Gaining AI confidence: How IT pro becomes a champion for artificial intelligence at work

In a world where mobile apps are evolving faster than ever, Mr Yip Chun Kit knows constant learning is the only way forward.

He went back to school in September last year and has since returned to his workplace with new skills and the confidence to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the products and services that his company offers. 

The 47-year-old leads a team of project delivery and digital specialists at NCS NEXT, where they deliver web and mobile-centric applications for a wide range of industries in Singapore, including both the private and public sectors. NCS NEXT is the digital services arm of local technology services provider NCS. 

“Mobile apps are evolving faster than a teenager’s TikTok feed. By integrating AI, we help to position our clients at the forefront of technology,” says the senior director of mobile and apps.

The AI courses he attended were part of the Professional Certificate in AI and Machine Learning Basics programme offered by the NUS Advanced Computing for Executives, School of Computing at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Of the courses, Mr Yip finds one on applied artificial intelligence especially useful as the practical exercises gave him hands-on experience on how to effectively implement AI techniques at work.

“By working on an immersive project that has similar challenges to what we face in the real world, my course mates and I gained hands-on experience on how to collaborate to overcome the obstacles in implementing the AI techniques,” he explains.

After completing the course, he finds that he is now more confident when he collaborates with the AI experts at NCS NEXT. “At least now, I can speak their language better. This helps me marry mobile apps and AI efficiently,” he notes.

Under his guidance, his team has since successfully integrated AI-driven features such as voice recognition, image analysis, chatbots and recommendation systems into the apps the company develops for clients.

This, he says, will give NCS a significant edge in a highly-competitive industry where millions of new apps are launched each year.

He also faces no issues incorporating NCS’ proprietary speech-to-text AI tool, Ins8.ai, into the mobile apps developed by his team.

“It used to be a black box to me,” says Mr Yip, an information technology graduate. The desire to stay ahead of the curve in adopting new tech made him decide to return to school.

“But now, given the knowledge that I gained, I can better appreciate the tool and the rest of NCS’ AI solutions as an added value to what my team and I are working on.”

Being more knowledgeable about this fast-changing field of AI also opened more doors for him. He recently took up the role of an AI integrator for NCS, allowing him to blend relevant AI components with not just mobile apps but also web applications and cloud technologies, delivering comprehensive end-to-end solutions for NCS clients.

He was also invited to present the capabilities of Ins8.ai with the latter’s lead product innovator, Mr Ng Chong Yang, at Tesseract – NCS’ latest innovation centre that conducts workshops on identifying opportunities in generative AI, metaverse, digital trust and sustainability.

“I think the course really helped empower me to better recognise and better navigate the implications of applying AI to our clients' business,” says Mr Yip.

He did some research and self-study on emerging technologies before signing up for AI-related courses at NUS.

“I know that NUS has a lot of well-structured courses for AI and even machine learning-related courses, from the technical side all the way to ethics.”

After completing the AI courses at NUS, Mr Yip notes, “I think they're very suitable for professionals who want to go further with AI. For me, this is only the start. I hope to continue upskilling myself.”