We are glad to have had you, Bryan! 😊
Class of 2024, Raffles Institution | Singapore Students Merger | Organiser (Admin & Outreach), BuildingBloCS | Aspiring Machine Learning and Cybersecurity Specialist
Yesterday afternoon, I received my Certificate of Internship for the #DiscoverMHA internship programme, marking the completion of my month-long internship with the Ministry of Home Affairs Singapore. During this internship, I was attached to the SGSecure Programme Office (SSPO), a department under the Joint Operations Group. The focus of my project was to develop creative engagement tools that could be implemented during Community Response Roundtable (CRRT) sessions. These tools were designed to promote, reinforce and enrich the SGSecure message, ultimately helping to better prepare communities for crises, especially terrorist attacks. I worked with Rachel Toh and the full-time officers to generate ideas, conceptualise and design prototypes. We developed three sets of engagement tools: an icebreaker activity for Year 1 CRRTs; a pre-discussion engagement tool for Year 2 CRRTs, and a post-discussion reflection tool for Year 3 CRRTs. Additionally, we liaised with external vendors to procure the necessary materials required for the prototypes. On the topic of CRRTs, I had the rare opportunity to observe the Pioneer-Telok Blangah Year 2 CRRT session. Through this experience, I learned how various community leaders can establish communication channels during peacetime and use them to disseminate important information during emergencies. It was especially interesting to listen to the ideas raised by community leaders during the tabletop exercises, and it was heartening to witness their collaborations during the project discussions. Surprisingly, my biggest takeaway came in the final minutes of my internship, when I had to present a month's worth of work to CRRT vendors. After several rounds of internal reviews, I expected their feedback to be positive. However, they raised many concerns about the feasibility of our activities, which was a stark contrast to what I expected. This experience taught me that even the most interesting ideas may not always be practical in reality, and that multiple rounds of testing and adjustments are necessary before a project can be successfully implemented. This is a lesson I will keep in mind for future projects. Overall, I found this internship experience to be extremely fulfilling. While developing the deliverables provided me with valuable insights into creating impactful engagement tools, the more important lesson I learned was that every one of us can contribute to the SGSecure national movement by becoming prepared citizens. It is only through our collective efforts that we can keep Singapore safe and secure. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Home Team Scholarship Centre, Human Resource Division, for organising this internship programme for secondary school and junior college students and graduates. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to my supervisors Gladys Chang and Joanna Loke, as well as to Director of SSPO Wilbur Sim for making us feel so welcome throughout our internship!