Introduction to DSAID

Welcome to the blog of GovTech’s Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Division (DSAID). We are a fast-growing team interested in all things data and would love to share with you the ways that we’ve used DS and AI, working in partnership with public agencies to improve the lives of fellow Singaporeans :)

What exactly is Data Science and AI?

Great question! There is a lot of data out there today and Data Science is the set of tools that allows us to draw coherent and actionable insights from the data. The ways we do this range from simple data visualisations to more sophisticated algorithms. AI is related to Data Science but not quite the same — while Data Science tries to draw insights from the data, AI is about building intelligent machines that can recognise patterns and predict things.

So what do you do in DSAID?

We have two goals:

1) Help public agencies help Singaporeans better. We work with public agencies in using data science and AI to improve service delivery and policy outcomes. That means services that are delivered efficiently and policies that are targeted and meet the needs of Singaporeans. From transport planning to drowning detection to economic nowcasting, we extract data-driven insights and build intelligent platforms to add value to the work of our partner agencies.

2) Help public agencies transform. It is our vision for every public agency to have the ability to carry out data science projects of any scale. To achieve this, we work with public agencies in building data science expertise, formulating data strategy and setting up the necessary data infrastructure.

To achieve these goals, we are organised into five teams:

We abide by a few key principles in the work that we do, making sure that we can deliver the maximum impact possible.

Firstly, we are outcome driven. Our projects are not academic exercises. We are driven by the “so what” and make sure that our findings and models can be translated into tangible impact.

Secondly, we start small and move fast. We build things quickly. If it works, good — how can we scale this up further? If not, what went wrong and what can we do better next time?

Thirdly, we are in this together. We draw from the deep domain knowledge of our partners and best practices from our community of experts.

If all these sound like something that interests you, apply for an internship or a position with us. We are at the forefront of something really exciting and meaningful and would love to have you on board with us!