My Experience in the Tech Associate Programme (TAP)
Hi, I’m Keng Ji, and I’m currently working full-time as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer in GovTech’s Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Division (DSAID). Specifically, I’m working on a product known as Transcribe, a Speech-to-Text platform targeted at public officers. I actually interned with Transcribe in 2020 before joining the team full-time, and wrote this blogpost about my experience. I decided to apply for the Technology Associate Programme (TAP) after hearing about the programme through a brownbag session towards the end of my internship, as well as via my current reporting officer. Having gone through one year of the programme myself, I hope to share my experience of what TAP has to offer.
My work with the Transcribe team
One of the factors that led me towards taking on a full-time career in GovTech was the small size of my product team, which offers me a high degree of autonomy and sense of personal responsibility over my work, as well as the opportunity to gain exposure to the wide range of technologies used across the entire product. Through my work with Transcribe, I’ve been involved in the full process of designing, implementing, and deploying both front-end and back-end features across the application’s various microservices. Some interesting features I have worked on include document search, designing a system for usage tracking and billing, and more recently, integrating a new transcription model to support real-time speech transcription. On top of the opportunities for learning and growth through the diverse engineering problems I get to tackle, I also enjoy close collaboration with highly motivated and capable teammates and benefit from a friendly and open team culture.
Learning opportunities through the TAP
Having made the decision to work full-time in GovTech, making the decision to apply for TAP was not difficult, given it offered a chance to introduce more diversity into my work life. Apart from the various activities organised by the People and Organisation Division (POD), a key draw of TAP was also the opportunity for interaction with other Technology Associates, or TAPpers for short. While participating in TAP activities does mean having to context-switch away from my regular work with my product team, balancing my various commitments has been relatively manageable, and they often provide welcome respite from my everyday routine.
One of the ways TAP contributes to my development is by providing opportunities to gain a broader perspective on the work of GovTech as a whole and engage more with issues beyond the scope of the more technical engineering work I do within my own product team. For instance, one of the activities TAPpers participate in is GTCollab, a mini-ideathon where TAPpers across batches come together to brainstorm ideas based on a problem statement. Through talks and engagement sessions with senior leaders, I gained insights into topics such as resource allocation and the relationship between GovTech and other government organisations. Workshops organised by the senior TAP batch during the Engineering Bootcamp at the beginning of the programme also gave important context to the work of other divisions in GovTech.
I also recently participated as a mentor for GeekOut, a five-day tech bootcamp organised for pre-university students. Sharing my experiences with younger people was personally meaningful, and I benefited from brainstorming and evaluating hackathon ideas under the theme of “Smart Nation” together with my group of mentees. By foregrounding the impact of technological solutions in addressing various social issues, these activities are especially important given that contributing to society is precisely what makes a career in the public service particularly meaningful.
Looking ahead
The programme also affords me various avenues to reflect on my career development. I have also had the opportunity to discuss issues relating to my career growth with a mentor assigned to me from another division, Government Digital Services. During our meetups, he shared with me his experiences from working in GovTech for several years, and gave me insight into organisational culture and the nature of tech leadership outside my division. During career conversations with the POD team, I’ve also been consulted regarding my interest in rotating to other divisions within GovTech. Although I intend to continue working with my current team in the near future, I am also keeping an eye out for the possibility of participating in a part-time stint with another project team, via the Talent Marketplace programme open to TAPpers.
As I’m currently only halfway through my 2-year TAP journey, thus far, I’ve mainly been on the receiving end of numerous workshops and events organised by the senior TAPpers and POD. I’m looking forward to soon playing a more active role in upcoming TAP activities. This includes participating in organising the Engineering Bootcamp for the next TAP batch and the next iteration of GeekOut. Overall, the TAP has smoothened my transition from school to work life and serves as a valuable source of support in the beginning stage of my career. I would certainly recommend anyone keen to enrich their tech career with a broader range of experiences to apply.
Ready to chart your career in tech? Find out more about the Technology Associate Programme at go.gov.sg/TAP.
