Journey of a new Xponent: Law Yong Wei

I started my career journey at HTX two weeks ago. HTX is my first job after graduating from Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Information Systems course. I am currently with the Content Team of the Strategic Communications Division, managing our social media accounts.

My education background and past internships experiences have equipped me with a comprehensive understanding of technology, data analytics and digital marketing principles. I will utilise my knowledge for my social media content planning work and to harness the power of data to make strategic decisions to enhance the organisation’s communications campaigns.

My orientation into HTX was a smooth experience. My colleagues and work buddy helped to transition me into the organisation and provided me with valuable insights into various aspects of the work and the team culture. Their guidance and support made me feel welcome and they enabled me to quickly adapt to my new role.

I was lucky to join HTX in May 2023 as I arrived just in time for the launch of Hatch, HTX’s new innovation hub, as well as the TechXplore 5 exhibition and the Careers@HTX job fair.

One of the interesting sessions at the launch of Hatch was the sharing by our Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) Ng Pan Yong, who kickstarted Hatch’s Tech Talk series with a sharing on hard truths about innovation.

My key takeaway was understanding that innovation is not just about a single "Eureka" moment, but rather a continuous process of adapting to change. I learnt that innovation can be inspired by others, starting with a thorough understanding of the problem and aligning it with business objectives. The focus should always be on creating user-friendly products, avoiding unnecessary complexity, and embracing failure as a stepping stone to success.

The innovation culture at HTX was evident, with numerous impressive inventions and the incubation of start-ups at Hatch, which serves as a platform to examine, validate, and accelerate the development of emerging technologies from global start-ups through its Open Innovation Challenges for public safety.

There was also a panel discussion involving the startups in Hatch, which provided me with insights about the (1) technologies used to solve problem statements, (2) challenges faced when developing public safety solutions, and (3) tips on how startups and the public sector can collaborate.

Lastly, I had the opportunity to see the amazing projects by the HTX scientists and engineers. It was inspiring to see how these technology projects were utilised by the end users from the Home Team agencies to effectively address the challenges encountered in their day-to-day operations.

I look forward on this exciting journey ahead and contributing to HTX’s mission.