The new Software Design and Development Centre of Excellence allows Government agencies to tap its capabilities to design online services that better cater to people's needs.
Come mid-July, there will be a new Software Design and Development Centre of Excellence, and Government agencies can tap its research and data analytics capabilities to design online services to better meet citizens' needs, said Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim.
The centre, to be launched by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), will be a one-stop shop where expertise in developing e-services is concentrated, Dr Yaacob said on Thursday (Apr 9) at the ministry's Work Plan Seminar.
"As we get more citizens connected to the internet, we must ensure that our e-services can offer citizens the most user-friendly and optimally-designed experience in a high-tech and seamless Smart Nation," he said.
Beyond project management, Dr Yaacob also said the centre will allow IDA to develop a "small but strong core of coders and engineers" capable of creating IT solutions within the Government.
"This will be one of the ways in which we can maintain expertise, raise IT competencies and attract talents to join IDA," he said.
The 13,000 sq ft research and testing lab will be located at the Sandcrawler, Lucasfilm’s Singapore campus at Fusionopolis.
MINIMISING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Another area the Government is allocating resources to is to get more citizens connected to the internet and minimise the digital divide within the society. One of the first steps taken was the setting up of the Digital Inclusion Fund a year ago, Dr Yaacob said.
Since then, IDA has reached out to more than 2,400 pre-qualified households for the Home Access package under the Fund. The package provides low-income households with a tablet and four years of broadband connectivity at a subsidised rate of S$6 per month, he added.
The agency will also roll out its first free training workshops next month, the minister said.
Eighty-year-old retiree Mrs Nair Rajeswari, who qualified for the programme last year, said she has learnt new ways of keeping in touch with her friends.
She said: "I was so happy when you all rang me up. I said wow, this is for me to start getting educated again. I have managed to get a couple of friends onto ... WhatsApp. We chat every morning with each other, just short chats."
In a separate press release on Thursday, M1 said it is collaborating with IDA as its Home Access Programme partner to deliver high-speed fibre broadband access to up to 8,000 low-income households that do not have school-going children and with at least one Singapore citizen.
Eligible households will get the telco's 100Mbps fibre broadband service, an internet router and a seven-inch Alcatel tablet for S$6 per month over a two-year contract, it said. After the two-year contract is up, the subscriber can re-contract for another two years under the same terms if the household still meets the requirements, said an M1 spokesman. If no contract extension is signed, the service will be terminated at the end of two years.
The telco added that its SunCare Club staff volunteers would also conduct regular training sessions in the use of the mobile devices and apps for these households.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Kevin Kwang
Quelle/Source: Channel News Asia, 09.04.2015
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