S’pore universities’ computing enrolment surges, amid industry changes and stiff competition for jobs

SINGAPORE – With a near-perfect score for his A-level exams, 22-year-old Kee Song Yang had his pick of university courses before settling on computer science, in part for the promise of a high starting wage. 

But he came up empty-handed despite sending out dozens of internship applications in the last summer break – signalling the rising competition within the industry.

The third-year National University of Singapore (NUS) student, who is worried about his job prospects, is among the swelling numbers of local undergraduates studying computer science and related disciplines who are soon entering a rapidly changing and highly competitive tech industry.

Across NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU), the number of young people enrolled in computing and related courses shot up 63 per cent over the last five years, based on enrolment data.

Since 2019, the number of students enrolled in NUS’ School of Computing and its computer engineering course, which is jointly organised by the College of Design and Engineering and the School of Computing, has risen 68 per cent, from 3,498 to 5,878. 

At NTU, the number of undergraduates specialising in computing-related courses has nearly doubled from 1,987 in the 2019/2020 academic year to 3,156 in 2023/2024. Similarly, enrolment in SMU’s computing-related courses jumped from 1,490 to 2,310, up by 55 per cent.

In response to queries, NUS said it is seeing greater interest for programmes such as artificial intelligence, computing, computer engineering, as well as data science and analytics.

Highly competitive sector

Starting salaries for these graduates, who usually enter the tech industry, often top the graduate employment surveys published by universities. In 2023, NUS’ computer science graduates earned a $6,181 median basic monthly salary compared to the $4,313 average for all fresh graduates.

Demand has been fuelled by the growth of Singapore’s tech industry, which in 2022 was worth $106 billion – or 17.3 per cent of Singapore’s nominal gross domestic product.

Big tech firms, including US companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, as well as short-video sharing app TikTok’s parent company ByteDance and conglomerate Tencent have in recent years made Singapore home.

Also in the mix are hedge funds and other financial institutions, which seek such graduates as “quants”, or quantitative traders who execute complex trades using algorithms and other programs, as well as various regional players and startups. 

The route into permanent positions in these firms is often through internships, which can result in “conversions”, or offers of employment, said fourth-year NUS computer science student Vibilan Jayanth, 21. Roles at established tech firms or financial firms such as Jane Street Capital – which has an office in Singapore – are seen as very prestigious and often well-paid, he added.

That is why competition for such internships is fierce, said Mr Vibilan, who sent out 30 applications for internships last year. His peers too had sent out between 50 and 100 applications.

While the industry has always been competitive, the growing pool of graduates means the situation is even more dog-eat-dog than before, he said. “It feels like even more people fighting for fewer spots.” 

Advent of generative AI; changing skills needed

More broadly, large-scale industry restructuring due to changing macro-economic conditions like higher interest rates and the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) have kept students on their toes.

These changes have resulted in widespread layoffs globally over the last few years, which some publications have dubbed The Great Tech Reset. In August, tech giant Intel announced a 15 per cent cut in its global workforce. According to independent tech layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, 436 tech companies have laid off 137,050 workers in 2024 alone. 

Closer to home, in January, e-commerce giant Lazada retrenched an undisclosed number of its Singapore staff. 

Figures from the annual graduate employment survey showed that 88.7 per cent of information and digital technologies graduates found full-time permanent work after six months in 2023, down from 93.2 per cent in 2022 and 93.7 per cent in 2021.

Despite this, demand for tech workers in Singapore has rebounded, data from professional networking site LinkedIn showed. The company saw a 29 per cent year-over-year increase for tech industry job postings in June 2024 compared to June 2023.

This was much better than the 49 per cent year-on-year decrease in June 2023 compared with June 2022, it told The Straits Times.

LinkedIn Apac’s head economist Chua Pei Ying said: “The data also shows that the hiring rate for the tech industry has started to improve in recent months – the hiring rate for June 2024 grew by 2.7 per cent year on year, which is the highest growth in over two years.”

While demand for fresh tech graduates is strong, the skills employers are asking of them have changed. Ms Chua said: “We are seeing a significant skill shift accelerated by AI transformation, which will fuel the emergence of new roles in burgeoning sectors.”

President of the Singapore Computer Society Sam Liew said the demand for tech roles in Singapore has changed significantly over the past few years, driven by factors such as technological advancements, government initiatives, and shifts in business operations. 

The job market has faced challenges due to economic uncertainties and changes in the hiring patterns of big tech companies, he said. 

Despite this, demand for tech roles remains robust, particularly in areas such as cyber security, artificial intelligence and data science, he added. 

Students’ concerns about the job market are understandable, given the current climate. “However, it is important to note that despite retrenchments, the tech sector remains resilient overall. The demand for tech skills continues to grow across various industries.”

One major change in the industry is the arrival of generative AI, particularly the launch of AI-chatbot ChatGPT at the end of 2022. 

The chatbot, which is free to use up to a point, is able to process and respond to questions in conversational form. Its introduction is widely seen as a watershed moment in the use of such technology. 

It also has applications in programming. NUS’ Mr Kee said: “ChatGPT is actually very good at programming. It’s useful for a lot of the simpler parts of the work.”

Universities are working to help students keep pace with the speed of change. Associate Professor Ng Teck Khim, vice-dean for industry relations at NUS’ School of Computing, said it has introduced new courses in AI-related areas, and is also looking into updating the syllabus of existing courses. The school also plans to revamp or introduce new degrees to reflect the latest AI advancements, he added. 

NTU’s Professor Luke Ong, vice-president (AI & Digital Economy) and dean at the College of Computing and Data Science, said new AI-related offerings for students include an AI and Society computing degree launched in 2024. 

Students who show strong aptitude and talent in AI are further stretched with the Turing AI Scholars Programme, meant to develop those interested in AI research, he added.

The college also launched a new minor in AI programme in 2024 for all non-computing undergraduates, he said.

Getting past gruelling interviews to land a job remains among students’ chief concerns. 

Said Mr Vibilan: “I feel prepared to function in a role in a company, but it’s getting past the hurdle of the time-trial interviews that seems like a big barrier.”

The interview process for technical roles often involves timed coding exercises, which many students prepare for using LeetCode – a website with practice questions, as well as mock interview preparation. 

Worried about the future and aiming for a job in big tech, Mr Kee spends many of his free hours on the website to prepare for interviews, or ‘Leetcoding’, as users call it. 

“I guess I just have to keep on grinding,” he said.  

Correction note: An earlier version of the story did not include some computing-related courses offered by SMU. The story has been updated to accurately reflect the enrolment in such courses across the universities.