Projects and internships enable our Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis (GDipSA) students to bridge theory and practice, turning classroom concepts into real-world solutions.
The 59th GDipSA cohort showcased how classroom concepts can evolve into impactful solutions at the Industrial Attachment Project Presentation. After five months of rigorous internships, two outstanding projects were highlighted, with one earning the prestigious Accenture Prize.
Sharing her thoughts on the shortlisted projects with the participating teams, Ms Ng Wee Wei, Senior Managing Director, Market Unit Lead – Southeast Asia, and Country Managing Director, Singapore at Accenture, said: "Tech is the pathway to the future. Roles may evolve and work may change, especially with AI, but the sector itself will never be easy. What impressed me was how you handled the project. Despite not having much background, you approached it with focus, patience, and attention to detail. Most importantly, the work you produced reflects the industry trends we expect to see from future-ready professionals."
The two GDipSA student presenters at the Accenture Industrial Attachment Project Presentation with our judges. From L to R: Mr Khoong Chan Meng, CEO, NUS-ISS; Ms Cynthia Peh; Ms Ng Wee Wei, Senior Managing Director, Market Unit Lead - Southeast Asia, Country Managing Director, Singapore, Accenture; Ms Ong Xin Min; and Dr Leong Mun Kew, Director of Graduate Programmes.
Held on 1 September 2025, two teams shared their applications to their internship projects from the public transport sector as they sought to drive this very transformation for their users - each of which spanning very different industries, from engineering, finance and healthcare.
Diving into our students projects
First to share was Ong Xin Min who worked on the the migration of the Request for Enhancement (RFE) process from the ageing SBM system to Jira on the SHIP-HATS platform marked a bold step into the future. The Proof of Concept reimagined the workflow into modules covering approval and assessment, with automation driving much of the efficiency, from generating sequential IDs and creating sub-tasks, to assigning responsibilities and sending real-time notifications.
A custom migration process, supported by Python scripts and data validation, ensured a smooth transition. Beyond technical improvements, the project delivered clear business value: greater accuracy, streamlined processes, and wider accessibility via Whole-of-Government laptops. More importantly, it laid the foundation for a scalable, future-ready platform that positions LTA to evolve its workflows in tandem with industry
Robotic Arm Stimulator
After careful deliberation, the panel awarded the Accenture Prize for Best Industrial Attachment Project to Cynthia Peh. Her project focused on developing an automated solution to test fare collection devices using a robotic arm system. Traditionally, testing these devices requires manual tapping of contactless cards and navigating the touchscreen interface, which is labour-intensive, prone to inconsistency, and difficult to scale for extended testing cycles. The goal of the project is to design and build a robotic system capable of automating these tasks to test the performance and responsiveness of fare devices under repeated use.
Ms Cynthia Peh, Winner of the Accenture Best Industrial Attachment Project Prize
The project further explored the viability of scaling robotic automation into longer-term reliability and load testing across more complex scenarios.Two key components were delivered as part of the project:
- Main Component - 30 taps per minute Throughput Test
Serves as a proof of concept to demonstrate that a robotic arm could successfully automate fare device testing by meeting the requirement of 30 card taps within one minute. - Exploratory Extension - This preliminary trial explored how the robotic arm could also handle touchscreen interactions and card scanning over multiple test shifts. It demonstrated the potential to extend the robotic test framework for long-duration reliability and load testing, supporting broader automation goals for quality assurance.
The project provides both immediate and long-term strategic value. The business value is reflected in the following areas:
- Demonstrates the feasibility of robotic automation in high-frequency fare device testing
- Reduce reliance on human testers for low-value repetitive tasks
- Lay the foundation for future load and reliability tests using the same robotic platform and expansion of automation (future scalability)
- Supports the organisation's push toward automated QA workflows (digital transformation efforts)
Own your transformation journey now. For more information on NUS-ISS' Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis Programme, visit here.