24 Mar 2018
DSTA welcomed close to 200 students, parents and school representatives during the Scholarship Tea Session on 17 March 2018, held for the first time at the DSTA Integrated Complex.
The morning’s events kicked off with keynote speeches from DSTA Chief Executive (CE) Tan Peng Yam, DSO National Laboratories (DSO) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cheong Chee Hoo and Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies (CSIT) CE Darren Teo.
They introduced the scope of work and key areas of technical expertise for the three organisations under the Defence Technology Community (DTC) umbrella. They also highlighted various career progression paths tailored for different expertise areas and technical tracks.
DSTA CE Tan Peng Yam gave a keynote address.
Following that, a panel consisting DSTA CE, DSO CEO and DSTA Director (Human Resources) Tan Chin Keong addressed concerns related to the scholarship. Queries on scholarship criteria, overseas learning exposure, and job rotation within the DTC, among others, were answered.
The panellists candidly answered various scholarship-related questions.
Participants also had the chance to tour a mini exhibition showcasing DSTA projects and achievements, which gave prospective scholars glimpses into the type of work they could be doing in future. Our engineers manning the booths were more than happy to elaborate on the projects and share their personal scholarship experiences as well.
Timothy Chang from Hwa Chong Institution, who is currently serving National Service (NS), mentioned that he wanted to apply for the DSTA Scholarship because he is keen to help guard Singapore’s cyberspace. He shared: “With the rise of technology use in our military, there is a greater need for engineers who can defend against cyberattacks. The tea session gave me a better idea of how I can contribute after studying computer science in university,” he said.
For final-year Singapore Polytechnic student Shawn Lee, he expressed a different area of interest: “I learnt about how DSTA develops systems to help improve our maritime and checkpoint security. It was really interesting to see the real-life application of software development for our national defence.”
Additionally, some aspiring engineers look forward to the exposure offered by the DSTA Scholarship. “After hearing from the speakers and engineers, I’m really excited about the opportunities available through the scholarship, such as the Global Internship Programme,” said Aaron Sng from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, who sparked an interest in the scholarship after he came across some systems delivered by DSTA during his NS.