It was a part-time IT course that Boon Nam took that transformed his career path. Having studied and worked in the construction industry, the course allowed him to transit into an IT role in his organisation then, the Housing Development Board of Singapore (HDB).
After accumulating 15 years of IT experience at HDB, Boon Nam made the shift into teaching. “My two loves are teaching and IT. It was an opportunity for me to share my experience, while doing what I love,” said Boon Nam.
INNOVATE@ISS speaks with Boon Nam to find out how he is able to marry both work and interest.
1. Please tell us about your professional background
I graduated from the Department of Building, School of Design & Environment in the National University of Singapore (NUS), which propelled me into a career in the construction industry. I started my first job in HDB’s cost accounting unit for 3 years, before transiting to an IT role in the organisation after completing a part-time IT course.
In the 20 years I was working in HDB, I was seconded to MND for two years, working on HDB policies.
2. Could you share more about the modules/courses which you teach at NUS-ISS?
I teach courses on Enterprise Architecture, Business Analysis and part of our Master of Technology in IT Leadership (MTech ITL) programme.
What’s good about NUS-ISS is that we cover end-to-end spectrum in IT Management – presenting a holistic view. The courses I teach are practice-oriented with industry case study projects, and most of them are well-received with large intakes.
3. Why did you choose to teach at NUS-ISS?
I had a taste of teaching when I was the president of the computer club in National Junior College (NJC) as a student. In my first year there, we were still using mini-computers, but in the second year, personal computers (PC) came out. So we learnt everything ourselves and passed on the knowledge to our juniors.
Apart from that, prior to joining NUS-ISS, I had taken short courses at the institute and was working with NUS-ISS in a joint Singapore Computer Society (SCS) and NUS-ISS initiative, so I knew the caliber of the institute and its offerings. Hence, when the opportunity came, I chose to join NUS-ISS as a lecturer.
4. What do you enjoy most about your work?
What I enjoy most about my work is knowing that what I do here has an impact on an individual’s life, an organisation’s direction and even on the country, as I help to develop and train talents – Singapore’s biggest resource.
5. How do you keep up with the industry?
The consulting work that I’m doing in NUS-ISS helps me to keep up with the industry, as through my interactions with organisations in the industry, I understand what the needs of the industry are; I also do applied research, where we have recently done a global survey on IT service management.
Apart from that, in the customised corporate classes that I teach, I work in detail with subject matter experts. I gain a lot of knowledge from these classes and I incorporate them in the other courses that I teach to pass on what I’ve learnt.
6. What are your favorite activities when you are not working?
IT is my hobby (that’s why I enter the industry!), so I like to read articles and books on IT. Apart from that, I like to work on some hands-on projects - such as getting a cheap tablet and do research on how to fix it – and minor coding whenever there are opportunities. For instance, there are some functions in Microsoft Powerpoint application that I need but are missing, so I would code them in!
7. Tell us something about yourself that very few people know.
Most people who work me with may already know this – that I’m color blind! Though I have a red-green color vision deficiency, the modern world has catered very well to color blindness that I’m hardly inconvenienced by it. For example, the green light for traffic lights have been treated to appear white to a color blind person. Also cable wires are not just distinguished by colors, but have stripes added as well.
That said though, I do tell my students to let me know if there are any charts in my powerpoint slides that allude to specific colors.
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