SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore will provide data science training to 2,000 public officers annually, under a new memorandum of intent (MOI) it signed with the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) on Wednesday (Mar 29).
The two parties will collaborate in the areas of technological innovation, specifically manpower and capability development, for the benefit of public sector agencies, GovTech said in its press release.
On the data science training, GovTech said this will improve officers’ knowledge and understanding of data science to address challenges faced by the public sector. Both parties will also identify a data science project to collaborate on.
“Increased adoption of data science in the public sector will transform the way that the Government delivers services to the public. We are glad to partner NUS, which will help us put this tool into the hands of 10,000 public officers over the next five years, and educate them to use it effectively,” said GovTech chief executive Jacqueline Poh.
“This will help us improve and quicken our efforts in building Singapore into a Smart Nation. We look forward to working with more parties to make this happen.”
The training of these officers was first mentioned by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean during this year’s Budget debate.
Other aspects of the MOI will see both parties engage in knowledge sharing to co-create solutions, work together to develop solutions on challenges faced by the public sector such as in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, and training of students via various platforms such as internships and hackathons.
GovTech and NUS will also form a GovTech-NUS Exchange Programme for staff to be exchanged and attached to each other’s organisation, the press release said.