By Gabriel Ho (24S02A), Pan Haotian (24A01B) and Shannen Lim (24A01A)
Cover image courtesy of Raffles Photographic Society
The age-old question: What do you want to do when you grow up? On 14 July 2023, throngs of Rafflesians gathered after class for the first in-person Career and Scholarship Fair in three years to search for their own answers. Hundreds of ambitious students rushed to view the array of booths, some of which featured Raffles alumni who had once walked the same path.
The career fair spotlighted more than 60 organisations spread over various locations in the school, which enabled students to explore scholarships and career prospects ranging from scientific research to finance to civil service.
The Air Force booth in the amphitheatre attracted large crowds of students eager to find out more about the life of a military pilot, while the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) booths were constantly buzzing with activity as many aspiring scientists and engineers learnt about the attractive overseas scholarships and research opportunities offered.
A host of other governmental agencies were also present, offering hefty scholarships which cover the full cost of the scholar’s tuition fees, exchange programmes, a monthly stipend, and the return airfare for overseas degrees. Students across the spectrum were spoilt for choice, with agencies in domains ranging from law to science, from economics to education.
Perhaps the most unique one was that of Gardens by the Bay, awarding scholarships for a career in horticulture.
Students who take this scholarship have to be very passionate about plants, as they will have to spend most of their time with them.
The advice of an officer from Gardens By the Bay
Indeed, students should keep in mind their passions and interests as they seek out their future career pathways amidst a myriad of attractive offerings from various agencies.
In addition, various local universities such as the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) set up booths around the Innovation Centre. With their hands filled with pamphlets and assorted freebies from the different booths, students got to ask all their burning questions about university life and the courses they were interested in.
Numerous hopeful students swarmed the Medicine booths to gain insights into the demands of the Medicine course, while several other students visited the Engineering and Computer Science (CS) booths to enquire on the wide array of Engineering and CS programmes offered. The NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences received significant foot traffic as well, as students engaged with the university officers to find out more about their experiences in courses like Literature and Linguistics.
Within the Innovation Centre, institutions such as the Lasalle College of Arts and Singapore University of the Social Sciences (SUSS) shared about their unique courses as well, opening the eyes of students to the various creative pathways they could take.
Most of the people at the booths were really insightful and offered a lot of information about them and their company, so I found the fair really helpful!
Jordan Chiam (24A01A)
Jordan’s sentiments were definitely shared by many students who spent the afternoon walking through the fair.
A highlight of the Career and Scholarship Fair had to be the HTX gamified experience, where students got to enjoy a range of games within the HTX gamified vehicle. Students got to try out missions such as decoding, crime-solving and various other puzzles for a tangible, hands-on look into what HTX does.
The games were followed by videos of the real-world cases the games were modelled after, providing all with more insight into what working in the Home Team would be like. HTX also brought their adorable robot “dog” along to show students the limitless potential of technology, piquing the interest of those seeking to explore a career in science and tech while causing most students quite a fright as it approached them in the corridor.
Overall, the Career and Scholarship Fair was an invaluable opportunity for students to explore the different career pathways and scholarships available to them, giving them a first look into what their future could look like. Hopefully, students can all keep an open mind and an open heart as they continue to seek out all that the world has to offer to them!
