Please share with us your professional life’s journey and at which point in your career did you aspire to pursue this certificate.

Before I switched to the healthcare-IT industry, I was in the banking-IT industry, where I held roles in identity and access management for more than 10 years. During my tenure, I had the chance to encounter some RPA tools, which drove my curiosity about the ethical safety net deployed for such tools. I also want to keep up with tech trends and remain employable and ready for a career switch at any time in the future, so I pursued this certificate to broaden my knowledge base.

How was your learning experience with this certificate?

My learning experience was a pleasant one. The professors in this certificate programme are very approachable and experienced in the AI field, which gave me great insight into what to expect in this industry. This broadened my knowledge. I also had the opportunity to learn from my peers during our peer sharing sessions. The notes provided were digestible and easy to understand.

Could you share with us some interesting facets of the certificate you enrolled?

This certificate offers peer-to-peer interactions with professionals from different organisations, which provide us the opportunity to network, learn from one another, and share experiences about the industry. This expands my knowledge and gains insights into what this AI industry is all about.

Another interesting facet that I have learnt in this certificate is that an AI tool by itself is neutral. However, there is always a possibility of inherited bias if the programmer did not exercise due diligence to ensure no bias in the coding stage.

What were the challenges you faced when trying to complete this certificate?

As I had to juggle between family commitments and work, I needed to prioritise my time, especially when it comes to revising for the test. Since I do not have prior knowledge or working experience in AI, there are new terminologies and topics that are foreign to me. I need to spend more time reading up on top of the study materials to understand the topics.

Thankfully, the study notes are readily available online, and the professors are approachable to help me clear my doubts. With their assistance, I am able to overcome these challenges and complete this certificate.

Do you think lifelong learning is important? Please share your thoughts about it.

Yes, I think lifelong learning is important. With technological advancements, our knowledge gained in the IT field will become outdated very quickly. Hence, in order to stay abreast of industry developments and remain employable in this sector, we need to constantly equip ourselves with up-to-date knowledge and skill sets. This is necessary to stay on the path and remain competitive.

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