Singapore, 17 August 2021

Two doctors who contributed to Singapore’s Covid-19 response last year, an international dispute resolution lawyer, and a communications specialist at a counter-terrorism think-tank are the four Singaporean recipients of the UK’s 2021/2022 Chevening Awards.

The British High Commission Singapore announces today (17 Aug) Dr Glorijoy Tan, 32, Dr Muhammad Taufeeq Wahab, 27, Mr Aloysius Chang, 34, and Mr Teo Kai Xiang, 25, as this year’s Chevening scholars.

They will pursue Master’s-level courses in the UK starting this autumn, supported by the global Chevening scholarship programme which helps future leaders develop academically and professionally.

Dr Glorijoy Tan

Dr Tan is an Associate Consultant Infectious Diseases physician at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), with interests in infection prevention and control and public health.

In addition to her clinical work in the hospital, she served as a medical consultant to the Ministry of Manpower’s ACE (Assurance, Care and Engagement) Public Health and Surveillance Unit during the Covid-19 outbreak. She was also a member of the team behind the Covid-19 Symptom Checker online system, created to help individuals with flu-like symptoms decide on what their next steps should be.

While a successful applicant for the Chevening Awards for 2020/2021, Dr Tan chose to put her postgraduate plans on hold for a year, to continue her work at the NCID and TTSH in tackling infectious diseases.

She said:

It is a great honour to have been awarded the Chevening Scholarship. I am looking forward to spending a year in London, learning from eminent experts in my field, being part of the global Chevening community, and experiencing a new country, culture, and people.

The pandemic has dramatically changed the way we live and view infectious diseases. I am confident that the skills and qualifications that I will attain through the Masters program in Public Health will enhance my abilities to serve my country and its people upon my return, in conducting research, policymaking, and nurturing the next generation of Infectious Diseases physicians.

Dr Tan will be studying for a Master of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London.

Dr Muhammad Taufeeq Wahab

Dr Taufeeq is a Medical Officer with the National University Health System (NUHS) Preventive Medicine Residency Programme, with interests in mentoring, infectious diseases and improving global and regional public health and health equity.

Last year, he supported Singapore’s inter-ministry task force dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak in the foreign worker dormitories, helping to develop protocols, distribute then-limited Covid-19 testing resources and build medical support teams.

Dr Taufeeq said:

Becoming a Chevening scholar is a dream come true, and I am extremely humbled by the opportunity. Being a Chevening scholar doesn’t just offer me the chance to study in some of Britain’s best universities, but also to network with like-minded Chevening scholars from across the globe!” said Dr Taufeeq.

With this precious opportunity, I am one step closer to my dream of contributing to global and regional public health. And I hope to inspire others to follow the same path so that we can achieve equitable healthcare for all.

Dr Taufeeq will be studying for a Master of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London.

Mr Aloysius Chang

Mr Chang is an Associate at King & Spalding (Singapore) LLP, who has been working in the field of international dispute resolution. He has written articles for the Singapore Law Review and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Review. He won Fountain Court Chambers’ Christopher Bathurst Prize in 2016.

Mr Chang is pursuing a Master of Law (LLM) at the University of Cambridge.

He said:

I am absolutely ecstatic to have been chosen for Chevening and very much honoured to join the hallowed ranks of Chevening scholars.

I will be pursuing a Master of Law at the University of Cambridge, where I hope to acquire specialist knowledge in international law to better contribute to Singapore’s growth in the field of international dispute resolution.

Mr Teo Kai Xiang

Mr Teo is the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism’s (ICCT- The Hague) Communications Officer, leading the organisation’s digital strategy and public engagement. His current research focuses on online harms such as radicalisation and misinformation, and he is the creator of the “POFMA’ed Dataset”, an online dataset of every electronic communication subject to Singapore’s ‘fake news’ law.

Mr Teo will be pursuing a Master of Philosophy in Sociology of Media and Culture at the University of Cambridge.

He said:

I am excited to start my postgraduate studies in sociology at the University of Cambridge, where my proposed research focuses on how information policy influences online civil society. Armed with this knowledge, I hope to work with regulators and tech companies to make Singapore’s digital public sphere more inclusive and transparent.

I am beyond grateful to Chevening for this amazing opportunity to expand on my past research on information and security policy. As a queer Singaporean who has taken an unconventional path in education, this scholarship is absolutely opening doors for me that I would have struggled to reach otherwise.

Her Excellency Kara Owen presented the four scholars with their Chevening Awards certificates today, during a private presentation at Eden Hall, the official residence of the British High Commissioner of Singapore.

Over 50,000 professionals from around the world have studied in the UK through the Chevening programme since 1983.

Notable Chevening alumni from Singapore include Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, Singapore mufti Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States Ashok Kumar Mirpuri and world-record breaking wheelchair racer Dr William Tan. The Scholarship has also been known in Singapore as the Raffles Scholarship.

The Chevening Scholarship supports successful applicants to pursue a Master’s-level course at a university of their choosing.

Applications for study in 2022-2023 are open until 2 November 2021, 12:00 (GMT)

For media queries, please contact:

Adrian.Lim@fcdo.gov.uk

Guidance for providers of supported living settings.

The package donated by the UK was shipped via COVAX, with the support of UNICEF and WHO, and arrived in Cairo yesterday (16 August). This is part of the first tranche of the 100 million vaccines that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged the UK would share by June 2022 at the G7 Summit in Cornwall, with 30 million due to be sent by the end of the year. At least 80 million of the 100 million doses will go to COVAX.

This donation follows the recent COVAX shipment of 1.7 million doses, which the UK is also supporting. The UK was at the forefront of efforts to establish COVAX in 2020, and has provided a total of £548 million to fund vaccines for lower income countries. The scheme has delivered more than 152 million vaccine doses to over 137 countries and territories, including in 83 lower-middle income countries.

This package, and the UK’s wider support to COVAX, will help meet the need for vaccines in Egypt as the country continues to battle with Covid-19.

The British chargé d’affaires and Deputy Ambassador to Egypt, Qudsi Rasheed, said:

Yesterday, the UK sent around 300,000 vaccines to Egypt, through COVAX, the first batch of the 100 million doses our Prime Minister has pledged we will share with countries around the world within the next year. This is another milestone in our partnership with Egypt to help support the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and part of the UK’s goal to end the pandemic by 2022.

Dr. Naeema Al Gasseer hailed on the solidarity of UK government’s commitment to protect populations beyond UK and as WHO we appreciate the efforts of the United Kingdom in addition to the national efforts to scale up the vaccine intake by all, ensuring that the largest number of people around the world is covered with COVID-19 vaccines since nobody is safe unless everybody is safe.

UNICEF Representative in Egypt, Mr. Jeremy Hopkins said:

I would like to express our thanks to the UK government for their contribution. The close collaboration between the UK Government as well as our Government partners is critical to ensure we deliver vaccines at speed and protect as many people as possible against this virus. No one is safe until everyone is safe.

The UK has been at the forefront of the global response to Covid-19, including through investing £90 million to support the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Over half a billion doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have been delivered at a non-profit price globally, with two-thirds going to lower- and middle-income countries. Global vaccine demand is far outstripping supply, leaving millions of the most vulnerable unprotected, while higher vaccine coverage worldwide is one of the best shields against new variants.