Google Singapore and SMU team up for undergrad course on data & analytics

Singapore Management University (SMU) and Google Singapore have signed an agreement to offer the SMU-Google Squared Data & Analytics Programme to SMU’s undergraduate students, making it a first for Google to extend this course to undergraduates of a local university.

The partnership was announced by SMU President Professor Lily Kong and Stephanie Davis, Country Director of Google Singapore yesterday (31 January), with Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive Officer of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), as the guest-of-honour at the event.

The SMU-Google Squared Programme aims to equip SMU undergraduates with industry-ready data analytics skills to contribute to the knowledge economy, and increase the availability of data analytics talent for the ecosystem.

Professor Lily Kong, President of SMU and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences said: "Not only will our students be able to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world problems during their internships with Google’s partner companies which hail from different industries, they will also gain valuable experience and obtain a better understanding of the demands and opportunities in the media profession."

Open to all SMU students at its six schools from their second year of study, this collaboration entails a six-month extended internship programme at a Google partner company in the media industry and earn credit in the process. Students on the programme will return to campus for up to one day a week during term time to read up to two additional courses while on the work-study elective.

Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive of IMDA commented: "We are investing, and will continue to invest, in the future of our workforce. In support of the partnership, IMDA will sponsor TeSA Awards to recognise the top student of each class in the SMU-Google Squared programme."

The inaugural batch of the SMU-Google Squared Data & Analytics Programme has some 25 students. About 50 students are expected to be enrolled in the second run of the SMU-Google Squared Data & Analytics Programme.

Stephanie Davis, Country Director of Google Singapore added: "We’ve seen great success across the four years working with IMDA on the Squared Data and Analytics programme to give more than 90 graduates a headstart in this fast-growing field, and it is heartening to hear how they are now utilising the skills in their respective companies to drive data-driven innovation."

In further news, ST Logistics has signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with NTUC LearningHub and National University of Singapore (NUS), in a bid to upskill Singapore’s logistics workforce, in the face of increased automation and digitalisation.

The MoU between NTUC LearningHub and ST Logistics signifies the start of skills-upgrading efforts between the two entities. ST Logistics and NUS’s MoU provides training opportunities for working adults, providing new knowledge, skills, and certification through technology courses, specialist certificates, bachelor programmes, and Masters programmes.

Both MoUs mark the start of a common learning framework for companies in Singapore to level up talent in their respective industries, acting as models for other business sectors.

Loganathan Ramasamy, Chief Executive Officer (Designate), ST Logistics, said: "In the face of increased automation and digitalisation in the supply chain and logistics industry, developing our workers to help them adapt and stay in sync with industry changes is crucial for continuity and success."

Four institutions (NTUC Learning Hub, NUS, Republic Poly, and Korn Ferry Advance) were present at the ceremony to promote career guidance programmes and PME-specific skills advancement courses.

Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, witnessed the signing ceremony that took place at Toll City, a S$228-million, next-generation logistics hub launched in July 2018, housing Industry 4.0 technologies, such as driverless vehicles and smart-city telematics.

Lee Eng Keat, Executive Director, Commercial and Professional Services, Singapore Economic Development Board, said: "Logistics companies should not only embrace innovation, but also look at reskilling and upgrading their workforce to prepare for the increasingly digitised and connected supply chain world."

In addition to the newly-minted partnerships and upskilling framework, ST Logistics and Toll Group are focused on supporting the development of local Singapore talent through various internal and partnership programmes.

Toll’s Graduate Programme (now in its third year), is designed to attract and develop future logistics leaders, with global rotational assignments across the company’s three operating divisions. ST Logistics and Toll Group induct young talent via the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme for Logistics and the Singapore-Industry Scholarship programmes.

Lead photo / Provided by Singapore Management University [From L-R: IMDA's Tan Kiat How, Google Singapore's Stephanie Davis, and SMU's Lily Kong (right)]