Finding my match
Hi there! I’m Glenda, an incoming first year at the University of Cambridge studying Bachelors in Computer Science, and I’m also a Smart Nation Scholar with GovTech.
Through my journey I’ve realised that finding the perfect scholarship and university is a lot like finding a partner. No, don’t laugh, I’m serious! Both are weighty decisions that could change the trajectory of one’s future with similar criteria: one that I can connect with, and one that I can foresee myself staying committed to. Thus the weirdly apt title of my scholarship adventure — finding my match.
The chance encounter
Like many of the best romance stories, my journey started with a chance encounter. I had been nominated by my school to participate in GovTech’s annual GeekOut in 2021, and through this I had a sneak peek into GovTech. For those who don’t know, GeekOut is GovTech’s annual hackathon bootcamp for students to dip their toes into various tech domains used to build tech for public good!
GeekOut was also an opportunity to meet our mentors who are currently working at GovTech, and this gave us an idea of the work they do and their dynamic work culture. My group’s mentors (shout out to Elizabeth and Dalson!) were nothing short of amazing. They were knowledgeable, relatable, and very approachable. We felt comfortable asking them questions about anything relating to scholarships, uni, or life in general. They never failed to deliver precious nuggets of wisdom.
This was also a great opportunity for us to ask the important questions about life inside GovTech: how the culture is, the progressiveness of the organisation, range of projects they get to work on, and how nice the offices are (rumour has it that it’s pretty cool).
Love at first sight
Before I continue, I would like to give a little context. I love programming. Yep. I’m a nerd. So understandably, I wanted to pursue a career in tech. But more than just the attractive compensation the industry offers, I wanted to ensure my hours mattered. If I could make someone’s life a little bit better and a tiny bit easier, that would be a win in my book.
Given my interests, when I was properly introduced to GovTech through GeekOut, I quickly realised we shared the same passion for tech, and more importantly the same impetus: to harness the power of technology for the public good. There was an instant connection.
I had found the organisation that loved the same things I loved, and wanted to achieve the same goals I did. This was when I knew I would apply for the Smart Nation Scholarship, specifically to GovTech as my parent organisation (CSA and IMDA are possible choices too!). The Smart Nation Scholarship provides opportunities to carve a career pathway in applied technology for the public good, which was right up my alley. Scholars would also get to fast-track their career and professional growth and play a part in shaping Singapore’s success as a Smart Nation, which is something that I resonate deeply with as well.
The courtship
At this point I had already chosen GovTech, but the question now remained: would GovTech choose me? The scholarship application process was an opportunity for me to put my best foot forward, with the hopes of attaining a favourable result.
Stage 1: People and computers
The first stage of the scholarship selection was a full day programme for us to demonstrate both our coding ability and people skills. In our group assessment which required us to work together to solve logic problems, I was admittedly feeling rather intimidated. During the self-introductions, I realised I was the youngest and the only girl in my group of 5. In my head, not a great start. Within the first few puzzles I realised my group members were really, really knowledgeable and intelligent, and I quickly felt my confidence melting away, each time one of my group members managed to solve a puzzle before I did.
But I decided I would focus on my strengths. I might not have known what a Nonogram was, much less how to solve one, but I knew how to connect with people and make each member feel valued. I made an extra effort to engage in conversations with my team during our breaks and ensured that everyone’s thoughts were heard. Instead of trying to grind puzzles, I decided I was better positioned to keep the team together by boosting morale with lame jokes. True story.
Moving on to the second portion: a Leetcode-like sorting problem that we had about an hour to solve. Aha, finally something I was semi-good at. Fortunately, it wasn’t a terribly challenging task, so after quite some time of debugging I managed to pass all the test-cases, except one pesky run-time error. In the remaining time I was very unfortunately unable to locate the source of my failed test case and decided I would try to earn some brownie points by punctuating my code with explanatory comments.
Lastly, there was an interview with the Human Resource team. I was feeling quite nervous before the interview, but thankfully one of my interviewers, Perrin, was really friendly and helped set my mind at ease. The interview was comfortable, and I felt I could be myself (I even found myself occasionally ending sentences with “lah”). As I was asked scenario-based questions I found it easy to show candidly who I was as a person, which I greatly appreciated.
Stage 2: A bounce back
A few days after the interview I was elated to find that I had received an email inviting me to the next round with the Senior Management of GovTech. Unfortunately, a few days before my interview, disaster struck — I had found an unwelcome T line on my ART kit.
Because of my illness, my voice sounded strange, and my eyes were droopy during the interview. But I thank God I was well enough to articulate myself to some degree. The panel was also very understanding of my situation even when I had to take a longer time to gather my thoughts.
When asked why I wanted the scholarship, I gave quite a candid but banal answer. (One of the interviewers pointed out that everyone would have said the same thing.) Truth be told, I didn’t have a dramatic story or a specific incident to recount that sealed my desire to be in the public service, so I responded honestly that I hoped to demonstrate my sincerity and passion through the social good projects I had worked on and conveyed my deep desire to help people. Thankfully my earnestness was felt by the panel and I got through to the last round.
Stage 3: The grand finale
In this stage, interview questions go above and way beyond “what is your greatest weakness” or “describe your most challenging setback”. Here, I was challenged with questions about the tech industry and my opinions on difficult issues relating to fields such as cybersecurity. Thankfully, I had done my due diligence and formed my own views on these issues prior, so I was able to quite readily express my opinions and viewpoints on the current hot topics.
Surprisingly, the thought-provoking conversations were fun to me as they challenged my perspective on important matters and tested my thought processes and responses to alternative views. It felt less like an interview and more like a meaningful discussion on today’s tech scene.
Tying the knot
About 2 days after the last interview, I was on a video call with my boss as I was still doing my internship. Halfway through the meeting, I got a mysterious call from an unknown number. On the other line, a lady who introduced herself as Cayley from GovTech informed me that I had received the scholarship! I was absolutely overjoyed. After she briefed me on the administrative steps and ended the call, I had a lot of trouble trying not to smile too widely in front of my boss. I quickly texted my parents and we had a celebratory meal at the end of the day. It’s a day I would never forget!
Thankfully, with the relaxation of Covid measures this year, we were able to hold a physical scholarship ceremony and celebrate our achievements with our families. It was also a great opportunity to network with fellow scholars as we chatted and exchanged socials, not to mention meeting with some very very important people for Singapore, such as Mrs Josephine Teo, the Minister for Communications and Information, and Minister-in-charge of our Smart Nation Initiatives.
So… Cambridge huh…
To address a question that may be lingering in your mind, since our local universities have excellent Computer Science programmes, why did I ultimately decide on Cambridge? Was it for the prestige, or perhaps the strong alumni network? All valid theories. The real reason is that I fell in love with Cambridge for their unique academic support. Since each batch consists of just 140 students, professors are able to conduct tutorials (known as supervisions) in groups of 2 or 3. This allows us to delve as deeply as we like in any topic, and provides the freedom to ask all the questions that may interest us. Nerd stuff. The gorgeous campus and the promise of cool weather didn’t hurt either.
Pro-tips for potential Smart Nation Scholarship applicants
Tip 1: Be authentic!
I know… so cliché… but doesn’t make it any less true! Authenticity trumps practised perfection every time. People remember genuine answers better than model answers, so instead of anticipating what interviewers want to hear, try thinking about what you really feel and why. I never really appreciated this advice before, but after going through the rounds of interviews I have since come to realise its truth.
Tip 2: Play to your strengths
Not everyone’s a math whiz or a competitive programmer and that’s okay! If you’re good with people, focus on that. If you’re good at problem solving, focus on that. You want to show the best side of yourself, so know what sets you apart.
Tip 3: OSINT
OSINT (Open-source intelligence) is the collection of data gathered from open sources. AKA google “GovTech” to find out about them. I found that my little bit of research went a long way in terms of demonstrating my interest in GovTech, and also lowered the risk of asking dumb questions that could be answered with a quick Google search.
End credits
If you’re looking to apply for the Smart Nation Scholarship, all the best to you! I wish you the best of luck in your journey. If you want to learn more, visit go.gov.sg/smartnationscholarship for more info.
It has been a wild ride applying for both university and this scholarship, and it was my pleasure to share my experience with you. Hopefully this post will provide you with some encouragement and insights for your application. Till next time!
Signing off,
Glenda
