tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post6747162701961070213..comments2024-03-19T18:44:15.041+08:00Comments on Little Stories: A Simple Illustration of Question 9Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01027678080233274309noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-59212244409716742872009-09-13T17:20:50.975+08:002009-09-13T17:20:50.975+08:00$$$$$ we (the country) needs lots of it and it mus...$$$$$ we (the country) needs lots of it and it must come from outside the country 'coz they do not grow on trees nor from the grounds of this island.<br /><br />We have limited resources, <br />We have a small closed population, <br />We have medical problems that we do not understand, <br /><br />While we are serving our NS liability. The foreigners are "sweating" it out in the pubs. They should serve in the civil defence and community services.SMSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-84983678784327365092009-08-28T14:41:32.049+08:002009-08-28T14:41:32.049+08:00Apologies, Mr Wang.
I didn't see the TNP arti...Apologies, Mr Wang.<br /><br />I didn't see the TNP article (still can't find it, in fact).<br /><br />WILLIAMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-68996336685063456642009-08-26T13:36:36.205+08:002009-08-26T13:36:36.205+08:00Hi William:
They amended the website (there was a...Hi William:<br /><br />They amended the website (there was an error) after the TNP interviewed them. See TNP article for detail.Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01027678080233274309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-19373376284575934592009-08-26T13:36:31.769+08:002009-08-26T13:36:31.769+08:00Hi William:
They amended the website (there was a...Hi William:<br /><br />They amended the website (there was an error) after the TNP interviewed them. See TNP article for detail.Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01027678080233274309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-36585938933920509572009-08-26T11:44:09.306+08:002009-08-26T11:44:09.306+08:00Mr Wang
I think you are mistaken.
According to y...Mr Wang<br /><br />I think you are mistaken.<br /><br />According to your links, the Faculty Graduate Scholarship is open to "Outstanding applicants of any nationality (including Singapore citizens and permanent residents)".<br /><br />The Microsoft scholarship is open to "outstanding international applicants of any nationality".<br /><br />So they are both open to Singaporeans.<br /><br />WILLIAMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-57263524411803920962009-08-19T05:25:46.540+08:002009-08-19T05:25:46.540+08:00Winston:
1. I don't know whether this applies...Winston:<br /><br />1. I don't know whether this applies in every case, but most present day NUS Ph.D. candidates should automatically get the NUS Research Scholarship (http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/gdfa/gd-nusrs.html). They can then try to get another scholarship that pays more, such as those listed at http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/gdfa/schemes-gd-scholarshipawards.html. However, NUS doesn't seem to award scholarships for Masters by coursework, although Masters by coursework is a very popular route to obtain higher degrees for Singaporeans.<br /><br />2. Most local scholarships do not require swearing of citizenship. But some A* awards are limited to Singapore citizens, or those who agree to become Singapore citizens upon accepting it. So yes, you are right. By the way, I think those foreigners who accept Singapore citizenship this way do not need to serve NS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-27214656724027147042009-08-19T00:41:22.980+08:002009-08-19T00:41:22.980+08:00I notice that Mr Wang's post brought out the s...I notice that Mr Wang's post brought out the scholarship aspect in order to show how Singaporeans are increasingly marginalised in our own country. I wish to highlight another example.<br /><br />I used to be in the IP (intellectual property) field, essentially a trainee to be a registered patent agent. Just a bit of background of what it means to be registered: it basically means you need to pass a series of qualifying exams (technical in nature) and fulfill some criteria.<br /><br />One unique criteria in Singapore is, you do not need to be a Singaporean citizen to be registered. contrast this to countries like the US, Australia, China, Japan and Europe etc.<br /><br />Another unique criteria is, any one with foreign registration can get registered in Singapore by sitting and passing just one (paper D) out of four papers. That is, they are exempted from the other three technical papers. Please note that the "exam" to get qualified in the US as a patent agent is a multiple choice test as compared to a four-hour essay type analysis paper for each of the Papers A to D in Singapore. Also, note that the paper D is somewhat easier than the other three (many including me passed on first sitting)<br /><br />The generous ones would say the above two criteria serve to bring in more talent while we can train up locals. That might be the overall plan. The government body (refer http://www.ipos.gov.sg/leftNav/pat/age/Mentorship+Funding+Scheme.htm) has set up a program to explicitly fund a foreign agent up to 150k per year in salary to "mentor local trainees. The patent agent must not have been based in Singapore for the past one year prior to this appointment." Each mentor takes up to 2 locals.<br /><br />What has happened however is, the 2 criteria above slants towards foreign talent. The funding scheme too allows increased employment of foreign talent (due to the 50% salary funding). Has the number of locals getting registered increased?? The answer so far is no. These "mentors" are basically here also to work/earn a living. Incidentally, for a flavour of who makes up the examination body for passing candidates for the qualifying exams, refer to http://www.ipos.gov.sg/leftNav/pat/age/Patent+Agents+Qualifying+Examination+Bodies.htm<br /><br />So the scene in this particular industry is, lots of foreign talent are here and are the top dogs. In a recent agm, the new committee for the Association Of Singapore Patent Agents has been voted in. Refer to http://www.aspa.org.sg/main1.htm for the committee. Anyone can see what's the mix of foreign talent to locals ratio. <br /><br />The biggest sad thing is, getting a local registered is hard but the rewards are not commensurate with the registration. In other words, locals are paid peanuts. Foreign talent that arrive are usually paid about three times that of a local registered guy (Singapore is a hardship placement it seems).<br /><br />Thus, having slogged at it for a number of years, I and many others have given up and returned to engineering (itself not really a locals-centred field any more).<br /><br />JUst some food for thought...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-14905184216492983672009-08-18T11:05:13.338+08:002009-08-18T11:05:13.338+08:00Ponder Stibbons and Anonymous:
Think we have a mi...Ponder Stibbons and Anonymous:<br /><br />Think we have a miscommunication here. Are you saying that <b>all graduate students = scholars</b>, i.e. with a tuition waiver and some monthly stipend? If so, then things have changed since I left grad school at NUS.<br /> <br />Do you know of any database with that, instead of a list of students? That was what I was referring to in my previous post. <br /><br />Anonymous:<br /><br />Interesting point about PRCs having to swear citizenship before getting a local scholarship. Is it an A* award, by any chance?Winstonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-41883384194765949802009-08-18T10:00:36.677+08:002009-08-18T10:00:36.677+08:00hais.. read already feel quite sad about it. but w...hais.. read already feel quite sad about it. but what to do? say already won't hear. hear already won't change. change already also to the foreigners' advantage. i very determined to vote for opposition to rise up already. we need more balance in the system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-47413016642180077742009-08-18T09:08:43.297+08:002009-08-18T09:08:43.297+08:00To some extend, age is also a considering factor f...To some extend, age is also a considering factor for scholarship award. I used to work in one of the govt sectors. They offer postgrad scholarship and one of the criterias is the applicant must be below 35 years old.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-20739212915399605052009-08-17T22:49:50.923+08:002009-08-17T22:49:50.923+08:00Winston:
I did provide a link to the NUS math dep...Winston:<br /><br />I did provide a link to the NUS math department showing the number of postgrad students. For the math department alone it was >60. You are welcome to count the postgrad students on the department webpage of every department in NUS and NTU. The figures are there for you to see. If the NUS math department accounts for 1/10 of all postgrad students in Singapore (and it certainly accounts for less than that), then even 30 A*Star scholars is only 5% of the entire postgrad population. Far from what you'd need to counter the 3:1 imbalance of foreign vs local postgrads.Ponder Stibbonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18387561315863534902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-53414735833904651982009-08-17T17:41:17.017+08:002009-08-17T17:41:17.017+08:00After reading the many comments in here,I realise ...After reading the many comments in here,I realise that that the talents who have chosen to become Singapore citizen are no talents at all.<br /><br />The talents are hidden among the PRs,who refuse consistently to become Singapore citizens even though they constantly reflect their deep feelings in the media how much they love Spore,some of thses feeling are true.<br /><br />It is simple,if you have a brian,why do you give up the best of both worlds and condemm yr future generations? <br /><br />It is ridiculous that so many of our IVY league scholars who serve in importanrt positions refuse to recognise this problem,yes,FEAR,I agree.But then is that all,may be many of these IVY league scholars are really only good at getting distinctions and nothing else.<br /><br />Does it happen?you bet,that is how the term BOOKWORM bacame classic in imperial China.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-56947290067839553212009-08-17T16:58:26.159+08:002009-08-17T16:58:26.159+08:00Winston:
I can attest to what Ponder Stibbons sai...Winston:<br /><br />I can attest to what Ponder Stibbons said. My lab has ~20 people and only one other Singaporean other than myself. The lab opposite mine and the lab upstairs has no Singaporeans at all (I don't count PRCs who are required to accept Singaporean citizenship for accepting some scholarship that pays much better than my own). I always feel that I am not working in Singapore even though I am a Ph.D. candidate in NUS.<br /><br />P.S. I am also the one who posted "Luckily, School of Computing doesn't seem to discriminate against Singaporeans as much".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-23258066621261582192009-08-17T11:34:35.153+08:002009-08-17T11:34:35.153+08:00While on the topic of higher education, perhaps yo...While on the topic of higher education, perhaps you could also look into the number of scholarships for Masters vs PhD.<br /><br />I understand government's policy of wanting more "highly educated professionals", but the seeming lack of Masters scholarship sidelines those of us who would like to pursue studies further than a bachelor degree, but not willing to commit to a 4-5 years PhD course. Are we really just "not worth (their) time"?YGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-83910143982483905812009-08-17T10:53:57.536+08:002009-08-17T10:53:57.536+08:00Ponder Stibbons:
Thanks for the link - of that li...Ponder Stibbons:<br /><br />Thanks for the link - of that list, twelve are/will be studying for their Ph.Ds in NUS. Nice to see that an ex-student of mine got awarded one. :) <br /><br />I would hesitate to say that these 12 "add negligibly" to the sum of local Ph.D. scholars in S'pore unis - unless we have the full stats available, any guesses we have here are idle speculation.Winstonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-14654052020386593902009-08-17T10:40:03.021+08:002009-08-17T10:40:03.021+08:00Mr. Wang,
Isn't it sad to live in a country w...Mr. Wang,<br /><br />Isn't it sad to live in a country where its citizens are being penalised and discriminated against? To add insult to injury, male citizens have to give up 2 years of their time to serve a nation that practices that discrimination. Did S'poreans pay their ministers at least S$2Million each a year to come up with a brilliant policy like that? I can sympathise with your experience when back in the 90's I applied to NUS to become a post doctoral researcher after returning from abroad with a PhD. I did not receive any response and was told later by an insider source that those positions were reserved for foreigners as a means of attracting them to Singapore even though the positions were advertised in the local edition of the Straits Times. I had a colleague who also had a similar experience and it could not simply be a coincidence. That incident (along with other bad PAP govt policies) had strengthened my resolve to emigrate and I am now happily residing in another country which welcomes me with open arms and does not discriminate against me just because of the color of my skin nor my nationality.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-40125658499133404492009-08-17T10:23:31.667+08:002009-08-17T10:23:31.667+08:00I am a Singaporean but I do not feel like one.I am a Singaporean but I do not feel like one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-58768231802146045842009-08-17T09:42:07.836+08:002009-08-17T09:42:07.836+08:00Winston:
A*Star publishes a list of its local pos...Winston:<br /><br />A*Star publishes a list of its local postgrad scholarship recipients every year. You can see this year's list <a href="http://www.a-star.edu.sg/graduate_academy_and_scholarships/192-A-STAR-Graduate-Scholars?year=2009" rel="nofollow">here</a>. There are about 30 of them this year (the post-docs don't count as they already have a PhD). The NUS math department alone has more than twice that number of <a href="http://ww1.math.nus.edu.sg/people.aspx?file=stf-graduates" rel="nofollow">postgraduate students</a>. Thus it seems clear that A*Star's awards add negligibly to the population of local postgrad scholarship holders.Ponder Stibbonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18387561315863534902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-33678070996908701202009-08-16T18:20:46.417+08:002009-08-16T18:20:46.417+08:00Because if the government awards those scholarship...Because if the government awards those scholarships to local citizens, they will have to raise the GST to 10%.<br /><br />Think about it, readers. Seriously, we citizens have been marginalised more often than not. Whenever they need you eg NS, they will create some policies and make them mandatory. I'm not saying that NS is bad/good, I'm saying often you are just... batteries. Once used up, it can be discarded.<br /><br />Not only scholarships. The HDB rules have changed so often that it becomes ridiculous. Let me give you an example. Someone close to me brother bought a flat. He stayed for 1+year. However he was transferred to another country and has been living there eversince. Each time he wants to sell his flat, he cannot because he has to stay for TWO years. He even wanted to pay HDB for the outstanding few months. Yet he was rejected.<br /><br />So... he can't sell his flat. He just have to continue his situation and pray the the rulings change. His can't give up his citizenship even if he wanted to. It's all in a jam. <br /><br />Doesn't it amuses you that a citizen has to go through these? He just wants to sell his flat and use the profit to finance his current house.<br /><br />So I'm not surpised at all about us getting the brunt end of the stick. Basically the government is indirectly telling you - <br /><br />You ain't worth it.<br /><br />KaffeinKaffeinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11958784896341738588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-71622562602390390222009-08-16T11:07:07.132+08:002009-08-16T11:07:07.132+08:00I agree with Mr Wang. Little is being done to gro...I agree with Mr Wang. Little is being done to groom the local professional, as more effort is expedited to attract and groom Foreign Talents (FT). In the post-graduate courses nowadays, there are really more FT than locals, so much that it seems like one is studying overseas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-18488764223452161842009-08-16T11:02:23.607+08:002009-08-16T11:02:23.607+08:00Nelson:
Apart from the Fulbright, NSF's IGERT...Nelson:<br /><br />Apart from the Fulbright, NSF's IGERT program also restricts its applicants to US & Puerto Rico nationals. The DoD's NDSEG fellowship is similarly restricted to US nationals. <br /><br />These national fellowships are, AFAIK, offering much better stipends than your run-of-the-mill TA/RA-ships in a typical research-one university. A good friend of mine who was an IGERT fellow in a pretty well-known state university had an annual stipend twice that of a foreign-born TA, despite both having Masters' degrees. <br /><br />Citizenship does matter here in the U.S. - especially in applying for the "better" graduate fellowships. <br /><br />Fox:<br /><br />Agree with your point, but those are stats for undergrad scholarships - Mr. Wang is discussing post-graduate scholarships. <br /><br />The link that you provided, however, says that "25% of the scholars holding university-sponsored postgraduate scholarships are local students." OTOH, this figure does not account for local-only A*Star or FIREfly grad scholars, and Tharman did state that such non-uni funded scholarships were recently increasing in number.Winstonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-88181234676697949722009-08-16T10:49:35.399+08:002009-08-16T10:49:35.399+08:00Mr Wang,
I agree with you this is something Singap...Mr Wang,<br />I agree with you this is something Singapore should really be ashamed of. <br /><br />I am a Singaporean and a former "scholar". I attended an overseas institution under this bonded scholarship from the govt, but for my Masters education, I was extremely fortunate to receive a completely bond free graduate fellowship from a US university.<br /><br />I found it astonishing, that a foreign university unrelated to me, willingly gave me a free education, but my own country will only seek to impose punitive bonds and contracts on her own citizen, under the pretense of developing talent.<br /><br />Then compare it to the slate of scholarships on offer now to attract foreigners, rather than giving to more of your own people. One just can't help but feel like a 2nd class, unwanted citizen in your own backyard.<br /><br />I am leaving for further studies under another full fellowship from the same University in a week's time. This opportunity was not made possible though by my country. <br /><br />Pity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-42273883391268282622009-08-16T07:37:22.892+08:002009-08-16T07:37:22.892+08:00The gahmen says there are not enough talented Sing...The gahmen says there are not enough talented Singaporeans what. That's why they need to get lots of foreigners. If they look for Singaporeans, only a million or 2 of them to choose from. If they look for foreigners, billions of them to choose from.<br /><br />So of course must get a lot of foreigners lah. Simple logic what.<br /><br />Of course they must ensure from those who are Singaporeans, those who are the opposition must provide 50% walkovers and those who are voters must give 66% mandate at every election. And enough of them are males of NS age to serve NS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-69200647182482870252009-08-15T23:58:21.020+08:002009-08-15T23:58:21.020+08:00What place do Singaporean have, in the grand schem...What place do Singaporean have, in the grand scheme of things, when they've chosen to abdicate choice to those who have chosen themselves?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-8888611221133858182009-08-15T22:12:50.813+08:002009-08-15T22:12:50.813+08:00It is hopeless man. After the sacrifices we make, ...It is hopeless man. After the sacrifices we make, serving NS, and then reservist, yet to see ourselves being discriminated against on our very own soil! <br /><br />Don't come and tell us our birth rates are falling, or the young and talented are going overseas to study and never coming back. <br /><br />We'll just have to accept it. The gov wants to attract foreign talent here. Thus, exchange programs starting as early as secondary schools. You ask around who's paying for the China students and teachers when they come here for visits. Ask MOE--doubt you'll get an answer. If you meet them or host one for a week or two in your home, ask them how much they pay on their own side to their government in order to come here.Where Got Fairnoreply@blogger.com