Undergraduate intern Bang Hee Kit shares how his work with data analytics supports decision-making at NHG’s Group Information Security Office (GISO).
3 words to describe IHiS
Interesting, Meaningful, Welcoming
How did you clinch the internship/ job?
I studied the internship description and asked myself if I possess the skills needed. The next question I reflected upon is if I have the passion for the job and the type of work I will be doing if I landed the internship. As both questions to me were a resounding yes, I knew I wanted this internship and worked hard to prepare for the interview by reading up on the skills and knowledge that are likely to be useful.
What is your current role and job scope? What's a typical work day like for you?
I am an undergraduate intern at NHG GISO, working under the Policy & Compliance Risk Team.
My job scope is to kick off the process of developing dashboards and templates for management reporting using a business intelligence tool. A typical work day for me includes exploring the business intelligence tooland enhancing the dashboards created. I am also working on writing a user guide for the team to refer to in the future, documenting the tips, features, and process of using the business intelligence tool.
What got you interested in HealthTech sector?
I find that HealthTech is a very meaningful sector as it provides support to the Healthcare industry. The recent pandemic has shown how important Healthcare is and how it impacts everyone in Singapore, which is why being able to contribute in whatever way I can, in a field where my passion lies in, is what sparked my interest in the HealthTech sector.
Why did you join IHiS?
After my National Service, I took up a contract job working on tech refresh for the computers at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. I was very inexperienced and needed a lot of guidance at the start. Fortunately, besides the team's guidance, there was an IHiS employee involved in the project who did not mind that I did not have any proper knowledge and was very patient in teaching me what I needed to know. He also encouraged me to join IHiS after my studies. So, when I saw an opportunity to join IHiS as an intern, I was determined to apply.
What is a memorable moment you encountered/experienced on-the-job?
As I began using the business intelligence tool for my daily work, I had to also prepare a presentation about using the platform to the department. As an introvert, preparing for a presentation always brings some anxiety for me. Usually, I would deal with the anxiety personally, but my supervisor and the team noticed my anxiousness and gave me advice on how to cope with it. This allowed me to stay relatively calm during the actual presentation, and I would hold on to their advice for future presentations.
How did you overcome any challenges?
The business intelligence tool is a relatively new software, both in the market and in NHG. Hence, if I face any problems using the platform, I will usually have to figure out a way on my own. This built up my resilience and knowledge on the software as I had to tackle the issues head-on.
There are many methods I employed to solve my problems, including doing research and trial and error. However, the method I connected with the most is to think out of the box. Thinking out of the box allows you to come up with creative solutions that might work even better than your original plan. As I continued with my work on the platform, I got more comfortable at thinking outside of the box, allowing me to solve problems more easily.
Describe the benefits of your project, and how you see it helping the public/Singapore.
Developing dashboards on the business intelligence tool allows for more efficient management reporting. As a strong data visualisation tool, it provides interactivity, which allows the reporting to be more in-depth. Like an optical illusion, the dashboards created may tell a different story when looked at from a different angle, which gives management a more informed picture about the report. Overall, the project provides support to assure that the systems monitored are under control.
What traits do you need to perform well in your role?
Analytical – To be able to create dashboards and analyse data, it is important to be able to understand the data.
Inquisitive – One must always be willing to learn and ask questions as the learning curve can be steep especially for an intern.
Independent – In my role where the answers to my problems might not be found easily, it is important to be independent so that you can find a solution on your own.
How has your degree/knowledge learnt in school help them to prepare for the internship?
The internship includes a mix of both cybersecurity and data analytics. As the data is mostly cybersecurity-related, it is important to know these concepts, which were taught in school, so that I can understand the data better. Knowing how to analyse the data makes up the bulk of the work during the internship and I am thankful to have studied the basic concepts in school.
