Early Career Awards

The Early Career Awards (ECA) are designed to support Singaporeans who have recently completed their postdoctoral training and prepare them for an academic career at SIT. This award aims to enhance the teaching capabilities of the recipient and help build a strong research portfolio.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

• Singapore Citizen  

• Recently completed postdoctoral training  

• Excellent academic record plus a high degree of proficiency and motivation for a research area that is strongly aligned with SIT’s supported areas 

• Strong passion for teaching, research and an academic career

Application Process

• Applications are open throughout the year via the various links below. Applications received before 15 January 2026 will be considered for the 2026 intake.  
• Interview by the respective clusters for shortlisted applicants will be conducted throughout the year.  
• Final Interview by the Panel for shortlisted applicants for the 2026 intake will commence in Mid-March to End April 2026.  
• Awards will be finalised by July 2026.

Supported Areas for START

Business, Communication and Design 

• Financial and Sustainability Accounting: The measurement, reporting, and analysis of an organisation's financial performance alongside its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and carbon footprint. Integrating traditional financial accounting principles with sustainability considerations to provide stakeholders with a more comprehensive view of a company's long-term value creation.
• Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE): The planning, management, and execution of business events, corporate gatherings, and large-scale conferences. This field is a key segment of the tourism and hospitality industry, requiring expertise in event management, business tourism, marketing, logistics, and stakeholder engagement.

Engineering  

• Energy Resilience: Power electronic converters for distributed energy resources and microgrids; High voltage DC transmission and distribution components and systems; Electric propulsions systems for land, sea and air; Wide bandgap solid-state protective devices. 
• Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering and Maintenance: Construction technology, Tunnel engineering, Integrated BIM for Civil and MEP design optimisation; Non-destructive testing and prognostic maintenance for infrastructure rejuvenation and life extension. 
• Sustainable Maritime Engineering: Ship design and optimisation towards maritime decarbonisation; maritime battery room design for safety; intelligent ship and operations; autonomous vessels and systems.

Food, Chemical and Biotechnology  

• Sustainable and Functional food: Sustainable food systems and circular food economy - alternative proteins, upcycled ingredients); AI and automation in food manufacturing - smart sensors, digital twins, and AI-driven food quality control and processing; Food safety - supply chain tracking/monitoring, blockchain
• Biotechnology: Host strain screening and engineering for microbial bioprocess development; microbial physiology and adaptation for industrial applications; high-throughput screening and automation for strain optimization; bioprospecting for novel microbial hosts, enzymes, and metabolites to support sustainable biomanufacturing.
• (Bio)pharmaceuticals: Processing science and technology for bio- and chemical transformations, separations, purifications and formulation applied to pharmaceuticals manufacture; modelling of processing steps and whole processes to support innovation, design, optimisation and control for manufacturing operations.
• Process control: process modelling, control, and optimization, with applications in chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing; data-driven modelling and machine learning applications in process industries; advanced process control (APC); model predictive control (MPC); digital twins and real-time process monitoring and control; process analytical technology (PAT); process intensification and sustainability.

Health Sciences  

• Diagnostic Radiography: Radiography involves the controlled use of ionising radiation, radioactive substances and non-ionising radiation to produce diagnostic quality images of the human body, facilitating the diagnosis and treatment of patients (Allied Health Professions Act 2011).
• Dietetics: Dietetics involves the management of medical conditions and promotion of health through application of food and nutrition. Dietitians provide medical nutrition therapy and implement specific diet strategies for chronic medical conditions, illnesses, or injuries (Singapore Nutrition and Dietetics Association).
• Nursing: Registered nurses render health services to individuals, families, and communities (Singapore Nursing Board Code for Nurses and Midwives 2018).
• Speech and Language Therapy: Speech and Language Therapy involves assessment, diagnosis, treatment and management of communication and swallowing disorders (Allied Health Professions Act 2011).
• Occupational Therapy: Occupational therapy involves assessment and interventions to work or school, self-care, leisure or play, physical environments as well as cognitive, mental and physical components of function to enable individuals affected by physical injury or illness, developmental or learning disabilities, psychosocial dysfunctions or the aging process, to engage in everyday life occupations in order to maximise independent performance of life roles, prevent disability and maintain health (Allied Health Professions Act 2011).
• Physiotherapy: Physiotherapy involves assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of pain, injury, or any other physical dysfunction, through the use of education, exercise, manual therapy, electro-physical agents, technology or any other treatment for those purposes (Allied Health Professions Act 2011).

Infocomm Technology 

• Information Security: Mobile security, cyber-physical systems, IoT security, security analytics, operational cybersecurity, digital forensics, vulnerability assessment, malware analysis, privacy technologies, and AI security
• AI and Emerging Fields: Smart healthcare, IIoT, computational fintech, robot-human interaction, trustworthy AI, explainable AI, large language models, quantum computing.