At a time when the demand for tech talent is high, Mr Bryan Loh, 25, could have had his pick of jobs. Yet, he chose to join the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) as he felt the public sector was where he could make the biggest impact.
A computer science graduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Mr Loh had been passionate about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) from a young age.
He explored various disciplines from robotics and electronics in secondary school to mathematics in junior college. Eventually, he decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in computer science, specialising in software engineering.
“My dream is to spearhead the creation of something that improves lives.”
– Mr Bryan Loh, recipient of the Smart Nation Scholarship (Mid-Term)
It was, however, a community project with NUS’ Computing for Voluntary Welfare Organisations before his second year that made him realise the profound impact technology could have on people’s lives.
“I joined NUS’ Computing for Voluntary Welfare Organisations and we were tasked to upgrade the backend for the software – used by a few active ageing centres – that was reaching its limits in terms of capability,” Mr Loh explains.
He and his teammates got the job done, but the real satisfaction he gained was from seeing how the centres benefited from the software.
“After we finished the work, we got the chance to chat with the representatives of those agencies to see how our system was working for them. The happiness I felt from being able to contribute to something that touched the lives of others – to improve convenience and help them work more efficiently – was truly amazing,” says Mr Loh.
This experience ignited a passion in him to use his tech skills for the greater good, driving Mr Loh to seek out opportunities where he can continue to make such a similar impact.
It was also one of the deciding factors for him to undertake an internship with GovTech as a software engineer during his third year at NUS.
“Besides using technologies that streamline and simplify the development process, GovTech is also willing to leverage the right ones to create high-quality products and services that make people’s lives better,” says Mr Loh.
He was also won over by the large-scale impact of GovTech’s work such as Singpass.
“It is a very fast and convenient way of accessing verified identity through the Government, at a time when we all have digital identities that need to be kept safe and secure,” says Mr Loh.
Soon after the internship, Mr Loh applied for the Smart Nation Scholarship.
“GovTech offers their scholars direct entry into their Technology Associate Programme, which provides me with a good platform to develop myself and explore how I can give back to the community through tech for public good,” he says.
Mr Loh, who completed his undergraduate degree earlier this year, started his full-time position at GovTech this month.
“During my internship with GovTech, I found that it took a very self-directed approach to the development of its members. There were often workshops and seminars that I could attend to broaden my social network within the company and learn more about various topics,” says Mr Loh.
Working at GovTech offers a good balance between the stress and rigour of a major tech company and helping to make an impact on the lives of fellow Singaporeans, he says.
Knowing the high standard of the tech stack that GovTech has access to, Mr Loh is most excited about how the agency can integrate large language models such as ChatGPT and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the software development process.
“With more advanced technologies, we can move out of traditional software development and focus more of our time on listening to and solving people’s problems instead of simply writing our code and looking at a computer all the time,” says Mr Loh.
The scholar already knows what he wants to achieve by leveraging innovative solutions to address real-world challenges and enhance public services.
“My dream is to spearhead the creation of something that improves the lives of all Singaporeans, akin to Singpass,” he says.