SINGAPORE – Computer games like MapleStory and Counter-Strike first sparked 16-year-old Ernest Tan’s curiosity about how computers communicate with each other.

This fascination drove him to persevere through a longer education path as a Normal (Technical) student.

“Academically, I was quite weak. Ironically, my weakest subject was mathematics,” the now 37-year-old assistant professor at Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) said.

But he enjoyed what he was studying, he said. “I just wanted to do the best that I could.”

Nearly two decades later, he is now a lecturer in SIT’s infocomm technology cluster, working on research and teaching undergraduates.

Prof Tan, who completed his doctorate in computer engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2020, said he was not discouraged by the longer journey.

“It’s purely passion,” he said. “If I have to go a longer route to have my education, I’ll just have to take it as part of the journey.”

After completing his N levels at Ang Mo Kio Secondary School in 2004, he pursued a Nitec Communications Technology course at the Institute of Technical Education. He then studied engineering at Singapore Polytechnic and later at NTU.

“Even when I first started university as an undergraduate, I had no idea if I could graduate,” he said.

Prof Tan was one of 21 recipients of the Singapore Teaching and Academic Research Talent Scheme Awards, which support Singaporeans pursuing academic careers at local universities.

The award, given by the Ministry of Education, will fund recipients’ undergraduate or postgraduate studies at local or overseas institutions before they return to pursue their academic or research careers in Singapore.

Another 146 students received on Aug 1 the MOE Teaching Scholarships and MOE Teaching Award, given to those who ...