National sprinter Shanti Pereira was named the first recipient of the SMU's Yip Pin Xiu Scholarship. The new bond-free bursary, launched last December, is named after Paralympic champion and SMU School of Social Sciences undergraduate Yip Pin Xiu and is for local elite athletes. It offers full waiver of tuition fees for four years and an allowance of up to $12,000 which can be used for a range of programmes, including overseas exchange courses.