Ong Ray Yi

In terms of my future career, I had a few considerations in mind. First and foremost, I wanted to do work that was meaningful and have a positive impact on society. Secondly, I wanted to be able to do a good amount of technical work, as I felt that was what I enjoyed, and by doing so I could get a good amount of exposure to the diverse range of technologies available and deepen my technical expertise. 

The PSC Scholarship (Engineering) seemed to fulfill these considerations, giving me the opportunity to contribute to the way we utilize technology to build the nation’s competencies. Furthermore, the scholarship was also structured in a way that allows for some form of rotation amongst government organisations, which I appreciated for the exposure to different concerns and considerations amongst these agencies. 

Definitely, having this scholarship made it more feasible for me to be able to experience education in a foreign university. I am glad to have experienced a different culture, and learnt from professors who were at the cutting edge of research in their fields.  

The PSC scholarship also provided me with opportunities to attend developmental programmes like the PSC Scholarship Holders’ Mid-Course Programme (PSMP) , where I could listen to sharings by people working in different government entities, as well as network with my peers. 

I recently graduated with a specialisation in information engineering, where I mostly did courses related to machine learning, signals, and information theory. In my free time, I enjoyed dabbling in the performing arts by joining theatre and dance productions, as well as a choir. I also found my love for bouldering in university because it is so much cheaper in the UK! 

During the summer holidays of 2020, I went for an internship in a healthcare technology company called Oxehealth, which is situated in the UK. It was a nice glance into the inner workings of a fast-paced private company in search of constantly improving, rolling out, and developing its products. There, I did research into adapting their existing technology and computer vision techniques to identify risks in the hospital setting. 

I am currently working in the Cyber department at DSTA, but am still very new (2 months in). As I do not have a background in cybersecurity, I am thankful that DSTA has in place a structured set of courses and resources to aid my learning. While the plan is to rotate around the department, I might be continuing to do work related to threat intelligence, as a continuation to what I did for my Year 2 internship at DSTA. This is an exciting area of cybersecurity which focuses on collating and parsing data on the newest cyber threats, to help form a useful situation picture upon which we can act. 

I think I would describe the Public Service as meaningful. The nature of a lot of the work is genuinely concerned with, and has very tangible impacts on, the welfare of our citizens and residents, and the advancement and security of our country. 

I think one thing that really struck me was the realisation of how different work is from student life. Suddenly, the work that you do has real implications, and that may give you a new added pressure to do the best you can. So while you are busy trying to help make the world a better place, it is also important to take care of your mental health, and spend time with the people you love. Do some stretches, water your plants, and remember to eat with your family.