Decoding the tech industry
Undertaking a Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis offered by NUS-ISS gave former showbiz professional Shona Woo the technical and soft skills required to navigate a large tech organisation
By Cara Yap
July 7, 2020
Ms Shona Woo was interested in programming in her teens. However, a robotics enrichment course she took then dampened her enthusiasm. “The interface was primitive and difficult to use,” she recalls.
She went on to do a degree in biochemistry. But her interest in programming and robotics never went away. After a career as a model and an actress, she decided to give programming another shot.
This led her to embark on a one-year Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis (GDipSA) programme, offered by the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Systems Science (NUS-ISS), last year.
In this course, students acquire technical skills like how to systematically analyse and design feasible IT solutions, and to code, test and implement proposed solutions.
“We built web and mobile applications, and I fell in love with how fast and lightweight those frameworks are, and how quick it is to prototype something that looks so impressive,” says Ms Woo, who graduated in February this year.
Gaining an edge
Ms Woo’s time at NUS-ISS gave her a solid foundation in systems analysis, which is crucial in her current role as a systems quality assurance engineer at e-commerce company Shopee.
Besides getting a firm grasp of technical skills, she also learnt how to communicate concepts to a wide audience through projects that involved working in large teams.
While her work involves carrying out performance testing, bug analysis and tracking for Software Development Life Cycles, Ms Woo also understands software development from a business standpoint — thanks to a five-month internship at chemicals multinational corporation BASF South East Asia under the GDipSA programme.
There, she got to observe the workings of a large organisation, which would help open up career options for her in the future.
And now, Ms Woo is set to further stretch her technical capabilities, as she will join the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) in the middle of this month as an associate software engineer.
Visit nus.edu/2Vdrztf to learn more about the Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis. The next intake starts in February 2021.
Besides the full-time course, there is also a stackable pathway through the graduate certificate degree programme for Digital Solutions Development.
