Scholarship to attend US summer programmes

Students now have the opportunity to learn more about the economy, employment and more related topics, in an American programme created for gifted young people.

The Johns Hopkins University's Centre for Talented Youth, set up in 1979, offers summer programmes in a variety of topics such as philosophy, programming and mathematical modelling.

In June, eight Singapore students aged 15 to 17 attended intensive three-week programmes at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, after going through a "school and college ability test" developed by Johns Hopkins University.

They join alumni such as Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and pop star Lady Gaga.

Six of the Singapore students were fully funded by the Goldstein Scholarship, established by Singapore-based businessman Harvey Goldstein and wife Rosita.

The scholarship provides financially needy students - and who tested as exceptionally talented - with full tuition, room and board, books and round trip airfare to a Centre for Talented Youth site in the United States. It costs an estimated US$7,000 (S$8,800) to send one child overseas for the programme.

Mr Goldstein, an American who has been running a business consultancy firm here since 2006, is chairman of the centre's Singapore-based South-east Asia advisory board, and wants to invest in the future of Singapore.

He told The Straits Times: "We will support the scholarship for a total of five years, and I'd like to see the seed my wife and I started grow into something more."

The centre's headquarters is in Baltimore, Maryland at Johns Hopkins University, but the programme is conducted each summer in 24 sites in colleges across the US and Hong Kong, to some 10,000 students every year.

Mr Goldstein hopes to encourage more applications to the programme by November or December, as the popular classes get filled quickly. The learning programme encourages "internationalisation", which he believes plays an important role in grooming Singapore's future.

He said: "Not only will kids be able to realise their full potential, they will be able to build international linkages between cultures and countries as they interact. Singapore needs more international exposure and worldliness, which is necessary when it comes to interacting with businesses."

The philanthropist, who has three out of four children in the programme, also hopes students here may be inspired by the success of technopreneurs such as Mr Zuckerberg.

Mr Goldstein hopes to be able to establish a Centre for Talented Youth campus here as well, to attract Americans and students from other countries while the Singapore students go abroad.

"It would take an investment of a few million dollars so that will take some time, but it is about developing a network of like-minded students."

He welcomes more entrepreneurs and businessmen like him to contribute to the fund or the centre, saying: "I chose to do it for economically challenged children because my son's classmates are in that situation, but it is important to offer this chance to all children. A mistake could be made but I'm putting my money where my mouth is."

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