Since he was a child, Goh Yong Wee has dreamt of being an inventor, who can create things to help others. This led him to aspire to be an engineer and take up Engineering Science at the National University of Singapore.
It was at the university where Yong Wee first learnt about HTX from his final-year project supervisor. He recalled, “I was hooked! I was looking for a place where I could use my skills to immediately help others and the job description seemed to fit nicely, so I applied.”
Yong Wee joined HTX’s Trials & Experimentation Programme Management Centre in 2019, and his main areas of work have been in data science and cybersecurity. He creates models (e.g. Natural Language Processing models) to make predictions based on past data, and process and repackage data for better visualisation. He also helps with investigations of cybersecurity cases and drafting of tenders for future systems that will enable the Home Team to be more alert and proactive in responding to cyber threats.
Yong Wee at his workplace (Photo: HTX)
Yong Wee (extreme left) giving a presentation on the Network Asset Discovery code to HTX CE Chan Tsan (far right) at a tech sharing event. Also present is the Director of Trials & Experimentation PMC Ng Gee Wah (middle). (Photo: HTX)
“When my work creates a direct and positive impact on the Home Team’s operations, I feel really gratified. It gives meaning to what I do,” said Yong Wee.
When my work creates a direct and positive impact on the Home Team’s operations, I feel really gratified. It gives meaning to what I do.
One instance was a project he did to help the Singapore Police Force (SPF) classify cases ahead of time. During user trials, SPF Investigation Officers came down to test the prototype that he had built from scratch together with his team. He recounted, “The officers were impressed by the accuracy of the classifications and praised us for the excellent work done. Having such affirmation from our seniors that I was making a positive, quantifiable impact to the Home Team felt truly rewarding.”
Yong Wee also derived great satisfaction from cracking coding errors. He said, “The pay-off is also priceless when I finally succeed in debugging a code in my work that would otherwise frustratingly stall my progress.”
Dealing with coding errors is one of the biggest problems he faces at work. He said, “It’s part and parcel of writing your own programmes, but sometimes having to debug a code alone is a bit frustrating and lonely. Fortunately, I have a partner colleague whom I can talk with about these problems, and he sometimes gives ideas to solve them!”
Asked what keeps him ticking, he said it’s really the group of young engineers in the HTX S&T Associates Programme that he is a part of. “Every person in the group is an interesting friend to hang out and talk with. They brighten up the workplace and make it a better place to work in."