Tech Policy Officer
Stepping up for public good
A conversation with Sindhu Achudan, a Senior Manager at SNDGO (now part of MDDI).
Sindhu Achudan
Senior Manager, Strategy and Masterplanning,
SNDGO (now part of MDDI)
2019-2022
Stepping up for public good
Sindhu took a somewhat unconventional route joining the public service.
Having cut her teeth at a local financial technology, or FinTech, start-up and accumulated seven years working at the cutting edge of tech, Sindhu made the move to the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) to contribute her know-how in the area of policy formulation.
And there’s not been a boring day since as she strategises how to harness and govern the use of tech for the benefit of Singaporeans and others living here.
She says SNDGO was no different from her previous start-up environment as it has the same dynamism and change-the-world vibe – but with an added sense of purpose of realising Singapore’s Smart Nation dream.
Making a Difference
Asked why she joined public service as a Tech Policy Officer, Sindhu shares she was inspired to make a difference in people’s lives through tech.
As I was interested in joining the public service and setting tech-related policies that will benefit our citizens, SNDGO‘s mission of ‘transforming Singapore through technology’ was very appealing to me.— Sindhu Achudan
As part of the Strategy and Masterplanning team at SNDGO, Sindhu works closely with Government agencies and industry partners to develop strategies and frameworks to improve user experience of Government digital services and products.
Through this, she identifies pain points and challenges that citizens and businesses face, which allows her to come up with solutions that addresses these and is accessible to all.
“Stakeholder management and adaptability are two important qualities of a Tech Policy Officer. Depending on the situation, I often find myself playing the role of a consultant, sometimes a coordinator, and at times, even a mediator,” she says.
Close collaborations
Her work as part of SNDGO’s COVID-19 working group is a case in point. During the ongoing pandemic, SNDGO acts as the tech agency and is often pulled into various discussions on how tech can be used to resolve data issues or to automate processes.
“Hence, we had to work closely with agencies to understand their problem statements and work with our GovTech counterparts to ensure we can deliver the solution to them in a timely manner,” Sindhu says.
Throughout her career, digital technology has been a game-changer. And she knows there’s more to be done.
“In the past decade, technology has transformed my life in many unexpected ways. I was intrigued by the potential growth in the tech industry and I knew there was so much more to learn. When the opportunity to contribute in the tech policy and governance domain in SNDGO presented itself, I decided to dive right into it. I’m glad that I made the right decision!”