Dear Scholars,

My heartiest congratulations to you on your scholarship awards. It is, without a doubt, a laudable achievement to get to where you are today.

All your hard work and tenacity has paid off.

You are now amongst a select group of graduates from your cohorts with the privilege of pursuing your scientific interests at top research institutions with public funding. Indeed, you are about to embark on possibly the most exciting journey of your youthful lives as fledging scientists.

Never has it been so thrilling to be involved in the world of science and technology. To cite but one obvious example – the acceleration of new discoveries in fields, ranging from the biomedical to materials sciences, through the use of ever-powerful AI models holds so much promise for new and game-changing discoveries. As the national innovation engine of Singapore, A*STAR is very much part of this creative ferment of new ideas and new technologies at the international and local levels.

You and your generation of scientific minds will carry an important responsibility of ensuring that Singapore remains at the cutting-edge of scientific research and technological innovation. As a small country, our talent is our most important resource – this is something worth repeating as the world around us enters a period of unprecedented uncertainty in recent memory.

So, I wish to impress upon you that you have a duty to contribute back to our nation as a future scientific leader. And wherever you might be next, you will be an ambassador of Singapore in such challenging times.

This year, we proudly celebrate 25 years of “Talent Driving Innovation” in A*STAR and a scholar community that has grown to almost 2,000. We have so many stories of how A*STAR scholars have strengthened Singapore’s research, innovation and enterprise ecosystem, advanced national priorities and made their mark in the global scientific community.

I look forward to seeing the impact each of you will make and to hearing your stories in the years ahead.

On behalf of all of us at A*STAR, welcome aboard!

My Best

Godwin Tang
Group Director
A*STAR Graduate Academy
International Partnerships Office
Research Office