore Sports School (SSP) and all six autonomous universities (AUs) to give student-athletes the educational support they need to manage both their sports and studies. 

The SSP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the six universities, including: 

• National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
• Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)
• Singapore Management University (SMU)
• Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)
• Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)

Mr Ong Kim Soon, principal, Singapore Sports School, said, “The formalisation of athlete-friendly practices by our autonomous universities (AUs) demonstrates the joint commitment to our shared desire to nurture the human potential, foster unity, and uplift the collective spirit of the nation through high-performance sport. As the education arm of Singapore’s High Performance Sport system, Sports School is pleased to work with our AUs to establish a robust athlete-friendly environment in every AU that empowers our high-performance student-athletes to excel in their sport and undergraduate academic pursuits locally. We look forward to seeing more of our national carded student-athletes thrive in our AUs and become champions in sport, for sport and in life, and in so doing, shape the character and spirit of our nation.”