As Asia’s leading communications group, Singtel and its regional associates connect millions of people and businesses around the world daily. In order to keep ahead of the competition, the company continues to invest in content, networks, and spectrum. These are key to leading in customer experience, while providing the capacity for growth in an increasingly digital world. Singtel also places emphasis on nurturing a new generation of talent who can drive our digital businesses.

Singtel Group Undergraduate Scholars Jacob Toh, 26, and Chang Hong Jie, 25, tell us more about how the scholarship has accelerated their growth and opened up exciting career opportunities for them.

Chang Hong Jie 
Singtel Group Undergraduate Scholarship
Management Associate
Bachelor of Science (Business Analytics)
– National University of Singapore

What motivated you to pursue the Singtel Group Undergraduate Scholarship?

Hong Jie: Singtel was one of the few MNCs to offer scholarship opportunities with a focus on Analytics in Singapore. Given my passion for data analytics, Singtel’s focus on building their data analytics capabilities really resonated with me. I was also attracted by the multitude of ways that Singtel uses data to drive its businesses, and felt that it would be a great place for me to grow career-wise.

Jacob: My experience as a Singtel Customer Experience Cadet has allowed me to witness the company’s commitment to deliver truly differentiated customer experience. As my passion is in customer experience management, it was a natural fit for me to pursue the Singtel Group Undergraduate Scholarship.

What are your current roles and responsibilities?

Hong Jie: As a data scientist with Singtel, I build predictive models and machine learning algorithms to drive business intelligence for Singtel and its enterprise customers. These models form the core engines of analytics software platforms which help executives and business users understand their customers better and make data-driven decisions to improve their marketing or operational efforts.

Jacob: I am an intern in the Business Application Strategy (BAS) team where I work with my manager to strategise, drive, and deliver IT projects to improve productivity of the sales team and boost revenue. In BAS, I learn to use innovative IT solutions to deliver a differentiated customer experience.

Tell us more about your rotations across different business units, and how it has helped your growth.

Hong Jie: The Talent Management team at Singtel helped me to identify key roles that match my skills and expectations which led to a more fulfilling and seamless internship experience for me. Speaking with the team and respective senior managers has also granted me a better birds-eye view and understanding of the various analytics-related roles in Singtel. The development ecosystem here is flexible and Singtel gives us many ways to chart our growth with them.

Jacob: With Singtel UGS, I am able to take the learnings from my Customer Experience Cadet journey to better prepare myself for other roles across the company’s business. During my internship as a Customer Experience Cadet, I took on the role of a Customer Care Officer where I developed customer experience management skill. This acquired skillset has allowed me to bring valuable experience to the BAS team when working on customer-centric projects during my SHINE internship.

Jacob Toh 
Singtel Group Undergraduate Scholarship
Undergraduate
Bachelor of Business Management – Singapore Management University

What other opportunities for career growth do you enjoy?

Hong Jie: As a scholar, Singtel also offers networking sessions with other scholars and senior management where I get to learn from many other incredible people from various backgrounds. Since Singtel is so huge, there is so much to learn about the various teams that come together and move the business forward.

UGS also gives me direct entry Singtel’s Management Associate Programme (MAP). The two-year stint enables me to learn not just about the different departments in Singtel, but also to work and be a part of them during our rotations. The programme lets us get our feet wet in areas that we are keen to dive deeper into, and provides an amazing avenue to develop cross-functional expertise as well as try out various career paths before diving in.

Jacob: The Singtel UGS aims to develop young talents into future business leaders for the company. As a Singtel scholar, I am excited about the opportunity to join Singtel’s Management Associate Program (MAP) upon graduation.

How would you describe the working culture at Singtel?

Hong Jie: Initially, I thought Singtel might be a large cumbersome company with a ‘dated’ working culture. However, from my experience it turns out to be anything but that! The pace is fast and exciting as we keep abreast of new developments in technology and the industry. Being results-oriented, there is a good degree of flexibility and autonomy in how we work, as long as we get the job done. We are also given many opportunities to learn and develop our skillsets. All in all, I think Singtel ticks all the critical checkboxes in what I seek in a company’s working culture.

Jacob: Singtel has a family-like culture. During my internship, I was not treated as an intern but as an important member of the family. My managers and colleagues were approachable and helpful. Through their mentorship, I had an incredible learning experience when I took on various projects. Singtel is truly a company that values their people.

Do you have any advice for aspiring scholars hoping to pursue a career at Singtel?

Hong Jie: Don’t hesitate to join the family, and definitely make good use of the wealth of opportunities to grow yourself both personally and professionally!

Jacob: Never stop chasing your passion and stay hungry! With Singtel’s robust talent management programme, aspiring scholars can expect an exciting and fulfilling career. The question is: Are you game enough?