SINGAPORE, Dec 22 — A National University of Singapore (NUS) final-year student and four NUS alumni have secured the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars graduate fellowship.

This covers a one-year, fully-funded master’s degree programme in global affairs at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

The five, which include three Singaporeans, are among 150 scholars around the world — representing 43 countries and 114 universities — selected for the award.

The scholars will focus on the pillars of leadership, global affairs and China in their graduate curriculum, which commences in August 2024.

They are selected through a “competitive application process designed to identify leadership potential, intellect, and strength of character”, said Schwarzman Scholars in a media statement.

“The calibre of this incoming class and their potential fills me with optimism for the future,” Stephen A Schwarzman, the founding trustee of Schwarzman Scholars, added.

“This year’s selected scholars are keenly interested in learning about China, which is now more important than ever in this complex geopolitical environment. They are ready to engage thoughtfully with global issues and eager to make a positive impact on the world.”

The five scholars from NUS are:

  • Htet Myet Min Tun, an Asean Undergraduate Scholar and final-year student majoring in Global Affairs at Yale-NUS College
  • Matthew Chew Sheng Jun, a Singaporean who graduated in 2023 from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine with a Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine
  • Lucy Zhu Xinyu, who graduated in 2022 from Yale-NUS College with a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Mathematical, Computational, and Statistical Sciences
  • Lyn Tay, a Singaporean who graduated from the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science (Nursing)
  • Rachel Juay, a 2021 graduate from the Concurrent Degree Programme offered by Yale-NUS College and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP). The Singaporean has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Yale-NUS College and a Master’s in Public Policy from LKYSPP

“The Schwarzman scholarship came at a perfect time as I was working on expanding my work in mental health and social causes across the region,” said Tay, a registered nurse.

“I look forward to collaborating with the Schwarzman Scholars community which comprises many equally passionate individuals from diverse fields across the world,” she added.

The five would form NUS’ largest cohort of Schwarzman Scholars in a single year, the university said in a press statement on Tuesday (Dec 19).

To date, 15 NUS students and alumni have been admitted to the programme since its establishment in 2013.

“Aside from being taught by leading faculty from Tsinghua and other internationally recognised universities, they will attend lectures delivered by prominent global thought leaders,” NUS said in its statement.

The university added that the graduate programme would also include mentoring, internships, and experiential learning, with “career development provided to help the scholars lead and excel in various fields upon graduation”. — TODAY