The Singapore InfocommMedia Development Authority’s
(IMDA's) Open Innovation Platform (OIP) has launched an Innovation Call
to tackle challenges during and after COVID-19. The OIP, introduced in
2018, supports companies in getting quality and
multidisciplinary ideas, talent and resources to meet their innovation
and business needs effectively. Together, they co-create innovative
digital solutions that are not commercially available in the market.
The Innovation Call, with the theme COVID-19 & Beyond – Innovation for Social Good, seeks
to develop solutions to address the challenges faced by vulnerable
Singaporeans and businesses. Through the Innovation Call, IMDA and its
industry partners aim to inspire the innovation community to apply
digital technology to solve COVID-related problem statements.
Examples
would include developing a better food distribution network for
underprivileged households, to efficiently test workers while minimising
any disruption to business operations, and helping migrant workers
access self-help resources.
Tan Kiat How, Chief
Executive, IMDA, said, “COVID-19 has had and will continue to have a
profound impact on lives and livelihoods, especially for the more
vulnerable segments of our society. Through this special Open Innovation
Call, we are reaching out to our innovator community to crowdsource
solutions to challenges that our people and businesses face, and help us
adapt to a post-COVID ‘new normal’.”
Melissa Kwee,
CEO, National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), said,“Every
crisis amplifies a nation’s strengths and weaknesses, and COVID-19 has
brought the needs of many marginalised groups to our attention. Social
innovation initiatives can foster greater 'whole of community'
collaboration that identifies unmet needs and opportunities to rethink
solutions and question our assumptions of what works in creating a truly
inclusive society for hidden groups at the last mile.”
The
OIP will host six challenges to address some of the problems aggravated
by COVID-19, with total prize monies amounting to S$90,000. To help
alleviate some of the initial risk of innovation, IMDA will co-fund 70%
of each challenge’s prize money, with the remaining 30% supported by the
partner.
The OIP has launched six Open Innovation Calls so far. To date, more
than 6,500 registered solvers have signed up to participate in the 123
problem statements hosted, and more than S$3 million in prize monies has
been distributed.
Details:
The call will close on 5 June 2020. Interested applicants can submit their proposals online.
Challenges
National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)
- Enhancing neighbourhood-based volunteerism and enabling regular social
support for the vulnerable within the neighbourhood community
How can we enhance trust and reliance within the neighbourhood
communities so as to promote a culture of giving and support, especially
for the vulnerable families, by the community for the community?
- Smarter food resource management to alleviate food wastage and ensure food is distributed to the ones who need it
How
might we leverage on digital solutions to create a food rescue or
repurpose ecosystem, made up of the food industry, charities and
supporting industry to minimise food wastage in Singapore?
NVPC and GlobalSign.In
“As an integral part of the society, migrant workers in Singapore help
to build and make the country the modern metropolis it is today. The
COVID-19 crisis is truly unprecedented and has placed the health and
safety of many at risk. During these trying times, this is when we need
to come together and innovate to better the lives and living conditions
of people. As a start, ensuring the right information and relevant
resources are made available to those who need it, is key,” said Veemal
Gungadin, CEO & Founder, GlobalSign.In, an event management specialist.
- Assisting migrant Workers to gain access to resources and enable self-help
How
might we reduce the barrier for migrant workers to gain access to
healthcare services, food, shelter, information and rights independently
so that they are aware of the help available and can ask and receive
help in time?
Golden Energy and Resources
“It
is important that we emerge from this crisis more resilient as a
society. That's why it is imperative now more than ever to collaborate
with the larger community to find innovative solutions that can help
workers go back to work safely, while helping those displaced find new
ways to contribute,” said Tan Toi Ngee, Head of Innovation, energy and
mining company Golden Energy and Resources.
- Avail resources to better utilise skills and time of displaced workers for supply chain transformation
How
might we avail resources or platforms to better utilise the skills and
workforce who may be displaced so as to transform the supply chain to
meet the demands of societal needs, leading to more sustainable,
efficient and resilient business models through deeper public-private
partnerships?
- Decreasing the effective cost of testing our workforce to ensure they are safe and protected
How
can we balance the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of testing the
workforce to ensure their safety and protection while minimising
disruption to business operations?
ABM Media
“Charity
goes beyond just monetary donations for most corporate entities and
individuals nowadays. We at ABM are looking into more innovative and
integrated practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and
exploring how we can leverage each other’s strengths to create more
impactful shared value engagements.
"We hope through
the development of a platform to connect the community more people can
start to come together to collaborate and create good stories. The more
wisdom that is collected and shared, the more we can lead more
meaningful lives," said Gary Hong, Founder, ABM Media, a B2B marketing
and media group.
- Digital platform for community participation, engagement & management
How
might we bring all stakeholders into a single platform to offer
sponsored resources and rally their communities for a better match of
skills-based volunteering, delivering impactful social activities and
accountability of sponsored resources?
Showing posts with label IMDA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IMDA. Show all posts
10 August 2017
New career development platform to address ICM manpower shortage in Singapore
SiTF, together with the support of SPRING Singapore, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), has launched talentguru, a skills-focused career development platform, powered by analytics to help address the skills gap and manpower shortage challenges in Singapore’s infocomm media (ICM) industry.
“Infocomm media is one of the fastest growing industries and an important enabler in Singapore’s ambitions to be a leading Digital Economy and Smart Nation. There are many exciting job opportunities in this sector, ranging from deep technical roles such as Data Scientists and Cybersecurity Forensic Analysts, to business-strategy roles such as Chief Digital Officers and Enterprise Architects, and more. Recognising that people are at the heart of our digital transformation efforts, we are pleased to support the talentguru portal and its efforts to bridge the skills and jobs gap, so as to build up a more vibrant ICM ecosystem,” said Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, IMDA at the launch last month.
Talentguru is focused on building capacity in the industry by enhancing the pipeline of ICM talent and deepening the pool of local skills. This initiative is backed by a suite of programmes and a strong community of support from the industry as well as SiTF’s network of partners including government agencies, institutes of higher learning (IHLs), trade associations and training providers.
Talentguru intends to grow the local pool of ICM skills and talent, by helping four groups of people:
· Students – prepares them to launch their careers with confidence by using insights from data to understand skills requirements for jobs and their desired careers pathways;
· Career switchers – empowers and motivates them to re-skill and reach new career peaks in the ICM industry;
· ICM professionals – enables them to stay competitive and relevant by acquiring new skills, widening professional networks and keeping up to date with industry trends;
· Employers – facilitates more effective hiring processes with a focus on objective assessments based primarily on skills.
“Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups will now have a dedicated platform that links employers with fresh graduates and job seekers – a resource that many did not have in the past. Talentguru will also drive industry-wide cooperation by bridging technologists, entrepreneurs, multinationals and Singapore companies with IHLs and government agencies to uncover new science, business and technology talents,” said Benjamin Mah, Co-Chairman SiTF Talent & Capabilities Committee.
Powered by JobKred’s proprietary data analytics technology, talentguru allows users to create their own profile of skills and compare themselves against what the industry needs at any given point in time. This allows users to glean useful insights on skills requirements and explore possible career pathways, which is particularly useful for anyone interested in entering the ICM industry for the first time, such as students and career switchers.
Lim Kang Song, Co-Chairman SiTF Talent & Capabilities Committee, said that the rapid pace of change in the ICM industry can result in job seekers feeling lost and insecure. "Many ICM students also choose not to pursue a career in the industry after graduation because they feel unprepared," he said. "Through some early testing with IHLs, students said that talentguru helped to alleviate some of these concerns by providing a clear picture of the skills they needed to get the jobs they wanted. This is an outcome we hope to replicate with career switchers as well.”
As part of the ecosystem of initiatives supporting the talentguru platform, SiTF is making extra effort to help SMEs and startups attract and retain talent. SiTF is working with SPRING to run a structured internship programme to train internship mentors and facilitate the matching of ICM students with quality internships. In recognition of its efforts, SPRING has appointed SiTF as a Partner for SME Talent Programme (STP), to help strengthen the ICM talent pipeline for SMEs and provide meaningful internship opportunities for local students.
“People are strategic assets to businesses and it is important for SMEs to invest in resources to attract and develop talent. With support from SPRING’s Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) programme, SiTF aims to improve the way job and skills matching is done for the ICT sector, benefitting both job seekers and employers. SiTF is also working on other industry projects such as technology adoption and building up their research capabilities in ICT to strengthen their competency,” said Chew Mok Lee, Assistant Chief Executive, Capabilities & Partnership, SPRING Singapore.
SiTF is also partnering Proxor, a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff, to administer a rigorous and certifiable skills assessment for Java programming. Proxor’s solution will help test a candidate’s ability to solve real world problems and provide an assessment benchmarked against a global cohort. SiTF hopes that such assessments would gain more industry recognition and help ease the transition for career switchers who have re-skilled to join the ICM industry.
Finally, talentguru will be complemented by a suite of offline events to help build a vibrant and mutually supportive community. Apart from networking sessions, industry talks, and outreach to schools, SiTF and e2i have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to mark a shared commitment to empower local career switchers and displaced professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) transition smoothly into the ICM industry by collaborating on a series of career fairs and seminars over the next two years.
“The ICT sector offers many opportunities and growth potential, and faces a rising demand for tech professionals. To support the demand to attract and groom Singaporeans in this sector, e2i has collaborated with industry partners to recruit manpower through career fairs and professional conversion programmes, as well as bridge skill gap through masterclasses. Talentguru is a platform where Singaporeans interested in joining the sector can identify their training needs, get matched to a suitable job and be part of a vibrant ICT ecosystem,” said Gilbert Tan, CEO, e2i.
Over the next three years, talentguru seeks to engage 500 companies and 10,000 users, facilitating the placement of 3,000 ICM professionals and 1,000 students. It also hopes to train 300 internship mentors in SMEs.
Interested?
View the video introducing talentguru
“Infocomm media is one of the fastest growing industries and an important enabler in Singapore’s ambitions to be a leading Digital Economy and Smart Nation. There are many exciting job opportunities in this sector, ranging from deep technical roles such as Data Scientists and Cybersecurity Forensic Analysts, to business-strategy roles such as Chief Digital Officers and Enterprise Architects, and more. Recognising that people are at the heart of our digital transformation efforts, we are pleased to support the talentguru portal and its efforts to bridge the skills and jobs gap, so as to build up a more vibrant ICM ecosystem,” said Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, IMDA at the launch last month.
Talentguru is focused on building capacity in the industry by enhancing the pipeline of ICM talent and deepening the pool of local skills. This initiative is backed by a suite of programmes and a strong community of support from the industry as well as SiTF’s network of partners including government agencies, institutes of higher learning (IHLs), trade associations and training providers.
Talentguru intends to grow the local pool of ICM skills and talent, by helping four groups of people:
· Students – prepares them to launch their careers with confidence by using insights from data to understand skills requirements for jobs and their desired careers pathways;
· Career switchers – empowers and motivates them to re-skill and reach new career peaks in the ICM industry;
· ICM professionals – enables them to stay competitive and relevant by acquiring new skills, widening professional networks and keeping up to date with industry trends;
· Employers – facilitates more effective hiring processes with a focus on objective assessments based primarily on skills.
“Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups will now have a dedicated platform that links employers with fresh graduates and job seekers – a resource that many did not have in the past. Talentguru will also drive industry-wide cooperation by bridging technologists, entrepreneurs, multinationals and Singapore companies with IHLs and government agencies to uncover new science, business and technology talents,” said Benjamin Mah, Co-Chairman SiTF Talent & Capabilities Committee.
Powered by JobKred’s proprietary data analytics technology, talentguru allows users to create their own profile of skills and compare themselves against what the industry needs at any given point in time. This allows users to glean useful insights on skills requirements and explore possible career pathways, which is particularly useful for anyone interested in entering the ICM industry for the first time, such as students and career switchers.
Lim Kang Song, Co-Chairman SiTF Talent & Capabilities Committee, said that the rapid pace of change in the ICM industry can result in job seekers feeling lost and insecure. "Many ICM students also choose not to pursue a career in the industry after graduation because they feel unprepared," he said. "Through some early testing with IHLs, students said that talentguru helped to alleviate some of these concerns by providing a clear picture of the skills they needed to get the jobs they wanted. This is an outcome we hope to replicate with career switchers as well.”
As part of the ecosystem of initiatives supporting the talentguru platform, SiTF is making extra effort to help SMEs and startups attract and retain talent. SiTF is working with SPRING to run a structured internship programme to train internship mentors and facilitate the matching of ICM students with quality internships. In recognition of its efforts, SPRING has appointed SiTF as a Partner for SME Talent Programme (STP), to help strengthen the ICM talent pipeline for SMEs and provide meaningful internship opportunities for local students.
“People are strategic assets to businesses and it is important for SMEs to invest in resources to attract and develop talent. With support from SPRING’s Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) programme, SiTF aims to improve the way job and skills matching is done for the ICT sector, benefitting both job seekers and employers. SiTF is also working on other industry projects such as technology adoption and building up their research capabilities in ICT to strengthen their competency,” said Chew Mok Lee, Assistant Chief Executive, Capabilities & Partnership, SPRING Singapore.
 |
| Source: talentguru website. The talentguru initiative will help job seekers tailor their skillsets to market demand. |
SiTF is also partnering Proxor, a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff, to administer a rigorous and certifiable skills assessment for Java programming. Proxor’s solution will help test a candidate’s ability to solve real world problems and provide an assessment benchmarked against a global cohort. SiTF hopes that such assessments would gain more industry recognition and help ease the transition for career switchers who have re-skilled to join the ICM industry.
Finally, talentguru will be complemented by a suite of offline events to help build a vibrant and mutually supportive community. Apart from networking sessions, industry talks, and outreach to schools, SiTF and e2i have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to mark a shared commitment to empower local career switchers and displaced professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) transition smoothly into the ICM industry by collaborating on a series of career fairs and seminars over the next two years.
“The ICT sector offers many opportunities and growth potential, and faces a rising demand for tech professionals. To support the demand to attract and groom Singaporeans in this sector, e2i has collaborated with industry partners to recruit manpower through career fairs and professional conversion programmes, as well as bridge skill gap through masterclasses. Talentguru is a platform where Singaporeans interested in joining the sector can identify their training needs, get matched to a suitable job and be part of a vibrant ICT ecosystem,” said Gilbert Tan, CEO, e2i.
Over the next three years, talentguru seeks to engage 500 companies and 10,000 users, facilitating the placement of 3,000 ICM professionals and 1,000 students. It also hopes to train 300 internship mentors in SMEs.
Interested?
View the video introducing talentguru
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