NUS-ISS and NCS have embarked on a partnership where NCS employees including new hires will have access to training opportunities leading to specialist graduate certifications and a Master of Technology degree from NUS – Institute of Systems Science.
.jpg?sfvrsn=67ad05f_0 "NCS x NUS-ISS MOU Signing - 23 August 2019 (2)")
Mr. Gerard Koh, Head of HR, NCS, Mr. Ng Kuo Pin, CEO of NCS, Mr. Khoong Chan Meng, CEO of NUS-ISS and Dr. Leong Mun Kew, Director of Graduate Programmes, NUS-ISS launching the partnership between NCS and NUS-ISS on 23 August 2019 to announce joint efforts for collaboration. This is followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the parties.
Nurturing Digital Talent and Building the Workforce of the Future
NCS is partnering the Institute of Systems Science at National University of Singapore (NUS-ISS) to provide its employees and new hires with training programmes that offer opportunities to gain professional certifications and a Master of Technology degree from NUS-ISS.
Ng Kuo Pin, CEO of NCS said: “In NCS, we believe that talent development is a top priority, and must be a deliberate and ongoing process. It is therefore important for us to ensure that our people have access to opportunities to develop new specialist skills and achieve accreditation as they progress in their careers. Together with their experience at NCS working on impactful projects for our clients, this initiative will set a strong foundation for our people to realise their individual potential and aspiration. The partnership with NUS-ISS underscores our commitment to help our people grow throughout their career development journey.”
Nucleus 2.0 Programme for NCS New Hires
One of the areas includes specialist skills development for new software engineers. NCS will collaborate with NUS-ISS to train its new software engineers in specialist skills under the company’s career development programme, Nucleus 2.0. Nucleus 2.0 encompasses a foundational programme leading to an NUS-ISS Graduate Certificate in Architecting Scalable Systems; and a specialisation programme leading to graduate certification in key growth areas such as System Architecture, Project Management, Application Modernisation, AI and Automation, IoT, Platform and Product Architecture and Advanced Analytics. NCS employees who achieve the requisite graduate certificates and complete a capstone project will be awarded the Master of Technology in Software Engineering by NUS-ISS. NCS will recruit more than 200 ICT graduates into Nucleus 2.0 per year as it ramps up its digital workforce.
Ms Esther Hoon, Application Consultant at NCS who underwent the Nucleus 2.0 programme shares, "It was a rewarding two weeks at NUS-ISS. I really enjoyed the practical aspect of the courses, especially the workshops for DOEA (DevOps Engineering and Automation) where we had a hands-on experience on cloud computing. The lecturers were knowledgeable and approachable, I have gained invaluable knowledge from the courses they have conducted."
"I think the fact that we get the opportunity to study and partake in the Master of Technology in Software Engineering Stackable Programme offered by NUS-ISS as part of our career with NCS speaks a lot about how much the company values its employees and strive to be the forefront in the technology field by equipping their staff with updated skills and knowledge. I have not heard of other companies offering similar or comparable programmes to date" she added.
Leveraging Synergies of Both Organisations
The collaboration also covers three other areas. Technical training will be tailored for mid-career employees in the areas of emerging technology such as advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) and cloud technologies. NUS-ISS will also accredit NCS’ subject matter experts as its adjunct teaching staff to teach in NUS-ISS. In addition to providing training for its employees, NCS will also work with NUS-ISS to offer internship and project opportunities to NUS-ISS students in the Graduate Certificate and Masters in Technology programmes. The students will gain exposure to a real working environment and get hands-on experience in developing prototypes of new products using emerging technologies.
Says Mr. Khoong Chan Meng, CEO of NUS-ISS: “We are honoured to be collaborating with NCS to equip ICT professionals with the relevant skills to contribute to the digital economy. By leveraging the synergies of both organisations – NCS’s well-established industry experience and subject matter experts, coupled with NUS-ISS’s long-standing track record of developing digital talent, our goals are strongly aligned to propel and shape industry transformation for the future.”