Chia Wan Yin, Director Systems Engineering and C3 Centre, Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), Singapore

1. How do you use technology/policy to improve citizens’ lives? Tell us about your role or organisation.  

In the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), we leverage science and technology to develop and implement solutions to enhance the capabilities of MINDEF and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to safeguard our nation. I started my career in DSTA as a Command, Control and Communications (C3) engineer in developing and implementing C3 systems for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Army, and later took on the role to oversee key capability development areas in Air Systems Programme Centre to enable command and control concept, systems integration and collaborative networking amongst platforms. 

DSTA also extends its support to other public service agencies beyond defence. As the designated Centre of Excellence for C3 in the public service, DSTA plays a leading role in driving and developing C3 capabilities across the SAF and other public agencies. In my current role as Director Systems Engineering and C3 Centre (SECC), this is where my team and I come in.  

As part of learning and growth, I’ve had the opportunity to be attached to the Ministry of Transport’s Technology Office and drove efforts in the development of the ministry’s digitalisation plans and technology master plans to push technology exploitation. The technology capabilities span across C3 systems, data digitalisation and autonomous platforms.  

During the COVID-19 circuit breaker period, I also led a team of DSTA engineers embedded with the Joint Task Force (Assurance) at the Ministry of Manpower to deliver tech solutions that support the conveyance management and healthcare needs of migrant workers amid the pandemic. The establishment of the strong Ops-Tech partnership and collaboration with the various government agencies were critical to enable the different operations and workflow digitalisation. The DSTA development team worked closely with ops users to prototype tech solutions and deployed them rapidly. It was a race against time and there were many challenges. But knowing what we do contribute towards Singapore’s fight against COVID-19 made the hard work and sacrifices worthwhile. 

When implementing technology, be it for citizens or certain users, the key considerations include the environment in which it would be applied, and enhancements in user experience. In implementing the Migrant Workers C3 system during COVID-19, the technology applied had to not only be effective in providing situational awareness of their overall health status and facilitating resource management, but also adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic. Rigorous testing was essential to ensure that the system remained reliable under these evolving conditions. Understanding the operating environment – including safe distancing requirements – and the operational needs of the users was also critical, as the system had to support frontline personnel in 24/7 operations.  

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2. Please share a memorable anecdote from the time you have been working in DSTA. 

The most memorable would be my first overseas exercise to support the RSN. As an engineer supporting the C3 system that I developed back then, I was excited to have the opportunity to participate and see my system put into first time operational use. It was a remarkable experience where I witnessed how the system was used in actual operation by naval officers, better understanding of the challenges the crew faced out at sea, and it gave me good ideas on how the system can be enhanced. That’s why I always emphasise to my team mates that our work does not stop when we have delivered the system. It is essential for us to see how the users are using the system delivered and seek continuous improvements.  

3. What was the most impactful project you worked on this year?  

This year, I had the opportunities to contribute in both capacities as Director (Capability Development) C3 Development and also took on my new role as Director SECC. It was both fulfilling and challenging to chart out the DSTA C3 product roadmaps as well as to review and adapt our C3 Centex strategy to build on new areas that we can support WOG agencies.  

4. What was one unexpected learning from 2024? 

This year was my first time employing a helper to take care of my mother. Initially, I was not sure on how I could go about getting to know her, train and motivate her, given the language barrier and culture differences. I applied and adapted my learnings from this experience from some staff engagement practices at work and was glad that it has worked well thus far! 

5. What’s a tool or technique you’re excited to explore in 2025?  

I am looking forward to do more with AI and unmanned technologies as part of the C3 systems that we implement and deliver.  

6. Everybody’s talking about AI today – give us your hot take on AI and what it means for the public sector.  

I think it is important to first consider the use cases of how AI will help and benefit the daily work or business operations, before jumping into the system solution. Very often, it will also require a change or rethink of the work processes, that sometimes could be faced with resistance. To reap the benefits of any AI-enabled system put in place, it is also recommended to consider putting structured ops trial in place or shadow ops to refine the work processes and be receptive to potential false positives that could occur during the system refinement process. It will no longer be the case where a system is rolled out for operation and there are zero false positives achieving 100% accuracy, as the AI enabled system will need the opportunities to learn and adapt with real operational data. 

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7. What are your priorities for 2025?  

People are our most important assets in DSTA. Taking on the role as Dir SECC, my first priority is to engage my staff, nurture and strengthen in-house capability in anticipation of the upcoming demands given the evolving changes in tech world, and strategise how we can prepare ourselves to do better in support of SAF and WOG agencies.  

I would also like to dedicate more time to technology scanning on new commercially available solutions, explore emerging technology and potential adaptations of mature solutions, as part of long-term technology capability development plans. 

8. What advice do you have for public sector innovators?  

We can all make a difference in the role that we play. As innovators, we must first identify the areas that can be improved and have the will to make the change. Some changes may not be apparent and we shouldn’t expect things to change overnight, but taking steps towards the right direction will build up the foundation to realise the real change downstream. There will be resistance along the way. Leading by example, perseverance, and passion are the essential ingredients for driving real change and making a positive impact.  

9. Who inspires you today? 

I often draw inspiration from my close friends who have similar values and backgrounds, but are working in very different domains. They will share their views, provide constructive feedback, and point out blind spots. They are sounding boards to help me reflect and think critically on the way forward. For that, I am truly grateful, and of course I do the same for them. :-) 

In DSTA and the Defence Tech Community, I am inspired by other female senior leadership, including Ms Ngiam Le Na [former Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) in DSTA and currently Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) in DSO National Laboratories] and Ms Gayle Chan [Deputy Chief Executive (Information] in DSTA). I have had the pleasure to work closely with them over the years and have learnt much from them.