Speech by Maureen Wee, Head (HR) at the SPH Media & SPH Foundation Scholarship Ceremony 2023
SPEECH BY MS MAUREEN WEE, HEAD (HUMAN RESOURCES) AT THE SPH MEDIA & SPH FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS CEREMONY ON 28 JULY 2023
Good afternoon Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Chairman of SPH Media Trust;
Ms Teo Lay Lim, CEO of SPH Media;
Mr Roland Ng, Chairman of SPH Foundation;
Scholarship recipients and family members;
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
Talent is the driving force of our newsrooms and of our organisation as a whole.
At SPH Media, we believe in investing in talent, both for today and the future.
We will be presenting scholarships in four categories at today’s ceremony, namely the SPH Media Journalism Scholarship, the SPH Media-Temasek Foundation Scholarship, the SPH Media Scholarship for Children of Employees and the Lim Kim San Memorial Scholarship.
We are glad to be able to award the SPH Media Journalism Scholarships to young people who are keen to pursue a career in journalism. These aspiring journalists will have a chance to seek out and report on the truth, and to tell the stories that matter. Their work serves to inform people who call Singapore home, and people everywhere who value the Singapore perspective as a way to help them make sense of a fast-changing, complex world.
This year, we are awarding scholarships to eight recipients who stood out during their internships in our newsrooms across four languages. They are interested in people and issues, and are eager to learn. They will be studying a range of subjects at university, from digital journalism, anthropology to political science.
I am also happy to announce our partnership with Temasek Foundation with the launch of the inaugural SPH Media-Temasek Foundation Scholarship. This partnership reflects Temasek Foundation’s commitment to supporting journalism in Singapore and the region.
The SPH Media-Temasek Foundation Scholarship will be awarded today to two students from NUS’ Department of Communications and New Media, and one from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.
SPH Media Scholarship for children of SPH Media employees
Now let me say a little about two of the other scholarship awards being presented today. The first are scholarship awards for the children of SPH Media employees to honour the dedication of our colleagues, recognise their efforts as parents and celebrate the achievements of their children. This year, we are giving out 13 such scholarships.
Lim Kim San Memorial Scholarship
Last but not least, the SPH Foundation awards the Lim Kim San Memorial Scholarship to deserving students from families of modest means.
This bond-free scholarship helps to fund the undergraduate studies of bright youths at local universities.This year, we will be giving out 12 Lim Kim San Memorial scholarships.
Talent management
As we build young talent through scholarships, we also remain committed to our employees’ growth.
We want all our employees to be able to realise their full potential by having access to various opportunities where they can learn, grow and succeed with us. Since Sept 2022, we have invested over 45,000 training hours in our people, providing them with a wide range of experiences to help them achieve their career aspirations and professional goals.
Fellowships
Let me highlight two fellowship programmes we have been offering to our journalists.
The first is a three-month fellowship at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the top university in Asia according to a recent ranking. Our first two Tsinghua fellows, Michelle Ng of ST and Ken Low of ZB, will be heading to China later this year.
The second is a three-month fellowship at the Reuters Institute of Journalism at Oxford University. Last year, two of our colleagues, Tham Yuen-C of ST and Ng Soon Kiat of ZB, got to spend Autumn in Oxford. Another two colleagues, Clara Lock of ST and Ho Sheo Be of ZB, will be heading to the university town later this year.
These fellowships are a gift of time and space for our newsroom colleagues to think and reflect. Our fellows will be given the opportunity to meet fellow journalists and editors from around the world, exchange ideas and experiences, and build their networks.
Newsroom exchanges
We also want to expand the opportunities for newsroom exchanges with our international media counterparts. This month, a team of our colleagues from the newsrooms visited the Nikkei media group in Tokyo.
This comes under the MOU partnership between SPH Media and Nikkei to share knowledge and learn from each other in digital transformation and other areas. The partnership will see SPH Media and Nikkei organise regular exchanges for their editorial personnel to share best practices and discuss digital transformation, data analytics and editorial talent development.
Finally, let me just say to our scholarship recipients - we believe in you and your future, and our heartiest congratulations to you and your families who have supported you.
Thank you.