Hi everyone!

Welcome back! And albeit 18 days late.. HAPPY NEW YEAR! A fresh new year, a fresh new beginning. I hope all of us keep our spirits up and determination unshaken as we encounter (hopefully not) more obstacles and tougher challenges in 2015. Many people await the new year to make a new start to old habits. I wish you otherwise! Keep the faith, keep your resolutions! If you haven't set your new year resolutions, HERE are some ideas. Enjoy!

So, winter break is one week over and the new term has already begun. All the travelling and fun has to stop, isn't it? And if you're feeling a little like..

FRET NOT! Because we have something planned right up for you!

Chinese New Year is coming in about a month's time and we have booked a restaurant in Chinatown for this joyous occasion. Come on down and join us in a reunion dinner on 16 February! Do check out more details below.

Major Event 2015: Brothers is finally here! The show falls on 28 February evening, so do make yourself free! Check out our exciting trailer put together by Memory Lane Productions SG first-hand HERE!

We have also concluded our annual Ski Trip during the Winter Break. Photos will be up on our Facebook page soon, so do check it out and tag yourself and your friends when it's up!

All the best to the new year! And most importantly, enjoy what you're doing and be happy! :)

P.S: there are LOADS of advertisements this issue, do check them out too and find out what might interest you!

Your joyful secretary,
Weihao Lim

Chinese New Year is in about a month's time! To celebrate the coming of the Year of the Goat/Sheep, ICSS will be holding our annual CNY Reunion Dinner this February! Though we may be away from our friends and family in Singapore, we can still enjoy the warmth and festive cheer this Chinese New Year with the ICSS family here in London!

Details are as follows:
Date: 16 February (Monday)
Time: 1900-2200 hours
Venue: New World Chinese Restaurant
Price: £17 (members), £22 (non-members)

Highlights include:
- A 10-course meal* including starter and dessert
- Lucky draw with prizes to be won!
- Karaoke with English and Chinese pop songs (plus the ever-popular CNY songs)
- Yu Sheng - a must-have for every CNY dinner!

*We are in the midst of selecting the best possible courses for you. Vegetarian and Halal options will be provided at a later date as well!

Sign-ups are open now! Gather your friends to form a table in groups of 10! If you have less than 10 people, fret not because we will help group you with other small groups. After forming your group, please appoint a table IC. Only the table IC will need to enter the names of the group into the sign-up sheet HERE. We will be in contact with the table ICs subsequently for confirmation, payment, and further details.

Expect lots of cheer, good music and food, and perhaps even a visit from the enigmatic God of Fortune himself! Sign-ups close on 8 February (Sunday), so wait no longer - ring up your friends and get a table booked now!

We are glad to have Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd to sponsor us with the Yu Sheng for the evening as well as the subsidised rates. Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL) builds and invests in Singapore and global infocomm technology start-ups. Managing more than S0 million, they accelerate the development of start-ups in their formative phase, and invest further as they move towards growth and expansion. IIPL plays a central role in building a vibrant and sustainable ecosystem in Singapore for start-ups to flourish through our investments, partnerships across sectors and global reach. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore.

I hope to see all of you there!

Your friendly Events Officer,
Lincoln Ang

The annual Major Event of ICSS is finally here again! This year, Major Event will be in the form of a production, titled ‘Brothers'. Here are the details of the production:

Date: 28 February (Saturday)
Time: 7.00pm
Venue: The Great Hall, Imperial College London

Tickets are sold at the price of £9 each for early-birds (limited to first 200 tickets), and £10 each after that and at the door. You can also buy a large cup of Biju Bubble Tea at an additional price of £3, which is discounted from the original price of £3.95. More details about the available flavours will be updated on the Major Event 2015 Facebook Page HERE. Check out the page often for updates and do remember to LIKE IT!.

Tickets will be available on the online Union Shop HERE on 19 January 11.59pm, or grab them from any of the ME participants! (Also do give them a pat on the back for the amazing work they have done so far!)

We are glad to have the support of our sponsors: SG50, Prima Taste, Overseas Singaporean Unit, Contact Singapore and Public Service Division (Prime Minister's Office), for their support without which 'Brothers' would not exist.

Thank you and hope to see you on 28 February!

With love,
Jia Hui
Major Event Officer

ICSS concluded her annual ski trip during the winter holidays. This year, the ski trip was held at La Plagne 1800 in France. After braving the 20 hour bus journey to the resort, participants managed to have 6 days of skiing in the clear skies whilst surrounded by the Alps. Although the snow conditions were a little icy, I do hope that everyone who attended the trip managed to enjoy themselves thoroughly - whether through getting to know new people from other schools, or dancing your heart out during the nightly dance sessions, or helping yourself to the free flow of ice cream.

Also, Christmas was celebrated in the resort by a Christmas dinner prepared by UCPA. The photos from the photobooth will be up on the ICSS page soon, so do look out for that!

I would like to thank each and every participant for making this an unforgettable trip, and would especially like to thank those that helped me carry bags, facilitate administration etc. Couldn't have done it without you guys! I hope the delay by the bus did not dampen your spirits and that you'll be back for more next year!

Regards,
Leon

1) Point Hope Group Book Prize 2015
Point Hope Group Book Prize 2015 is now open! Point Hope Group is the philanthropic arm of one of the first private equity firm in Asia, focusing on education, healthcare and humanitarian aid.

The Book Prize is worth £500 and as well as 1 week of internship opportunity. Don't miss it, sign up today! The application form is attached HERE. For more information, please refer to the attached flyer HERE.

2) London Business School 10th Asia Business Forum
London Business School is organising its 10th Asia Business Forum, with the theme "Asia 2025: Sustaining Asia's Momentum into the Next Decade". The forum features a panel of distinguished speakers, including senior executives from many famous Asian MNCs.

The forum will take place on 30th January, 1pm to 7.30pm.

Early Bird tickets are now on sale. Interested individuals please sign up directly HERE. You can also refer to the attached image for more details of this forum.

For more information, please visit the website and Facebook page. You can also follow the forum on Twitter (hashtag #ABF2015).

3) SG Buzz 2015
The SG Buzz Series, brought to you by the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU), is back in February 2015! This year's SG Buzz features Dr Tan Lai Yong, Director (Outreach and Community Engagement), College of Alice and Peter Tan at NUS. There will be one session in Edinburgh on 11 February, and another in Glasgow on 12 February.

For more information, please refer to the invitation HERE. To register, click HERE.

4) Warwick ASEAN Conference 2015
On 22 February, students of the University of Warwick are hosting the first ever student-run ASEAN conference in the UK, featuring keynote speaker Tony Fernandes, alongside 14 other distinguished speakers from various member countries. The conference aims to provide a dynamic forum for exchange on political, legal and economic ASEAN-related issues.

Date: 22 February (Sunday)
Time: 8am-6pm
Venue: Birmingham Repertory

Tickets are priced at around 10 pounds each. Remember to like the Facebook page for updates and more information

5) McKinsey & Company Insight Programme 2015
The McKinsey & Company has opened applications for its 2015 Insight Programme. This is a 3-day programme held in Austria for PhD & Post Docs students, giving them the opportunity to learn about management consultancy as a career and meet with McKinsey consultants. The programme accepts roughly 60 students a year and therefore also offers the opportunity to network with a wide range of postgraduate students.

For more information, please refer to the corporation's website HERE or the ICSS Facebook page HERE.

6) Environmental & Water Technologies PhD Scholarship
The Environment and Water Industry Programme Office (EWI) would like to inform you of a PhD scholarship opportunity in the area of environmental and water technologies. The scholarship is awarded by Singapore’s National Research Foundation and is open to all nationalities. More information on the scholarship can be found in HERE.

For further enquiries about the scholarship, please email the EWI at PUB_EWI@pub.gov.sg or visit the website HERE.

7) MFA Overseas Recruitment for UK Students
This is an invitation from MFA to all Singapore. You may also refer to their information sheet HERE.

Each year, we receive many applications from Singaporeans who graduate from UK universities for the Foreign Service Officer (FSO) position.   To facilitate early consideration for returning graduates, we are planning to hold our selection tests and interviews in London, likely from Fri 6 Feb 15 to Sun 8 Feb 15.  For those in their second or penultimate year, you can also apply for an internship to find out if the foreign service is the right career choice for you.

As a Foreign Service Officer, you will be safeguarding and advancing Singapore's interests. As our operations span across 49 Overseas Missions (OMs) worldwide, you will have the unique experience of travelling the world in one career, alternating between Singapore (HQ) and our OMs.  Depending on your strengths and interest, you could apply to be an FSO under the "Political & Economic" or "Functional & Corporate Services" track.  Interviews and the paper & pencil assessment tests will be held on Fri 6 or Sat 7 Feb 15, followed with an Assessment Centre for shortlisted candidates on the following day (Sat 7 or Sun 8 Feb 15).

MFA offers 4-week internships in HQ and selected OMs under the 2015 Undergraduate Internship Programme.  There will be 2 HQ internship runs from 18 May to 12 June 2015 and 6 July to 31 July 2015, and OM internships will take place in the period of May to September 2015, subject to the OM's ability to host interns and the intern's availability period.  The internship selections will take place on Sat 7 or Sun 8 Feb 15.

You can visit our website for more information and to apply for the FSO position and internship as follows:

FSO Assessments in London.  Please submit an application by 25 Jan 15 and indicate in the "Additional Information Section" that you are based in London and would like to undergo the Feb UK assessments.

FSO Assessments in Singapore.  Please submit an application for the position and indicate in the "Additional Information Section" your return date to facilitate scheduling of assessments.

Internship Assessments in London.  Applications will open in January and you will have to submit your application by 25 Jan 15.

For candidates keen to undergo the FSO and Internship assessments in London are strongly encouraged to apply.  Apart from submitting an application on our portal by 25 Jan 15, please also fill up the indication of interest form attached HERE and send it to Nathaniel at Nathaniel_tan@mfa.gov.sg by 31 Dec 14. Depending on the responses, we may also conduct selections outside of London.  Further details of the selection tests and interviews will be made known to shortlisted candidates at a later date.  As we have limited spaces, priority will be given to those who have registered their interest.

Please feel free to contact me or my colleagues, Brinda at Brinda_cheng@mfa.gov.sg or Cassandra at Cassandra_Tan@mfa.gov.sg, should you have any questions.  We look forward to receiving your applications and meeting you in the UK!