On 2 November 2023, the cohorts of participants from the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore Technology in Finance Immersion Programme (IBF-TFIP) received their NUS-ISS Professional Diploma in Software Development and Professional Diploma in Digital Business Analytics in a ceremony held at NUS-ISS’ Inspire Theatre.
The IBF-TFIP is an industry Attach-and-Train Career Conversion Programme that aims to build an industry pipeline of capabilities in key technology areas to meet the talent needs of the financial services sector. The 120 recipients come from various industries such as media and linguistics, just to name a few, each hoping to make a successful career switch to the financial services sector. Amidst their busy work schedule and family commitments, they have challenged themselves to step out of their comfort zone and make time to complete the Professional Diploma programme.
Delivered by NUS-ISS in collaboration with IBF, the course consists of 3 - 6 months of training with NUS-ISS to attain foundational skillsets required of the respective technology areas. Upon completion of their training, trainees were attached to financial institutions for on-the-job training in which they get to apply their learnings and get hands-on experience.
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Our IBF-TFIP participants with NUS-ISS lecturers, guests from participating financial institutions and with Guest-of-Honour Mr Ng Nam Sin, Chief Executive, IBF Singapore; and Mr Khoong Chan Meng, CEO, NUS-ISS
The graduation ceremony was graced by Guest-of Honour, Mr Ng Nam Sin, Chief Executive, IBF Singapore; as well as representatives and mentors of the recipients from participating financial institutions: Bank of America, DBS Bank, GXS Bank, HSBC Bank, JP Morgan, Mizuho Bank, OCBC Bank and Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Mr Khoong Chan Meng, Chief Executive Officer, NUS-ISS, encouraged the recipients, “May your learning journey inspire more of your colleagues and peers to embark on new, exciting pursuits and prepare for the future!”
Contributions that impact users worldwide
Ms Shilpa Surash, Business Analyst, DBS Bank, shared her learning journey at the ceremony.
"Before this switch to the tech industry, I had various roles in the finance sector. But I was constantly miserable and trying to find purpose and meaning in my work. Today, I am attached to DBS Bank and working in Digibank on projects across onboarding, customer collaboration and security domains. The role is meaningful as the contributions I make has the potential to impact millions of users worldwide across internet banking and mobile banking app. I also have mentors and colleagues who are always willing to guide me, which is a stark contrast from my previous experiences before this program. Because of this, I am able to constantly learn and upgrade myself and perform better on the tasks that I have been assigned to."
Elaborating on the training received at NUS-ISS, Ms Surash shared how lecturers used hands-on learning activities to illustrate the learning points. "I recall one of the activities very clearly as it was really impactful. During the ScrumMaster training session, we were given just some paper and a ruler and tasked to make paper airplanes which we would then have to fly over a white line on a makeshift runway. Before each round of flying, we had to estimate how many planes we could land successfully over the white line. After each round ended, we had to take down the total number of planes that actually went over the line. After repeating this for a few rounds, our course instructor showed us a graph of the comparison between what was committed and what was actually delivered and there was such a huge difference, especially for the initial rounds, or what we now know as sprints. This hands-on experience provided us with a better understanding of sprint planning and the factors that affect productivity."
Ms Shilpa Surash, Business Analyst, DBS Bank
From Linguistics to Tech
Ms Ho Shi Yun, Test/Quality Assurance Analyst, TD Securities, said, “With a background in Geography and Linguistics, technical terms like Python, bugs, and binary initially seemed like hieroglyphics. I vividly recall my early days, searching Google for answers and struggling with StackOverflow. Yet, such frustration was eclipsed by how exhilarating it felt to solve complex problems. It was like unlocking a puzzle every time I debugged my code, and that indescribable feeling is something that I’m sure many of us can relate to.”
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Ms Ho Shi Yun, Test/Quality Assurance Analyst, TD Securities
The programme helped her realise the importance of lecturers with not only theoretical knowledge, but also invaluable industry experience. “The instructors here were not just educators but mentors, always open and willing to help, even when we were at our wits' end. While we were encouraged to be resourceful in developing our programs, the instructors' wealth of knowledge and their willingness to guide us made all the difference."
'Strategic Ownership and Continuous Innovation: Critical Skills for Developing Technology and Careers'
To round off the event, there was a lively and engaging panel discussion on the topic of 'Strategic Ownership and Continuous Innovation: Critical Skills for Developing Technology and Careers'. The audience had the opportunity of gaining insights from industry experts Ms Tancy Tan, Chief Operation Officer at HSBC Singapore; Ms Mayda Lim, Managing Director of Technology Engineering at OCBC Bank; Mr Rajesh Balachandran, Executive Director of Operation Strategy and Transformation at JP Morgan; and Ms Chow May See, Head of Technology, Middle Office at DBS Bank. The panel discussion was moderated by Ms Amy Huang, Chief of Digital Products & Platforms Practice at NUS-ISS.
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From L to R: Ms Chow May See, Head of Technology, Middle Office at DBS Bank; Mr Rajesh Balachandran, Executive Director of Operation Strategy and Transformation at JP Morgan; Ms Mayda Lim, Managing Director of Technology Engineering at OCBC Bank; Ms Tancy Tan, Chief Operation Officer at HSBC Singapore; and Ms Amy Huang, Chief of Digital Products & Platforms Practice at NUS-ISS
For more information on NUS-ISS' Stackable Programmes, visit here.