SM2 Scholarship
SM2 Scholarship is a governmental scholarship programme between Singapore and China based on the contract signed between Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and Ministry of Education (Singapore) as a joint effort on education collaboration.[1]
Selected students are granted full reimbursement tuition, housing, and other living expenses, and are obliged to serve a 6-year bond in Singapore upon graduation.
The programme is designed to tunnel outstanding second-year Chinese senior middle school students to Singapore universities, namely National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, or Singapore University of Technology and Design. Established in 1996, the programme has been conducted for 24 batches up till 2020.
Owing to COVID-19 pandemic, selection of the 24th and 25th batch has been indefinitely postponed without further notice.[2]
Benefits[edit]
Scholars in the SM2 programme concurrently hold the Science & Technology Scholarship and MOE Tuition Grant, including:
- Full reimbursement of tuition fees
- Housing allowance equivalent to the lowest charge of on-campus residence (after bridging course), which S$4,316 per annum
- Medical insurance
- One economy class one-trip ticket before start of bridging course and one return ticket from China to Singapore upon successful completion of studies and after securing employment in Singapore
- One-off settlement allowance of S$200
- Annual additional allowance of S$6000
Selection[edit]
The selection process of SM2 scholarship candidates is in several different stages.[1]
Pre-official selection[edit]
Candidature quotas are distributed to respective province education departments, which further divide the quotas to different senior middle schools. Schools commonly hold internal selection based on various criteria. Moreover, education departments in some provinces also hold special examinations for selection purposes.
Examination[edit]
The written examination consists of four parts, namely, aptitude (IQ) test, mathematics, physics, and English. It is usually conducted in respective provinces on one day in March by Singapore officials and the results are usually released in April while actual grades have never been revealed. Approximately one-third of the participants fail the examination, while precise ratios vary by province and year. Despite the fact that papers are highly confidential, there are various websites claiming to have leaked past year papers, while many of which are fake.[citation needed] Interviews are usually conducted in May and the final results are released immediately the next day. It is mainly in the form of conversation (questions and answers) between four or five Singapore officials (one from each university, one from MOE, and one typist) and the examinee. Approximately half of the participants fail the interview. It remains unknown whether written examination grades affect the outcome of the interview.
The second day after everyone finishes the interview, the result is released through phone calls and schools. The university allocation is not to the will of selected students and is released weeks afterwards, which means that students can know neither the university they are going to when signing the contract nor the allocation criteria.
Bridging course[edit]
It is required that students awarded SM2 scholarship attend tailor-made bridging courses at the respective university.[3] If a student fails to demonstrate satisfactory academic performance for two times or violate disciplines, their scholarship will be terminated and they will also be expelled and repatriated back to China if they are still in their bridging course.
National University of Singapore (NUS)[edit]
The bridging course at NUS starts in July and lasts for 10 months and is divided into two phases. Mathematics and C programming are taught in the first phase; physics and chemistry are taught in the second. At the end of the bridging course, students can take placement tests in C programming and English, which may exempt them from programming methodology and English modules if they obtain a passing grade.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)[edit]
Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)[edit]
Requirements[4][edit]
Academic[edit]
Scholars are expected to maintain good academic performance throughout their course of study in order to continue receiving scholarship benefits. If scholars fail to meet the renewal criteria, they will be given up to two warnings. If they underperform for the 3rd time, their scholarship will be terminated.
- 1st Semester: at least “S” grade if the module is S/U or at least “C” grade, for all modules
- Subsequent Semesters: Cumulative Average Point (CAP) of at least 3.5.
- Scholars reading Double Degree Programmes are expected to meet the scholarship renewal criteria for both home and second degrees.
- Scholars are not allowed to enrol or participate in degree programmes with any overseas components. For example, Concurrent Degree Programmes, Double Degree Programmes or Joint Degree Programmes with overseas partner universities. Scholars are allowed to participate in only 1 semester of overseas exchange programme throughout their course of study on condition that there are at least 2 semesters of study remaining, subject to approval.
- Maximum subsidised candidature
- 6 semesters for a Bachelor degree programme
- 8 semesters for a Bachelor degree programme with Honours
- 9 semesters for a local Double degree programme with a single Honours
- 10 semesters for a local Double degree programme with double Honours
- Scholars are not allowed to concurrently hold any other scholarship, bursary, or award with monetary value.
Discipline[edit]
Their scholarship may be suspended or even terminated if you commit an offence (e.g. plagiarism, cheating in exams, forgery). In serious cases, you may be expelled from the University and repatriated to your home country. Scholars are required to ensure good conduct and uphold in a responsible and dignified manner befitting of a scholarship holder at all times. They are also to refrain from participating in activities that are likely to cause embarrassment to Singapore and/or the institution.
Liquidated Damages[edit]
In addition, the scholar will be expelled and their sureties will be legally responsible for liquidated damages((computed based on the total scholarship benefits expended, inclusive of compounded interest at the rate of 10% per annum) if they fall in the categories below:[5]
- Failing to meet the university’s continuation and graduation requirements.
- Failing to fulfil scholarship obligations.
Postgraduate Studies[edit]
Scholars who are unable to fulfil their bond obligation immediately after graduation, e.g. wish to pursue further studies, are required to apply for bond deferment, subject to approval. Further studies inside Singapore require Banker’s Guarantee of 20% of the outstanding liquidated damages, while leaving Singapore to pursue studies require Banker’s Guarantee paid in full.[6]
Bond[edit]
Scholars must serve their bond for 6 years after graduation by working full-time in a Singapore entity. Their scholarship bond can be served concurrently with their 3-year Tuition Grant bond.
Sponsors[edit]
Some sponsors include:[7]
- Ministry of Education (Singapore)
- National University of Singapore
- Nanyang Technological University
- Singapore Telecommunications Limited
- Neptune Orient Lines Limited
- PSA International Pte Ltd
- DBS Bank
- Keppel Corporation
- Singapore Airlines
- Sembcorp Industries
Criticism[edit]
Two SM2 scholars reportedly committed suicide by jumping off buildings for unknown reasons, respectively during the bridging course and during undergraduate studies[8][9]
Majors available for SM2[edit]
Allocation of major is based on personal choice and bridging course grades, while the specific criteria remain unknown to students. Some argue that the allocation is unfair in comparison with students from other pathways, but no solid evidence has been given.
| National University of Singapore (NUS) | Nanyang Technological University (NTU) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 新加坡国立大学 | 南洋理工大学 | ||||
| Engineering Faculty 工程学院 | College of Engineering 工学院 | ||||
| 1 | Biomedical Engineering | 1 | Aerospace Engineering | ||
| 生物医学工程 | 航空航天工程 | ||||
| 2 | Chemical Engineering | 2 | Bioengineering | ||
| 化学工程 | 生物工程 | ||||
| 3 | Civil Engineering | 3 | Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering | ||
| 土木工程 | 化学与生物分子工程 | ||||
| 4 | Electrical Engineering | 4 | Civil Engineering | ||
| 电子电机工程 | 土木工程 | ||||
| 5 | Engineering Science | 5 | Electrical & Electronic Engineering | ||
| 工程科学 | 电机与电子工程 | ||||
| 6 | Environmental Engineering | 6 | Environmental Engineering | ||
| 环境工程 | 环境工程 | ||||
| 7 | Industrial & Systems Engineering | 7 | Information Engineering & Media | ||
| 工业与系统工程 | 信息工程与媒体 | ||||
| 8 | Materials Science & Engineering | 8 | Maritime Studies | ||
| 材料科学与工程 | 海事研究 | ||||
| 9 | Mechanical Engineering | 9 | Materials Engineering | ||
| 机械工程 | 材料工程 | ||||
| 10 | Computer Engineering | 10 | Mechanical Engineering | ||
| 计算机工程 | 机械工程 | ||||
| (计算机学院与工程学院共联办） | |||||
| Computing Faculty 计算机学院 | School of Computer Engineering 计算机工程学院 | ||||
| 11 | Computing (Business Analytics) | 11 | Computer Engineering | ||
| 计算机 (商业数据分析) | 计算机工程 | ||||
| 12 | Computing (Computer Science) | 12 | Computer Science | ||
| 计算机 (计算机科学) | 计算机科学 | ||||
| 13 | Computing (Information Systems) | College of Science 理学院 | |||
| 计算机 (信息系统) | |||||
| 14 | Computing (Information Security) | 13 | Biological Sciences | ||
| 计算机 (信息安全) | 生物科学 | ||||
| Science Faculty (excludes Pharmacy) 理学院 (不包括药剂) | 14 | Chemistry & Biological Chemistry | |||
| 化学与生物化学 | |||||
| 15 | Science** | 15 | Environmental Earth Systems Science | ||
| 科学** | 环境地球系统科学 | ||||
| 16 | Science (Food Science and Technology) | 16 | Mathematical Sciences | ||
| 食品科技学 | 数学科学 | ||||
| 17 | Science (Pharmaceutical Science) | 17 | Physics & Applied Physics | ||
| 药物科学 | 物理与应用物理 | ||||
| 18 | Data Science and Analytics | 18 | Physics with Mathematical Sciences Major | ||
| 数据科学与分析 | 物理与数学科学 | ||||
| 19 | Environmental Studies (Biology) | ||||
| 环境学(生物) | |||||
| ** Includes majors such as Applied Mathematics, Chemistry & Applied Chemistry, Computational Biology, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Quantitative Finance and Statistics, which students will opt for after being admitted to Science. | ** 提供的主修包括应用数学, 化学, 应用化学, 计算生物学, 生命科学, 数学, 物理, 计量金融学与统计学等, 于入学后申请。 | ||||
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Peidong, Yang (January 2016). "Selecting Scholars for Singapore: The SM2 Program". International Mobility and Educational Desire. Springer. ResearchGate. pp. 53–75. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-59143-2_3. ISBN 978-1-137-59142-5.
- ↑ "新加坡sm2项目考试有什么最新消息吗？谢谢大佬们?". 知乎 (in 中文).
- ↑ Vincent Low. "TaiAn No.1 Senior High: 4 of 20 MOE scholars for Shandong province from our school". The Online Citizen.
- ↑ "[SM2B23NUS] OAM Contractual Briefing for SM2 Scholarship [Office of Admissions]". 哔哩哔哩弹幕视频网. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ↑ Ministry of Education. "Tuition Grant Scheme for Undergraduate Studies" (PDF). TGonline.
- ↑ Ministry of Education. "Tuition Grant Scheme for Undergraduate Studies" (PDF). TGonline.
- ↑ "SM2简介". 新加坡教育网 (in 中文).
- ↑ "自杀这个问题". 橙色记忆 (in 中文). Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ↑ 黄爱莲 (2012-01-21). "南大女奖学金得主胶袋套头自杀死宿舍". 联合早报 (in 中文). Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Unknown parameter
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External links[edit]
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