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Turning his tech passion into purpose at Republic Polytechnic

Republic Polytechnic paved the way for Mr Bryan Koh to grow his interest in cyber security and information technology and prepared him for a promising career in the industry

Through Republic Polytechnic, Mr Koh has acquired the IT knowledge he needs to pursue a career that he is passionate about. PHOTO: BRYAN KOH

While most O-Level students might spend their free time watching their favourite TV series or catching up with friends, Bryan Koh spent his leisure moments diving into the world of cyber security.

"It was purely out of interest and some level of passion back then," he says. He mostly watched online videos about hacking and how to use it to counteract cybercrime, which led him to try the techniques with the tools that were available to him.

"I saw myself as a virtual warrior performing ethical hacking for the sake of correcting glitches," recounts the 20-year-old.

He soon found that feeding his passion through watching online videos was not enough. While his experiments made him more curious about the world of information technology (IT), the lack of proper guidance limited his progress. "It made me want to understand IT more," he says. At that point, he was certain he wanted to pursue a career in cyber security.

A step closer to securing his future

With his sights set on the IT field, Mr Koh decided to apply for the Diploma in Infocomm Security Management at Republic Polytechnic (RP) through the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE).

"I already knew what I wanted," he says, referring to the diploma programme. "It would be better for me to secure a slot through EAE ahead of others."

Through its EAE, conducted from June to July every year, RP helps students who are planning to pursue a polytechnic diploma and have a strong aptitude and interest in a specific course to secure a spot in the educational institution. Applicants need to undergo a series of interviews for RP to determine their interest in the courses.

"Although my goal was to secure a place in the course that I wanted, preparing for the interviews and learning more about it along the way made me realise the level of deep passion that I had for the diploma programme. It inspired me to do well in the three years that I would spend at RP," Mr Koh says.

A balancing act

When he got into RP in 2017, Mr Koh complemented his studies with non-academic activities. "Focusing solely on academic activities might lead to burnout for any normal person," he says. "There has to be times when you engage in other activities to learn something new such as life skills or a new sport that will help to relieve stress."

Playing for the water polo team has been one of the non-academic activities that Mr Koh (at the back, wearing a green shirt) enjoyed during his time at RP. PHOTO: REPUBLIC POLYTECHNIC

Mr Koh joined the school's water polo team, spending one year as the team's captain. He was new to the sport, but he grew to love it. Being part of the team and then leading it helped to develop his leadership and communication skills.

Apart from sports, RP also presented a scholarship opportunity that boosted Mr Koh's personal growth. In 2019, he was awarded the RP Scholarship which inspired him to work even harder. "It encouraged and motivated me to keep a balance between my studies and other pursuits."

Heading into the real world

Learning from his classes and interacting with various people in school prepared and equipped Mr Koh for his internship, which is known as the Industry Immersion Programme at RP.

He chose to apply for an overseas internship in Bangkok to broaden his perspective on life beyond school. He joined Siam Commercial Bank, one of the largest banks in Thailand, as a junior security analyst in October 2019.

"I wanted to experience something that was out of my comfort zone and I wanted to learn to become more independent," he says, adding that the Thai culture fascinated him. "A financial institution is a critical infrastructure of a country and I believe that I could learn more about the IT security architecture and inner workings of the cyber security team by working in a bank."

Mr Koh chose to do his internship overseas to widen his perspective on life outside school. PHOTO: GOH JIA YE

His five-month internship proved to be a rewarding one. A so-called breach and attack simulation project that he was involved in left a deep impression. "Through the project, I got to try out multiple tools to assess which one helped improve the company's defences against cyber attacks," he recounts.

Mr Koh says his time at RP equipped him with the skills he needed for the internship, namely general IT knowledge, an understanding of IT security concepts, IT security risks and compliances, practical skills for offensive and defensive security, programming skills and more.

He ended his internship in February and returned home just before the Singapore government recalled all Singapore students who were on official exchange and internship programmes overseas.

Mr Koh graduated with his diploma this month and is set to be enlisted for National Service (NS) later this year. While waiting, he is currently studying for a security certification. He plans to further his studies after NS by pursuing a degree in computer science, information systems or computer engineering with a minor or specialisation in cyber security.

"I have already applied for the Smart Nation Scholarship, which is offered by the Cyber Security Agency, Government Technology Agency and Infocomm Media Development Authority. If I get offered the scholarship, I am looking forward to a career with one of the three agencies," he says.

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