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Global exposure

A scientific background and international working experience help Ms Ho to do her job better.
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

MS HO Weng Si pursued biomedical studies at university purely out of passion.

The Raffles Junior College alumna says: "Biomedical engineering was a natural choice for me. As a triple science student in junior college, I liked life sciences, but I did not want to be a doctor."

She took up an Economic Development Board (EDB) scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering with minor in Economics from Columbia University, followed by a Master of Science in Engineering Sciences (Bioengineering) from Harvard University.

As an intern at EDB's New York office in the summer of 2004, just after she graduated from Columbia University, she was assigned to "shadow" the centre directors.

"It was my first taste of how EDB works and seeing them in action inspired me to work towards being one of them," she says.

Upon graduation, Ms Ho, 26,then joined the EDB's Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Biomedical Sciences department.

She is now the centre director of EDB's office in New York, and her scientific knowledge comes in handy in her job.

"Although it helps to have a scientific background when I talk to the scientists, what really helped me were not just the facts that I learnt at university, but the exposure to a world outside Singapore," she says.

Less than a year after she started work, she was sent on an overseas trip with the former co-chairman of EDB, Mr Philip Yeo.

Ms Ho recalls: "I had to give presentations to highlevel executives, including a number of CEOs."

"Having the opportunity to interact with leaders of top global biomedical sciences companies when I was pretty much fresh out of school, is something that is truly unique about working at EDB."

"Here, there is a strong teamwork culture, where every project requires teammembers to work together. This results in a general sense of camaraderie among colleagues regardless of seniority," she says.

Her work can be summed up as "developing strategies for the sector, anchoring projects and handling crises situations", she says.

And she is keen to dispel a common misperception. "Many people think that EDB is all about bringing investments into Singapore. Actually, there are many dimensions to our work. First, we have to anticipate the needs of companies, sometimes even before they realise it themselves," she explains.

"Next, we need to create the environment that would attract them to choose Singapore, as opposed to any other location in the world, to invest in."

"Then, when our clients finally do invest, as their strategic partner, we help to facilitate any troubleshooting if they stumble on any roadblocks while in Singapore."

On the bond that comes with the scholarship, Ms Ho says: "I think of it as job security, especially in these uncertain times."

"On a different note, I think that generally, scholars would not feel 'bonded' if they enjoyed their work. I think I'm fortunate to be in an organisation that provides officers with fresh challenges all the time by way of rotation to different industry sectors, or overseas assignments."

As EDB has 19 offices in the United States, European Union member states and Asia Pacific, Ms Ho will have many opportunities to travel for work or be posted to another country.

She says: "EDB is part of public service, yet we deal very closely with private corporations."

"This puts us in a unique position to be able to see things from both perspectives, and learn to create viable and realistic solutions that work towards shaping Singapore's future economy.