Coming of Age with Technology
Smart Nation Scholars chat with OpenGov Asia about bridging the digital divide.
The pioneer batch of smart nation scholars will future-ready Singapore
OpenGov Asia was invited to the Smart Nation Scholarship Ceremony on 17 August 2018, where Dr Vivian Balakrishnan was the guest-of-honour. I report on the key takeaways from the Minister’s speech.
CyberSecurity Malaysia’s Astounding Achievements
CyberSecurity Malaysia’s (CSM) has a firm commitment to providing a broad range of cybersecurity innovation-led services, programmes and initiatives to help reduce the vulnerability of digital systems. This has helped propel Malaysia as the third nation most committed to Cybersecurity.
Maintaining the Upkeep of IT Security and Confidentiality: A Bank’s Journey through Overcoming its IT Challenges
Amidst an
unstable external infrastructure and internal IT security and confidentiality,
Al-Arafah Islami Bank does everything it can to protect its customers and
ensure customer satisfaction through employing the help of Kaspersky solutions
to safeguard its networks.
Victoria to start On-Farm Internet of Things trial as part of the digital agriculture initiative
The trial is a part of the
Connecting Victoria initiative of the Labor Government. It will cover major agricultural sectors such as dairy, horticulture, meat production and
broad-acre cropping. Farmers will be able to make more informed decisions
and improve farm performance with the help of the IoT solutions used in the
trial.
University of Canterbury to improve rocket-launching technology
A new flight strategy can potentially
launch rockets into orbit in a cheaper and more efficient manner. It aims to
solve the fuel movement within the tanks that affect the trajectory of rockets
through resonance.
Supercomputer to the rescue!
The new supercomputer is equipped with an
extremely fast analytics system capable of scouring websites 24 hours a day to
help gather important information during investigations.
Singapore’s Startup Culture Set to Grow through Partnership with South Korea
Singaporean SMEs and startups can expect more
opportunities to venture into the Korean market. Two Memoranda of
Understanding were signed between Enterprise Singapore (ESG), South Korea’s
Ministry of SMEs & Startups (MSS) and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion
Agency (KOTRA). MOUs aimed to boost technology-centred collaboration and
co-innovation between SMEs and startups.
Singapore University of Social Science to Use E-textbooks
Singapore University of Social Science (SUSS) has launched e-textbooks for most of its courses. The technological initiative is part of a revised program to welcome the University’s July 2018 student intake.
Projects keep failing, so what’s the problem?
Projects
deliver an outcome that addresses a business need or takes advantage of an opportunity.
Yet, projects fail for many reasons. Problems need to be clearly identified, solutions need to be determined and a value proposition to the organisation, customer or both needs to be established.
Jamie Virtually Knows Everything
Virtual assistants are proving useful in
improving government-citizen relations. The dynamism NLP provides as an
analytical tool promises more development for ‘Ask Jamie’ in time to come,
making e-governance a promising tool.
Indian Health Ministry inks MoU with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for telemedicine initiative
The National Health Protection
Mission targets approximately 107.4 million deprived families. It has
identified the occupational category of urban workers’ families as per the
latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data, for both rural and urban India.
Hong Kong Police launch free online antivirus tools for smart devices
To combat rise in cyberattacks in Hong Kong over the last year,
police have launched an antivirus thats enable users to scan and remove
viruses from their smart devices. In addition, authorities urge owners of smart
devices to be more vigilant about the applications they download and sites they
visit.
Department of Information and Communications Technology upskills the Philippines’ IT-BPM sector with Business Analytics training
The Business Analytics training is part of
the digitalPH initiative designed to help improve the qualifications of the
local talent pool. Upskilling existing manpower in specialised competency areas
is a representation of DICT’s commitment to the IT-BPM Roadmap 2022.
Australia’s smart parking initiative to reduce traffic congestion in regional areas
The project is one of 49 under Round 1 of
the Australian Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program. Aside from
reducing congestion, the smart parking initiative will help reduce air
pollution, improve road safety and boost ease of access to local businesses for
potential customers.
AR You ready for National Day?
NDP Jalan! is an activity app developed by Singapore’s National Day
Parade committee to differently engage citizens. In the lead up to the
festivities, locals can play with the AR mini games to win vouchers and a
chance to watch the parade live.
FinTech Industry in Thailand holds Unlimited Prospects
Thailand looks
set to be one of Southeast Asia’s next Fintech Hubs as digital convergence
continues to spread. The emergence of a new generation of fintech startups has
spurred development of a “complete payments” ecosystem.
Digital Transformation Agency sponsors hackathon to unlock potential benefits of open data in Australia
Open data holds
a potential wealth of information. A recent research suggested that making data
publicly available for re-use could generate up to A$ 25 billion each year.
GovHack 2018 can help find possible uses for it, eventually discovering its
potential value.
University of the Philippines Visayas orients employees on the Data Privacy Act of 2012
The
National Privacy Commission established to enforce and oversee the Data
Privacy Act of 2012. Personal information to be safeguarded, not only by the
person directly concerned, but also by the company or institution to which they
are connected.
Stellar Initiatives helps Malaysia Jump into the Top 50 in the UN E-Government Survey
The 2018 United Nations E-Government Survey is the product of collective efforts of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Malaysia has undeniably climbed in their rankings over the past two years, from being in the 60th place in 2016 to the 48th place in 2018.
Social Media Boom in Thailand Leads to a rise in Social Commerce in Thailand
Social media has been heavily used by the Thai people since its infancy
stages. As the social media penetration and use have been exponentially
growing, social media has now become a marketing platform and social commerce
has been booming.
National Payment Gateway is the future of bank transactions in Indonesia
The National Payment Gateway (GPN) now has
60 banks connected to it. Merchants and customers, alike, are able to save
money by using GPN. Consumers are also protected since one of the objectives of
its implementation is to safeguard data during each customer transaction.
Digital payment set to become a trillion-dollar market by 2023: National Institution for Transforming India
The National Institution for Transforming India
said that the digital payments market in India is set to become a
trillion-dollar industry in the next five years. Growth is led by mobile
payments which are slated to rise to US $190 billion dollars by 2023.
Contactless Payment Service Available at Singapore’s Changi Airport
Cashless payment in Singapore is taking off. Many retailers now accept e-payments and even citizens frequent person-to-person payments (P2P) using mobile apps. With most citizens on the bandwagon, the government now wants to engage its tourists.
Canberra’s new Innovation Hub to strengthen Australia’s Defence and national security through technology
The Australian
Government finds the hub as a significant investment that will help foster
ongoing innovations, allowing projects to transition into business operations
quickly and seamlessly. With a human-centric focus, the environment encourages
co-creation and collaborations for breakthroughs.
Artificial intelligence to improve medical imaging for patients with brain ailments
The project
aims to transform the delivery of neuro-radiology services across Australia. The
algorithms will be deployed on AI platforms to enhance reporting accuracy and
rapidly identify critical imaging abnormalities.
Hong Kong working towards becoming Asia’s top fintech hub
This
year has seen Hong Kong double its investments in fintech to almost HK$ 4.3
billion (S$743 million). InvestHK claims this can be attributed to the
country’s strong laws and financial regulations. Hong Kong also boasts of its
commitment to innovation and technology.
Singapore’s NTU, Surbana Jurong and NRF launch S$61 million joint corporate laboratory
NTU Singapore announces that it will be launching a corporate lab
with Surbana Jurong and NRF. The research
will centre around three main themes: digitalisation, green and sustainable urban
solutions, and the future of the industry and productivity.
Singapore’s Integrated Building Implements Assistive Technology
Singapore’s Integrated Building (IB) has pioneered a new way to help patients recover faster and transition them to everyday living. Collaboratively operated by Changi General Hospital (CGH) and a community hospital, IB is a first in Singapore.
Singapore to enhance ASEAN development by boosting regional economic integration and tech
Prime
Minister Lee Hsien announced that Singapore will increase its support for an initiative
aimed at tapering the development gap among the ASEAN member states. Economic
integration and technology adoption are the key ways in which the development
will be done.