SINGAPORE, 23 October 2021 – Yayasan MENDAKI (“MENDAKI”) and MiRXES Pte Ltd (“MiRXES”), a Singapore-headquartered biotechnology company focused on improving and saving lives with RNA-powered disease early detection tests, are pleased to announce today the setting up of the “MENDAKI – MIRXES Scholarship” for Malay/Muslim students who are pursuing undergraduate and post-graduate studies in Life and Biomedical Sciences. In addition to the scholarships, the students will also receive internship opportunities and securing employment opportunities with MiRXES upon their graduation.

This is the first post-graduate scholarship that both MENDAKI and MiRXES are offering. Currently, MENDAKI with the support of donors is providing financial assistants to students in primary and secondary schools, Institute of Education (ITE), Polytechnic and Universities in the form of grants, scholarships, bursaries and study loans. For MiRXES, this is an extension of its efforts to future-proof the life and biomedical sciences workforce. MiRXES has been offering internships to students in universities and many of these interns return to join the team as full-time employees.

The “MENDAKI-MIRXES Scholarship” with a total value of SG$140,000 will be awarded to two undergraduate and two post-graduate students who are pursuing their Bachelor’s and Master’s degree respectively in local autonomous universities. Each undergraduate student will receive SG$10,000 per year for four years and each post-graduate student will receive SG$15,000 per year for two years. The scholarship will start with the academic year 2022 intake.

According to Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Defence and Deputy Chairman of MENDAKI, “The Muslim community has made tremendous progress over the years and we have seen many of these students continuing their studies. Moving ahead MENDAKI hopes to attract more industry partners as we focus on scholarships which would include the elements of mentorship, attachment and future careers in growth sectors such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The setting up of the MENDAKI – MIRXES scholarships is the first step towards this direction.”

Dr. Lihan ZHOU, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of MiRXES said, “MiRXES is delighted to collaborate with MENDAKI in developing and nurturing the next-generation talents who have a passion for life and biomedical sciences. We hope that these scholarships which will benefit students from low-income families, can encourage diversity in our local talent pool and enable Singapore to be an inclusive society. MiRXES is born and bred in Singapore, and Singapore is our home. We believe that people are our ultimate asset and strength, and we want to build a home where all Singaporeans have an equal opportunity to hope and dream for a better future together.”

Mdm Zuraidah Abdullah Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan MENDAKI highlights the importance of our partnership with corporate organisations such as MiRXES. “MENDAKI is honoured to have corporate partners such as MiRXES stepping forward to help path the way for our community to continue their education without having to worry about the financial situation and securing a career in this emerging sector. This is aligned with our vision of navigating and empowering our community towards success and in this regard, producing many more Malay/Muslim professionals in the growth sectors.”

MiRXES will also partner MENDAKI in encouraging more youths and mature workers to consider a career in this sector. MiRXES will be participating in the MENDAKI’s “Future of … Series” as well as conduct a Learning Journey at its premises. MiRXES will seek to explore future potential engagements with MENDAKI SENSE to encourage mature adults to take up the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP).

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, MENDAKI has received strong support from corporates to disburse scholarships to the Malay/Muslim community.