Aster endows $1.5m bursary to three universities to aid budding engineers

The initiative will offer bursaries to students from NTU, NUS, and SIT.

Aster has launched a $1.5m initiative to support aspiring engineers in Singapore, focusing on civil, structural, chemical, process, and mechanical engineering.

The initiative will provide bursaries to students from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), prioritising those with strong academic performance and financial need.

Talks are underway to include more institutions later.

Each bond-free bursary will be established under Aster’s banner, allowing recipients the flexibility to choose their own career paths.

At NTU, Aster’s donation will create an endowed bursary fund to assist financially needy students from the Schools of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

At NUS, another endowed fund will support students in the College of Design and Engineering.

At SIT, the Aster Bursary will provide support for financially needy students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend university.

To ensure students do not have to wait for the endowment to mature, immediate-term bursaries will also be provided from AY2025.

The initiative will also tap into government matching schemes to expand its impact. In return, universities will offer Aster naming rights and opportunities to engage with student recipients.