Young tech talents, meet real-world challenges!

Julian Kang, 17, is a first-year student at Singapore Polytechnic who lives and breathes tech.

The inventive Julian has even developed a prototype gizmo that promises to connect any device to the Internet.

Now he — and others like him — are all set to help Government agencies come up with possible tech solutions to build up the Smart Nation.

Over 300 tech-passionate students, hailing from eight Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), will gain deeper tech skills and valuable experience — by working on real-world challenges.

GovTech cemented a win-win partnership with the IHLs by signing six Memorandums of Understanding (MOU), and two Memorandums of Intent (MOI) on 13 February, 2017, in a ceremony held at GovTech Hive.

GovTech Chief Executive Jacqueline Poh signed the MOUs and MOIs with senior management representatives of the following IHLs:

• Institute of Technical Education
• Nanyang Polytechnic
• Ngee Ann Polytechnic
• Republic Polytechnic
• Singapore Institute of Technology
• Singapore Polytechnic
• Singapore University of Technology and Design
• Temasek Polytechnic

Minister of Communications and Information, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, was the witness of the signing ceremony.

High-tech and Hands-on

Led by GovTech’s Applied Innovation and Partnerships (AIP) team, these agreements will provide training opportunities for selected students over the next three years.

The opportunities may include internships, attachments, final-year projects, and tech-related competitions — including the upcoming inaugural National Data Viz Video Challenge organised by GovTech.

These students will get the opportunity for hands-on development of technological solutions that address problems faced by public agencies.

Students will also gain hands-on experience on Smart Nation projects in areas such as cyber security, data analytics, internet-of-things and emerging technologies.

Such work exposure will complement the recent Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) recommendations for young workers to attain deep skills and industry-relevant expertise — all of which will give them an edge in the technology-driven future.

These new agreements join GovTech’s growing portfolio of partnerships, including the current InnoLeap programme, which provides platforms for IHLs, Research Institutes and commercial entities to come together to help public agencies overcome tech challenges by creating innovative solutions that contribute to the technology ecosystem.

GovTech looks forward to creating more collaborations and partnerships in future that will bring forth more enterprising and innovative creators like Julian!

In the meantime, you can read more about the media coverage of GovTech’s partnership with the eight IHLs on The Straits Times Online and Today Online.