06 May 2016
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that starting from 2017, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will introduce the Lee Hsien Loong Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Smart Nation Award to all polytechnic students. This award is made possible by the Prime Minister’s $250,000 donation to the education endowment fund.
This award recognizes the efforts of polytechnic students who have completed IDM projects that contribute to the Smart Nation initiative by improving the lives of citizens though the use of information technology.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: “To build a Smart Nation, and make full use of IT in our lives, we need to gather good ideas from many sources. I want to encourage young people to be interested in IT, and to come up with creative ways of using IT to improve our lives. There is lots of enthusiasm and talent among Polytechnic students. I hope this new Award will stimulate more Polytechnic students to do their best, to use their imagination and skills to do outstanding projects in Interactive Digital Media, which will make a difference to Singapore.”
IDM projects include video games, mobile apps, or virtual reality platforms that bring about a range of conveniences such as making public transport more accessible, or making buying and paying for groceries more efficient.
Each year five projects will be chosen as winners that will each receive $1,000. Projects will be judged based on criteria such as their potential impact on Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, as well as the students’ technical competence and presentation skills.