#joinSCS #PCforGood Pivoting into the Future

Pivoting into the Future. With You.

SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY

COVID-19 Edition

Scan the QR code fordigital version of the report

ANNUAL REPORT 2 0 2 0

#PCforGood

#TechHeroesfromCrisis#SG100WIT

#AIEthics&GovernanceBoK

#joinSCS

Pivoting into the Future. For You.

SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY

#vTech3Forum

Even as COVID-19 disrupts the way we work, live and play this year, the adoption of tech has not slowed. Instead, it is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. As we work alongside our members to pivot into the new normal successfully, we are also actively championing change within the Society and the tech industry at large. Together with you and for you, let’s pivot into the future.

#DigitalTransformation

#vSplashAwards

#CommunitiesOfPractice

Vision

To be the leading infocomm and digital media professional society in Singapore

#TeSA

#FutureReady

Be the VoiceTo engage and be the voice of the infocomm and digital media community

Add ValueTo add value to the infocomm and digital media professional’s career and personal development

Mission

Lead the WayTo lead and contribute to the vibrancy and growth of Singapore’s infocomm and digital media industry

Who We AreThe Singapore Computer Society (SCS) is the leading infocomm and digital media society for industry professionals, leaders, students, and infocomm enthusiasts.

Established in 1967, the Society has a thriving membership base of over 42,000 members today. Through our 12 Chapters and four Special Interest Groups, we remain steadfast in our commitment to establish a strong reputation as the voice for Singapore’s infocomm and digital media community.

Armed with the mission of leading and driving vibrancy and growth of Singapore’s infocomm and digital media industry, we strive to add value to our members’ professional and personal development goals.

From publications to training and development, networking opportunities and more, we support our members by fuelling their ambition to connect, collaborate and be inspired with infocomm innovation and excellence.

We seek to raise the bar in the industry through our various certification programmes that enable skills upgrading and career advancement.

SCS is also actively engaged in developing future generations of infocomm and digital media talents. Our student members enjoy opportunities to meet, mingle with, and be mentored by leading practitioners for an invaluable head start in their chosen fields.

Contents04President’sMessage

14The Refreshed. For You.

0720 Highlights that Made 2020 Significant

17The Future. With You.

09SCS ExecutiveCouncil

11The New. For You.

#CareerCompass

#TechInterestGroups

President’s Message

2020 had been an unprecedented year. What started as a robust year came to an abrupt halt with the COVID-19 outbreak. Circuit breaker, travel restrictions, reopening of economy in phases, size limit for group gatherings, etc. put the ability of businesses and professionals to pivot to test.

Amidst this disruptive landscape, the importance of tech in our everyday lives and its growing role in our future has been reinforced. As the leading infocomm and digital media professional society in Singapore, SCS is at a strategic spot to help our members build tech skills that give them an edge, and a vibrant tech community with greater professional and youth participation.

Another Record-breaking YearSCS had a busy year in 2020. We saw our membership growing to reach over 42,000 strong. Partly contributing to our growth was our swift actions. As early as a month before the circuit breaker, we had begun to pivot our events online. And we briskly conducted an After COVID/Before COVID Survey in April 2020 to better understand our members’ sentiment about remote work culture, job stability and training needs. Our efforts enabled SCS to keep our event frequency high at 2.6 events per week.

Prompt Response to the Evolving Pandemic SituationMany businesses and professionals – both tech and non-tech – were unprepared for the pandemic. Hence, we kick-started the SCS Techcast Series in March 2020 to provide advice on issues such as business continuity, project management, supply chain operations and cloud technology. This became a useful resource for members during the peak of COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore.



SCS ExecutiveCouncil

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2020 was a challenging but exciting year. I am counting on your continued support for the days ahead. With everyone on board, I am confident that we will build a more resilient tech community and raise the profile of tech professionals at large.

Dr Chong Yoke SinPresident


Concurrently, we brought signature SCS events online. One of which was vTech3 Forum 2020. Themed “Black Swan and Blue Ocean: A New Digital Paradigm”, the Forum engaged close to 500 participants in discussions about challenges and opportunities arising from the pandemic. Targeted discussions were also held to address challenges and solutions specific to accounting, legal, banking and manufacturing sectors.

Another signature event that went virtual was vSplash Awards 2020. It offered an immersive experience to visitors and competing teams with the creation of virtual spaces mirroring physical ones in previous editions and enabling interaction with the environment as avatars.

The pandemic has posed many challenges. But we noted that many individuals and teams had stepped out and invested their time and energy to deploy and adopt tech for the betterment of our nation and communities. That is why at the upcoming IT Leader Awards 2021, we are giving recognition to these individuals and teams with our special theme “Tech Heroes from Crisis”.

As a Society, SCS also pitched in to do our part for the community. To ensure that children from low-income families were not disadvantaged during their home-based learning, we initiated the PC for Good community project, which saw SCS raising close to $200,000 and gifting 875 new laptops to students from low-income families. For our effort, SCS was conferred the Community Spirit Gold Award by the Community Chest in December 2020.

Continued Focus on Existing ProgrammesBeyond pivoting SCS programmes and efforts in response to the unfolding pandemic situation, SCS continued building on the momentum of SCS TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) 2.0 initiatives. We also made our certification courses and events available to non-tech professionals through our engagement with non-tech associations – empowering them to develop their tech skills and better prepare for the future economy.

We resumed our engagements with Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) when schools reopened during Phase 2 of the circuit breaker. Apart from working with IHLs and training providers on their courseware, we conducted Emerging Tech Industry (ETI) workshops for their teaching staff and SkillsFuture Speaker Series for tertiary students.

Against this backdrop, we also expanded our pool of SCS ICT Career Mentors from 152 in 2019 to 215 in 2020; and kept up with our career support services for students, as well as young, mid-career and displaced professionals.

Advancing the Interests of Our Tech CommunityWorkplaces are rapidly transforming. To support our members’ personal and professional growth, we launched Enterprise Architecture (EA) certifications in collaboration with IASA, the global professional body for IT architects.

The launch of the AI Ethics & Governance Body of Knowledge (BoK), probably the world’s first, was another notable milestone in 2020. Developed by SCS and supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the BoK encourages companies to use AI in a responsible, ethical and human-centric manner. Featuring use cases of AI adoption outcomes with particular emphasis on proper utilisation of the technology to build and sustain a safe ecosystem, the BoK is designed as a

Launched the SCS Techcast Series

About 500 professionals attended vTech3 Forum 2020

Special theme for IT Leader Awards 2021 – Tech Heroes from Crisis

Conferred Community Spirit Gold Award 2020 for raising close to $200,000 through PC for Good project

Continued with SCS TeSA 2.0 Initiatives• Conducted Emerging

Tech Industry workshops for IHL lecturers

• Ramped up SkillsFuture Speaker Series for tertiary students

• Ran Digital Transformation Series for non-tech professionals




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“living document” and will be continually updated to remain relevant in the evolving digital landscape.

Together with the complementary AI Ethics & Governance Toolkit, which provides an overview of AI governance issues and explores a risk-based approach to deploying AI, the BoK also paves the way for AI Ethics & Governance training and certification for professionals. The first programme – Certificate in AI Ethics & Governance – developed in partnership with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is slated for launch in 2021.

Augmenting these efforts was also the rollout of the Ethics in AI & Governance Movement to galvanise commitment to the cause among enterprises and individuals. Since its launch in October 2020, over 30 organisations have pledged their support.

During the year, the release of the inaugural Singapore 100 Women in Tech (SG100WIT) List in partnership with IMDA, SG Women in Tech and Mediacorp marked another step towards a more vibrant tech community. Through celebrating women who had made significant contributions to tech in Singapore over the past year, SCS hopes to encourage more women to discover their interest and passion in tech, and join and develop careers in tech.

In conjunction with this movement, we elevated our Women in Tech (WIT) Special Interest Group (SIG) to a chapter. The WIT Chapter provides SCS with a platform to drive WIT initiatives – bringing about greater interaction and a stronger WIT community of practice.

Resources to Help Our Members Pivot into the FutureSCS members’ well-being is important. Therefore, even as we put in place new programmes and refreshed others, we also revamped our website and member portal. SCS members can now look forward to a more seamless experience when registering for events.

Along with the refreshed website, we bolstered the curation of our digital resources so that members can access a robust library of digital content ranging from knowledge pieces and infographics to personal stories and how-to videos. We also started a WhatsApp Broadcast in May 2020 to keep members abreast of latest SCS news and happenings. Through these efforts, we hope to engage our members and pivot into the future together with them.

Friends and Partners through Thick and Thin2020 was a challenging but exciting year. Together with our partners, SCS had achieved many firsts. Of course, let’s not forget the unwavering support and counsel of my peers in the Executive Council, Chapters and SIGs; and the passion and commitment of the SCS secretariat. Our journey in 2020 was great because of all of you. Thank you for being an inspiration.

I am counting on your continued support for the days ahead. With everyone on board, I am confident that we will build a more resilient tech community and raise the profile of tech professionals at large.

Dr Chong Yoke SinPresident

Launched AI Ethics & Governance BoK• Captures collective

expertise of over 60 professionals and thought leaders

• Based on first and second editions of the IMDA’s Model AI Governance Framework unveiled at World Economic Forums 2019 and 2020

Launched Certification Course in AI Ethics & Governance

Released the inaugural SG100WIT List

Elevated the WIT SIG to the WIT Chapter




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We've

9 SCS Certifications

We’ve over

42,000 MembersThat’s a new record!

mouse over to see more

Special theme for IT Leader Awards 2021

Tech Heroes from Crisis

We’ve over

4,900 Certified Professionalsthrough our certifications




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mouse over to see more


4 Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

22 Student Chapters

We have

215 ICT Career Mentors

Boosted our digital platforms –

New Website, New Member Portal and more robust Digital Resourcesfor better member engagement with real world happenings

SCS Executive Council




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SCS Executive Council

Technology continues to evolve at an increasing pace this year. Undaunted by disruptions brought forth by the pandemic, we kept up our momentum in rolling out initiatives beneficial to our members and the tech community at large.

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“What I saw in common is their passion for technology. Whether they are advancing new algorithms or building new businesses digitally, the diverse roles they play exemplify our strong infocomm industry. We hope to encourage even more women to follow these role models and seize opportunities in the vibrant tech sector in Singapore.”

Mr Lew Chuen Hong Chief Executive, IMDA

Singapore 100 Women in Tech (SG100WIT) List

The inaugural SG100WIT List – which was launched in partnership with Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), SG Women in Tech and Mediacorp – was unveiled on 4 September 2020 at the SG100WIT Webinar. Besides honouring women based in Singapore who have made significant contributions to the growing tech sector, it also celebrates roles and role model diversity, encourages women to pursue careers in tech, and inspires those already in the sector. Over 850 nominations were received.

https://www.scs.org.sg/videos/sg100wit-looking-to-2025-what-will-be-different-for-women-in-tech-in-singapore

https://www.scs.org.sg/videos/sg100wit-leaders-in-conversation-power-of-diversity

Elevation of Women in Tech (WIT) Special Interest Group

The WIT Chapter inaugurated on 21 January 2021 will provide SCS with a platform to drive WIT initiatives – bringing about greater interaction and a stronger WIT community of practice.

Did You Know?SCS conducted an After COVID/Before COVID Survey in April 2020 to better understand our members’ sentiment about remote work culture, job stability and training needs.

Catch the replay of the SG100WIT Webinar at










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The New. For You.

AI Ethics & Governance Body of Knowledge (BoK)

Developed by SCS and supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the AI Ethics & Governance BoK aims to encourage companies to use AI in a responsible, ethical and human-centric manner for competitive advantage.

A “living document”, the BoK which features use cases illustrating AI adoption outcomes, will be continually updated to remain relevant as the digital landscape rapidly evolves.

AI Ethics & Governance Toolkit

An AI Ethics & Governance Toolkit was developed to help build awareness and deepen understanding for AI governance issues among tech and non-tech professionals. It also encourages further exploration on the subject matter via the BoK or certification course.

AI Ethics & Governance Movement

The AI Ethics & Governance Movement was rolled out in October 2020 to galvanise commitment towards the cause among enterprises and individuals.

AI Ethics & Governance Certification Course

SCS signed an agreement with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on 16 October 2020 to mark the collaboration in launching the Certificate in AI Ethics & Governance course. Incorporated into an upcoming MiniMasters™ programme in AI and AI Ethics offered by NTU, the first run of the certification course is slated for launch in March 2021.

“This collaboration leverages NTU’s strength in AI research and education and the collective expertise of SCS’ network of industry experts to benefit university graduates and IT professionals who wish to build their micro-credentials in the AI industry.”

Professor Ling SanDeputy President and Provost, NTU

To find out more about the BoK, watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MeKKi42S3Y

Done in consultation with

over 60 professionals and thought leaders

Referenced

IMDA’s Model AI Governance Framework

“We may be living in uncertain times, but investments in building digital infrastructure, governance frameworks and capabilities of our enterprises and people will certainly stand us in good stead.”

Mr S IswaranMinister for Communications and Information

To date, garnered support for the

AI Ethics & Governance cause from over

70 organisationsAI Ethics & Governance

To learn more about why AI Ethics & Governance matters, watch: https://youtu.be/VjIt7gkagEc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MeKKi42S3Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MeKKi42S3Y

https://youtu.be/VjIt7gkagEc




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Tech Heroes from Crisis

In tandem with the special circumstances of 2020, we have themed IT Leader Awards 2021 “Tech Heroes from Crisis” to give recognition to individuals and teams who had stepped up and invested their time and energy to deploy and adopt tech for the betterment of our nation and communities.

3 Categories

The New. For You.

PC for Good

In May 2020, SCS launched the PC for Good community project to help raise funds for children from low-income families who might not be equipped for home-based learning. Over the span of two months, with the support of Temasek Trust’s oscar@sg fund, close to $200,000 was raised to benefit over 800 needy students. For our community efforts, SCS was conferred the Community Spirit Gold Award at the Community Chest Awards 2020.

Amount raised:

Approximately$200,000

Helped students from low-income families with

875 new laptops

Enterprise Architecture (EA) Certifications

On 21 February 2020, SCS launched EA certifications in collaboration with IASA, the global professional body for IT architects.

9 Professional Certifications

certified over 4,900 professionals

Infrastructure

EntrepreneurshipPathfinder

Did You Know?From Information Security to IT Project Management, SCS administers various certifications for tech professionals. With EA certifications as well as the new certification course in AI Ethics & Governance, SCS now offers nine professional certifications.

We continuously seek to foster meaningful engagement with our members and beyond. Through pivoting our signature programmes and strengthening SCS’ digital resources and outreach efforts, we were able to provide critical support during these challenging times.




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12Chapters

4Special Interest Groups

Themed

“Impacting Society with AI”

184student participants

68teams

12 hours of training

6 training sessions

4 virtual zones – Sponsor Expo, Student Expo, Viewing Room and Presentation

17th edition

vSplash Awards

Splash Awards went virtual this year. From training to the finale, the five-month long vSplash Awards 2020 was fully virtual. Notably, the use of virtual reality technology at the finale offered an immersive experience to visitors and competing teams. While interacting with the environment as avatars added a fresh dimension, virtual spaces closely mirroring physical ones in previous editions offered a holistic experience.




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Themed

“Black Swans & Blue Ocean: A New Digital Paradigm”

About

500 attendeesfrom Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Singapore, Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF), Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF)

4 workshop tracks– providing tech insights and trends pertinent to Accounting Tech, Banking & Finance, Legal Tech and Manufacturing Tech

SCS Leadership Forum with George Yeo in collaboration with Nutanix

Close to 80 SCS members got up close with George Yeo, former Minister of Singapore, at the SCS Leadership Forum on 9 December 2020. The hybrid virtual event incorporated with a guided whiskey & oyster pairing appreciation saw participants receiving a selection of freshly shucked oysters and whiskeys delivered right to their doorsteps. The Forum offered members a refreshing new experience amidst the safe distancing guidelines.

vTech3 Forum

Nearly 500 professionals, including members from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Singapore, Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF), Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), attended the virtual SCS Tech3 Forum and took part in the lively panel discussion moderated by Prof Annie Koh from Singapore Management University (SMU) and Howie Lau from Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

Like last year, Tech3 Forum also featured four different workshop tracks, providing tech insights and trends pertinent to Accounting Tech, Banking & Finance, Legal Tech and Manufacturing Tech.

Did You Know?SCS has a Whatsapp Broadcast that keeps members up to speed on our latest highlights, events and contents.





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Timely Coverage of Trending Issues

Towards ensuring that members stay informed about the latest tech developments, we chose themes that are current for our magazine – The IT Society. For example, we discussed about HealthTech in the first issue, New Normal in the second issue, and Women in Tech in the third issue.

Similarly, we also released a special issue of International Journal of IT (IJIT) on “IT in the Fight Against COVID-19” in 2020.

Check out the International Journal of IT (IJIT):https://www.scs.org.sg/international-journal-of-it

Check out The IT Society issues:https://www.scs.org.sg/media/scs-magazine

Enhanced Digital Resources

More digital resources were made available to members alongside with the refreshed website. They can access a robust library of digital contents ranging from knowledge pieces and infographics to personal stories and how-to videos.

Among which, we introduced the SCS Techcast Series: Dealing with COVID-19 in March 2020 to offer advice on pertinent business and workplace issues ranging from business continuity, project management to supply chain operations, cloud technology and more, to help members and the community navigate the impact of COVID-19.

Check out over 150 videos of industry experts and professionals sharing on SCS YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/SingaporeComputerSociety/

New SCS Website and Member Portal

During the year, SCS unveiled our refreshed website. Besides sporting a fresh look and more robust contents, it has a new event management system. Seamlessly integrated with the new Member Portal which was launched a month later, members enjoy the ease of having their particulars automatically filled up when registering for events.

With 24/7 access to the Member Portal, members can also update their profiles, renew membership, join Chapters and Special Interest Groups, and tap on other features at their convenience.

https://www.scs.org.sg/international-journal-of-it

https://www.scs.org.sg/international-journal-of-it

https://www.scs.org.sg/media/scs-magazine

https://www.scs.org.sg/media/scs-magazine

https://www.youtube.com/c/SingaporeComputerSociety/

https://www.youtube.com/c/SingaporeComputerSociety/

We envision that the future tech community will be vibrant, inclusive and full of opportunities. That is why we stepped up our efforts to empower the growth and learning of current and aspiring tech professionals, as well as non-tech professionals. President’s

Message



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Career Compass for Professionals

Since its launch in October 2016, we have:

SkillsFuture Speaker Series for Tertiary Students

Since its launch in August 2019, we have conducted 42 engagement sessions with students from various IHLs. Through the sharing of personal experiences by industry experts, students were able to understand more about the various industries as well as better relate to their course of study.

TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) 2.0

Assisted over

1,500 tech professionals

Courseware Evaluation

SCS continued to work closely with Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and training providers in the evaluation of their courseware this year. Through this effort, we contribute towards the shaping of aspiring tech professionals by ensuring curriculum currency and industry relevance.

Conducted

42 Engagement Sessions

Grown our pool of SCS ICT Career mentors from

110 to 215

Held

38 Career Compass events (including career mentoring, career preparatory workshops, career fairs and site visits)

Emerging Tech and Industry (ETI) Workshops for IHL Lecturers

Starting in 2019, SCS has been organising ETI workshops to equip full-time IHL lecturers with knowledge on emerging technologies and applications. During 2020, two runs of ETI workshops were conducted and industry speakers from CSA, IBM, DXC Technologies and Cognizant were invited to share on Cybersecurity and the use cases. Microsoft Singapore, AWS, Sensetime and Kingsoft Cloud were also involved in the workshop to touch on how the technology has impacted the Education sector in unprecedented times during the pandemic.




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Tech Interest Groups for Non-Tech Sectors

Following the inking of Memorandums of Intent (MOI) with Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) in 2019, SCS conducted nine workshops under the Digital Transformation Series for non-tech professionals.

Organised

9 Workshops

Share case studies, tips and best practices for implementation

What is Digital Transformation Series about?

Increase awareness of tech areas, trends and tools

Prepare non-tech professionals for digital transformation

“ACCA’s partnership with SCS is timely and we would like to combine our different strengths to create new value for our members and their organisations. By equipping them with the new finance and accountancy capabilities in the tech space, we hope it could help to transform the way they do business. We are clear that our mission is to leverage on our joint resources and initiatives to strengthen Singapore’s role as global business hub and gateway to the Asean region.”

Mr Reuter ChuaCountry Head, ACCA Singapore

“The confluence of law and technology is rapidly transforming the way legal services are delivered. This collaboration between SCS and SAL provides members of the tech and legal communities with a valuable platform to engage each other to explore opportunities in the legal tech arena, and to co-create solutions to improve access to justice and the future business of law.”

Mr Paul NeoChief Operating Officer, SAL

Legal Seminars for Trade Associations & Chambers (TACs)

Technology has a key role to play in almost all sectors and we have seen an acceleration in the application of technology in these few years to address the changing business and consumer needs in the current society. When it comes to tech, there are some key issues related to intellectual property, personal data privacy and ethics that businesses should consider. SCS organised the Legal Seminars for our TACs partners to discover these key risks and legal issues that must be properly managed and to be wary of some potential pitfalls so they can protect their businesses.

Design Thinking Workshops for Non-Tech Professionals

Through assessing the impact of digital transformation, identifying key job roles and required digital competencies for professionals in the various sectors, our workforce will be better equipped for the future economy. SCS organised the Design Thinking Workshops to help non-tech professionals gain insights of the tech skills gaps in the Accounting, Legal, Manufacturing and Banking & Finance sectors. Besides guiding the workshop participants to identify digital disruptions in the next three to five years, top impacted job roles, key skills needs and required levels of proficiencies were also discussed.

SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY53 Neil Road Singapore 088891

T 65 6226 2567

F 65 6226 2569

[email protected]

www.scs.org.sg

@SCSsg @Singapore Computer SocietySingapore Computer Society Singapore Computer Society

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