“As a Statistics undergraduate, I wanted to gain practical work experience. The DOS Internship Programme was a great opportunity for me to make use of what I have learnt throughout my years of education to contribute back to society, in a field that I am experienced in and passionate about. Additionally, the project that I worked on focused on synthetic data which was a very interesting topic as I believe that privacy is becoming more pertinent with the prevalence of big data.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2021 limiting the work environment to work-from-home, I enjoyed my internship experience. I was impressed by the supportive and friendly nature of my supervisors, who were open to my perspectives despite having more work experiences than me. They readily provided professional advice to guide me in my project despite having other concurrent responsibilities to manage. These interactions between colleagues were the most enjoyable aspect of my internship.
I decided to join DOS again after my graduation because I believe my skillset will be valuable to the organisation, and I trust that DOS will recognise my ability and empower me to perform at my best. I am excited to be a part of the DOS team where I can contribute to society while enhancing my knowledge and skills in a supportive and dynamic work environment.”
- Ho Jia Han, Longitudinal Data Analytics, Intern (2021)
Currently in DOS’s Analytics Resource Division as a Statistician
“I studied Data Science in NUS and I wanted to find out how the tools and theory I had learnt in an institutional environment could be applied in a real-world setting. Through my internship stint with DOS, I was given a chance to work with real-world data and apply, test and evaluate machine learning algorithms to solve practical problems. The supportive team and the exposure to the wide variety of data collected by government for service operations and policy analysis was the main motivating factor for me to re-join DOS on a full-time basis after my graduation.”
- Chua Zhong Lin Kane, Household, Income and Population, Intern (2019)
Currently in DOS’s Trusted Centre for Individual and Business Data Division as a Statistician
“The DOS Internship Programme was a good opportunity for me to apply my knowledge of machine learning. It was interesting to see how causal machine learning could be applied to real-life datasets to facilitate decision-making and policy formulation. The experience I gained was also relevant to my studies as a Mathematical Sciences major.
During the internship, I was mentored by experienced colleagues which enabled me to perform research and coding tasks effectively. They were readily available to assist me whenever I had difficulties in my work, and they provided comprehensive feedback during our weekly discussions. At the end of the internship, I was able to present my work to DOS's senior management, which was a valuable and memorable experience.
After my graduation, I decided to join DOS as I had enjoyed the internship experience. As DOS is the National Statistical Office, I was also interested in how data is collected, processed, and compiled in DOS before it is disseminated to various stakeholders. As a Statistician in the Digital Services and Transformation Division, I am leveraging on my coding and machine learning expertise to promote digitalization across DOS.”
- Nicholas Chin, Longitudinal Data Analytics, Intern (2021)
Currently in DOS’s Digital Services and Transformation as a Statistician