SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 24 February 2025 – British Council Singapore celebrated the achievements of exceptional UK alumni at the Study UK Alumni Awards 2025, held at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, on 20 February. This flagship event honours individuals who have leveraged their UK education to make significant contributions to their professions, communities and societies.
British Council Singapore Honours Outstanding UK Alumni at the Study UK Alumni Awards 2025
The Study UK Alumni Awards are a testament to the power of education and collaboration in tackling common challenges and finding lasting solutions to these.
The 2025 Awards celebrated winners across four categories, each recognising the transformative impact of UK-educated Singaporean professionals:
- Business and Innovation Award – Wen Si Chow, for promoting inclusion and equal opportunities for women in the STEM industry.
- Culture and Creativity Award – Chong Soon Khong, for significant contributions to Singapore’s creative music landscape.
- Science and Sustainability Award – Stephanie Choon Xia Liaw, for impactful work in energy transition and sustainability.
- Social Action Award – Shalom Lim Ern Rong, for exceptional efforts in driving inclusion and positive change in society.
UK universities consistently excel in world rankings, with four featured in the 2025 QS World University Rankings top ten. The strength, depth and diversity of the UK higher education sector – from small conservatoires to large metropolitan universities – has always attracted students from all parts of the world, including close to 7000 students from Singapore who choose to pursue higher education in the UK every year.
The Study UK Alumni Award winners exemplify the value of their world-class UK education, using their expertise to drive innovation, address pressing challenges, and contribute to Singapore’s progress.
Speaking at the event, H.E. Nik Mehta OBE, British High Commissioner to Singapore, commended the awardees: “All four Singapore winners inspire me because they are making a difference to our world in fields ranging from science and sustainability to culture, social engagement, and business innovation. Their stories illustrate how higher education can be a life-changing experience – shaping minds, values, ambitions, and futures”.
On 9 August 1965, the UK was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with the newly independent Singapore. As Singapore celebrates its 60th birthday this year, the 2025 Awards hold special significance, underscoring the profound and enduring
educational and cultural ties between the UK and Singapore, cemented over these 60 years.
As Lissy Vadakel, Country Director for British Council Singapore, commented: “Through these Awards, we celebrate the achievements of outstanding UK alumni in Singapore. This is also an occasion for us to come together as a community, with at least one commonality: in one way or another, be that through our educational experiences, our professional lives, or our personal and social connections, we are part of the Singapore-UK fabric”.
The High Commissioner also reflected on the lasting impact of UK-educated Singaporeans in growing and strengthening bilateral relations: “At the heart of our countries’ partnership are our people, who have forged lifelong professional and personal connections in our communities. These ties contribute to the mutual trust and understanding between our countries today and will do so for years to come”.
The British Council remains committed to supporting and celebrating the aspirations of UK alumni worldwide, ensuring their achievements continue to inspire future generations.
For the editor
Recipients of Study UK Alumni Awards Singapore 2025
BUSINESS AND INNOVATION AWARDS
Wen Si Chow
University of Bristol
CULTURE AND CREATIVITY AWARD
Chong Soon Khong (Ken)
Bath Spa University
Dr Ken Chong is an award-winning composer, chart-topping songwriter, and an educator at tertiary institutions, including Nanyang Technological University. Ken’s accolades include Apple Music Best Song of 2016 (China) for his song “Rainbow Bot”, sung by Mandopop queen Stefanie Sun, as well as recognition for his music in full feature films, TV programmes, and advertisements. Bath Spa University was pivotal in Ken’s songwriting career, where almost half of his songs submitted for his Master of Music final year project were sold to popular Chinese music artists upon graduation. Ken attributes his success to the university’s ability to help him identify his strengths and passions, and then develop knowledge and skills towards achieving excellence. Ken recognises the benefits of music composition, often perceived as exclusive to a gifted few, and hopes to show how technology has democratised composing, such that anyone can create. He credits his UK educational journey with the impact he now has as a music teacher on his students at various institutes of higher learning in Singapore.
Stephanie Choon Xia Liaw
University of Strathclyde
University of Birmingham
SOCIAL ACTION AWARD
Shalom Lim Ern Rong
University of Liverpool
Shalom Lim is an artist and a writer, as well as an advocate dedicated to disability inclusion in Singapore. As a committee member on the Management Board of the Disabled People’s Association, he strives to improve social policies relating to disability and to shift public perspectives. He has also collaborated with K9Assistance to expand access to assistance dogs for individuals and families with non-vision disabilities in Singapore. Shalom’s storytelling, through books and performances, challenges perceptions and touches hearts, showing others that people with disabilities can thrive academically and contribute meaningfully. Pursuing Criminology and Security at the University of Liverpool shaped Shalom’s confidence in advocacy and his passion for justice and inclusion. The university’s open discussions helped him recognise the power of his voice in pushing for change. Shalom continues to use his art and writing to build a more inclusive society in Singapore, and to inspire others to see inclusion as a necessity, not a choice.
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About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2022–23 we reached 600 million people.
www.britishcouncil.org
