The Young Defence Scientist Programme (YDSP), run by Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) in collaboration with DSO National Laboratories, is designed to engage talented secondary school students with a passion for science, engineering, infocomm technology and cybersecurity. Through this programme, participants get the opportunity to experience real-world defence science and technology challenges, work alongside experienced engineers and researchers, and develop their skills and curiosity in a structured but stimulating environment.
YDSP’s activities include:
a week-long Science & Technology Camp, where students attend lectures and hands-on workshops, compete in a mini-competition and tackle open-ended STEM problem-solving tasks.
Research@YDSP, where selected students are mentored by professionals at DSTA and DSO to work on meaningful projects that draw from defence applications of technology.
World of Science (WOS) modules are one-day workshops for students to explore advanced and emerging topics in defence-related science and technology.
The programme culminates each year in the YDSP Congress, at which students present their work and the top talents may receive the YDSP Scholarship, which recognises academic excellence and passion for science and technology.