Smart Nation Scholarship — Smart Home, Smart Nation
Thinking of applying for the Smart Nation Scholarship (SNS) with GovTech? Look no further! We are giving you a peek into our application journey and sharing some tips on how you can prepare for the various stages.
Let’s start with some self-introduction.
Hi, I’m Daryl, a second-year computer science student from Nanyang Technological University. Together with me is my brother, Bryan, a final-year computer science student from the National University of Singapore. Yes, somehow, even with the 2-year age gap between us, we ended up applying for the scholarship at the same time.
We both grew up loving technology. From playing computer games with each other, to now collaborating on GitHub to build applications together — it has been a long road to get to this point.
Why did we both apply for it?
~At the dining table~
Daryl: I am looking at this scholarship that is offered by GovTech, I think I will try for it during the summer break.
Bryan: Smart Nation Scholarship?
Daryl: Yes, how you know?
Bryan: LOL! I was just looking at it the other day and was thinking of applying for it too.
That is the story of how we found out that we were both intending to apply for the Smart Nation Scholarship. It was funny how we both got to know about the scholarship in completely different ways, yet still somehow decided to apply for it at the same time.
I found out about SNS through a career fair in NTU. In the sea of companies that were present in the career fair, the words “Smart Nation Scholarship” that were placed at the very top of GovTech’s booth caught my eye. I approached the GovTechie and enquired more about the scholarship. School fees? Check. Allowance? Check. Opportunities to intern and work with GovTech? Check. I have heard many good things about GovTech from my seniors, so why not give it a try! It has always been my dream to make a lasting impact in people’s lives with technology, and what better way to achieve this than to work for GovTech, the company spearheading the digital transformation of Singapore.
Bryan, on the other hand, had a summer internship with GovTech, working on the TrustDocs as a Software Engineering Intern. During the three months of the internship, he realised that he really liked the vibes of the team in general, as well as how supportive the team was of one another. Working in GovTech was something that he could envision himself doing after graduation. As such, he was inspired to try for the SNS to become a contributing member of the GovTech community in the future.
If you also have a passion for technology and want to contribute to the public sector, don’t be afraid to apply for the scholarship! It may seem intimidating at first with all the different things you have to fill up or the various rounds that you have to go through, but we promise that it is not as scary as it seems.
P.S. If you are up for it, grab a friend to apply with you too! The experience would be less daunting, and you can work together to prepare for the different stages.
How we prepared
Similar to most scholarships, we did the usual of reading up on technology trends and getting ourselves familiarised with the values and mission/vision of GovTech. If you struggle a lot with interviews like I do, I recommend searching a list of common interview questions and running through the answers in your head. Although the exact questions may not be asked during the interview, doing this helped me build up my thought process and allowed me to better structure my answers during the interviews.
It would also help to find out more about projects that GovTech is currently working on, as they could come in useful during the interviews with the tech leads and senior management.
Look at this article written by a fellow GovTech intern from Talent Acquisition team for more interview preparation tips!
What to expect
Below are the various stages that we went through and some tips we think would help you in preparing for them! Although the stages may be slightly different for you, we hope that some of the points will be helpful to you.
Stage 1: Cognitive Assessment
Like most other government scholarships, SNS requires you to go through a cognitive assessment as an initial test. Our assessment consisted of a numeric test and a critical thinking test. For this stage, we recommend that you have a good night’s sleep the night before to be at your best during the assessment.
Stage 2: HR & Tech Lead Interview
In this stage, interviewers from the HR and Technical departments interviewed us. The questions you should prepare for are pretty much the same as most other interviews. Introduce yourself, why are you doing what you do and why do you want the scholarship. Occasionally, there may be unexpected questions that work your brain. In these circumstances, we recommend you be genuine in your answers, as they often will not just be looking for textbook answers.
Stage 3: Group Assessment
The third round of assessment was a group assessment. We were grouped in small groups and tasked to complete a group assignment which culminated in a presentation at the end. During this stage, we were assessed based on how well we work in teams and on our performance during the presentation and QnA. As this was an on-site assessment, we managed to get a feel for the vibrant work culture in GovTech. We were also lucky enough to speak to one of our SNS seniors, who provided valuable advice for the upcoming stages and insights into what working with GovTech is like. For someone that has not had an internship with GovTech, it was an enriching experience for me.
We recommend coming into the group assessment with an open mind, to be accepting of others’ perspectives while still contributing your own.
Stage 3.5: Technical Test
Around the time of the group assessment, we had to go through a coding test. This can be quite challenging for someone with little to no coding experience, but fret not, as not being able to complete it does not mean that you will not be considered for the subsequent stages. To prepare for this, we recommend you start practising some LeetCode questions in your free time.
Stage 4: Interview with GovTech’s Senior Management Team
Stage 4 consisted of an interview with GovTech’s Senior Management Team. The questions asked by the interviewers were naturally different from those asked in stage 2, but once again, being genuine is important here. As a starting point, we recommend building on the answers you had in stage 2. At this stage, try to broaden your perspective by looking at things at the company or Singapore level.
Stage 5: Interview with Talent Leadership Assessment Board
The last stage of our SNS assessment process was the interview with the Talent Leadership Assessment Board consisting of the Permanent Secretary, and Chief Executives/Deputy Chief Executives from GovTech, CSA and IMDA. These big names may seem intimidating, but rest assured as they are all quite friendly and kept the atmosphere light during the interview. For us, it took place at the Ministry of Communication and Information’s office at Hill Street. This interview was different from the previous two because the questions will make you take a more macro perspective on things. Some questions that were asked include: what are some problems we want to solve in Singapore; how we can make an impact on Singapore with our chosen field of specialisation, mentioning relevant agencies that you think will help you; what is the next big thing in technology and how it can be used for Singapore.
To prepare for these questions, we recommend reading up on the latest technology trends and analysing how they can be adopted into a new or existing solution for Singapore. It will greatly help if you consider not just the technical side of things, but also the different stakeholders required during the respective phases and how the public may perceive your proposed solution. If you are unable to come up with an appropriate answer on the spot, we recommend admitting that you do not know much about the topic, rather than smoking your way through the interview.
The HR team may also arrange a call with you prior to this round to give you some helpful tips and provide some feedback by the assessors from the previous stages. Be sure to listen carefully as they will come in useful for the final interview.
Stage 6: Award Presentation
If you managed to reach this stage, a huge congratulations as you have successfully become a Smart Nation Scholar! You would be receiving the award along with many others in an MCI Family and SNDGG Joint Scholarship Award Ceremony. During this time, you would get to meet and interact with your fellow Smart Nation scholars and the other scholars in the MCI Family. We were lucky enough to meet Minister Josephine Teo who gave us crucial advice to kickstart our SNS journey. We also got to meet some of the department heads and higher-ups of the various agencies like GovTech, IMDA, and CSA.
This marks the end of the scholarship application journey and is also the start of your new journey as a Smart Nation Scholar! Here is a picture of us with our certificates during the award ceremony.
All the best!
You don’t need a very stacked resume or be a LeetCode expert to have a shot at obtaining the SNS. After going through all the stages, we realised that what matters most is to be genuine and passionate about technology. Technical knowledge, although important, is something that can be built over time.
That pretty much sums up what we wanted to share. Although your journey may be different, we hope that you can take away something from our experiences. We wish you all the best in your SNS journey!
Find out more about SNS at go.gov.sg/govtechsns.
