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Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, is improving safety for everyone working in potentially hazardous environments with a new training package that uses virtual reality (VR) to simulate risk scenarios. Participants in the training will gain a practical understanding of relevant control measures in a safe environment, including the consequences of emergency events that can result from specific hazards when the control measures are not implemented.
The Director of the Data61 Immersive Environments Lab and lead product developer stated that the new training package draws on over 25 years of CSIRO research into how Interactive Computer Graphics and Computer Vision can help improve productivity and safety.
The team has been able to translate innovations from the research domain into a training platform that gets more out of the immersive display hardware that is becoming widely accessible today. The software architecture is incredibly versatile, and this means new training modules can now be created for additional scenarios or training content more rapidly.
The team, which includes domain experts from across CSIRO, continues to push the envelope to ensure their work maximises its impact. In addition, they are working on an Augmented Reality version of the training platform that can integrate digital holograms into a relevant physical environment through smart glasses.
The work on this project has already led to new research explorations and university collaborations – particularly around how Artificial Intelligence can assist immersive technologies to adapt to individual users, their needs and their environments.
The virtual environment is modelled after a generic CSIRO laboratory. Focusing on safety and risk management, participants will first complete a theoretical component before donning the VR headset and completing scenarios based on potential real-life incidents, such as a chemical spill, and a failed pressure vessel releasing hazardous gas.
Participants will be placed in scenarios that will enable them to develop confidence while providing opportunities for some amount of exploration balanced with course correction before potential mistakes occur.
CSIRO’s Deputy Director and Science Director of Mineral Resources, Dr Louise Fisher said the new VR training modules will enable researchers to explore hazards and risk scenarios as well as receive feedback on their safety behaviours in a risk-free environment.
“When we become used to our workplace environment it can make it easier to not see the hazards around us,” Dr Fisher said.
Through this training, participants, including over 2,000 of CSIRO’s people, can practice their responses to simulated incidents in an immersive environment that is both familiar but also not their everyday lab. Similarly, people can train to work in higher-risk environments before entering them in reality, she added.
The new VR training package is available to research institutes and organisations located in Australia that undertake work in a laboratory setting, or similar. CSIRO is not charging participants to access this training.
This training package was developed following an incident at a CSIRO facility in Melbourne in 2017, after which CSIRO entered an enforceable undertaking to improve work health and safety risk management in CSIRO laboratories and to share the new VR training package to the benefit of others.
During a meeting with leaders of the municipal People’s Committee, the Deputy Prime Minister, Vu Duc Dam, underscored the importance of the project to develop a national population database and electronic authentication and identification (Project 06), which is being piloted in Hanoi.
In January, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a decision approving a project to develop the population database and applications for e-identification and e-authentication for the 2022-2025 period. Under the scheme, apart from the database and applications, citizen ID cards with electronic chips will serve administrative procedures and online public services supply, socio-economic expansion, and digital citizens development.
According to Dam, the use of information technology in state governance will bring about profound changes in every public administration service and procedure and transform the thinking of people in leadership roles. Executives must function as roles model in accelerating IT applications. Dam also serves as Vice Chairman of the National Steering Committee on Digital Transformation.
Given the large scale of the project, it requires great determination of various ministries and governmental agencies to address legal barriers and change their “localised mindset” to share a database system, he said. Selected as a city to run the project on a trial basis, Hanoi must redouble efforts and take concrete steps to translate it into reality, he urged. The city’s departments and units must closely coordinate and establish inter-sectoral task forces to tackle emerging issues. According to the Standing Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, the city has also reviewed, verified, and updated 8 million pieces of population data and 700,000 cases of COVID-19 vaccination. As of the start of September, the local establishments, excluding ministries and sectors’ hospitals based in Hanoi, had verified more than 12 million vaccine doses (equivalent to 75.35%) while over 4.2 million others (24.65%) had not. The department said its subordinate units have coordinated with public security divisions at different levels and related agencies to verify and update the data on the national population database and the national platform for COVID-19 vaccination management.
About 4.4 million health insurance holders have had their personal information synced with ID cards. From now to the end of 2022, the department will continue asking vaccination establishments to review existing data on the management platform and work with police to carry out verification, correction, and supplementation to ensure information accuracy on the national population database.
In June, the government announced plans to give all households in the country digital addresses by 2025. The strategy intends to make the postal industry an essential element of the country’s digital economy infrastructure by making it a foundation for e-commerce, as OpenGov Asia reported.
The Hanoi People’s Committee issued a plan to carry out a pilot implementation of the national digital address platform associated with the digital map programme in the capital city. It was initially piloted in the Hoang Mai, Hoan Kiem, Nam Tu Liem, Dong Anh, and Thach That districts. Services that use digital addresses were also piloted, including tourism, fire prevention and fighting, and postal services.
The Ministry of Communication and Informatics trains trustworthy digital talent to help with digital transformation. Thus, the Ministry works with DQLab at Multimedia Nusantara University to train young people in data science so they can be ready to compete in the data industry.
Indonesia hopes that people with different levels of education who have digital skills can use the training. Data skills are very important in many governments and business areas as the processing and analysing of data are the key part of making policy.
Hence, data science is the best way for young people who want to work in the data industry to start or keep their careers going. In the digital age, people need a lot of new skills and jobs as per the Ministry.
In the data industry, there is also a growing need for skilled people who can be trusted in the data field. Likewise, Indonesia wants to boost the human resources (HR) industry which is also knowledgeable in the field of data.
On the other hand, graduates of information technology and those who did not major in information technology have the same chance to improve their skills in data science competencies. This training is free and can be taken by professionals, people who make decisions, and people who are looking for work. The Ministry trains 50,000 data scientists through this programme to meet the needs of the Indonesian business sector; and to improve the quality of people who work in ICT, especially in the field of data science.
Different collaboration programmes between the Ministry and DQLab are underway targeting citizens from any educational background to learn data science skills and knowledge. DQLab is an online platform for learning data science using the Indonesian language. It was created by Universitas Multimedia Nusantara and PHI-Integration to make Indonesia a data-driven in the age of industry 4.0.
Meanwhile, as part of their service to the public, both central and local government agencies are encouraged by the Ministry of Communication and Information to share more information. This was an effort to answer the challenge that not all public agencies had carried out their public information management and services properly.
The Ministry said that the information disclosure is required by law, so it must get guarantees, even though the Central Information Commission (KIP) Law hasn’t been easy to follow 13 years after it was passed. Getting the public to trust the government starts with being honest. People will be more likely to agree with government policies if they trust the government.
Good communication between the government and the people is shown by the release of public information. This is a full implementation of democracy, which requires the public to know how to get information and must be done.
Thus, the government, with the help of the community, must build a healthy communication system, improve the quality of public space and communication, and create good governance. They hoped that the people who took part in the technical guidance and the people in the neighbourhood would share information about the G20 Presidency.
In November 2021, Indonesia was given the job of leading the G20. Since then, there have been several sets of working group meetings in different parts of the country. Indonesia has also shown that it can host international events while still making the Covid-19 health protocol a top priority.
The Ministry of Defence has launched an online portal for filing applications for the Raksha Mantri’s (Prime Minister’s) Awards for Excellence in the Defence and Aerospace Sector 2021-22. A press release has stated that the objective of the award is to boost the government’s Make in India initiative and reward excellence in the fields of indigenisation, innovation, and exports by the Indian defence industries (both private as well as defence public sector undertakings).
Launched in 2014, the Make in India initiative aims to develop and encourage organisations to develop, manufacture, and assemble products in India. It incentivises dedicated investments into domestic manufacturing. The Raksha Mantri Awards will facilitate the widening of the industrial base in the defence and aerospace sectors and identify ‘hidden gems’ from private industries, especially from micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups.
Applications for Raksha Mantri’s Awards under various categories will be accepted only through the online portal and the processing of applications for the awards will be carried out online as well. The last date to file the online applications is 29 September 2022. The awards for 2021-22 will be presented during DEFEXPO-22, scheduled to be held in Gujarat from 18 to 22 October.
The government has been investing heavily in the development of online portals for administrative operations and public service delivery as they have a wider reach than non-digital mediums. In July, the Department of Posts launched an e-learning portal to enhance the competencies of about 400,000 rural postal service and departmental employees by providing them access to standardised training content online or in a blended campus mode. The training videos and quizzes on the portal are available in 12 Indian languages.
Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras’ National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) introduced an online portal to help students prepare for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). Nearly one million students will take the GATE exams next year and the portal strives to make the preparation journey easier for the aspirants.
In August, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) announced it is working on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-enabled Integrated Pensioners Portal, linking the DoPPW portal, Bhavishya, and the pension portals of various banks. Bhavishya has ensured the end-to-end digitisation of pension processing and payment in line with the government’s objective of enhanced transparency, complete digitisation, and better service delivery. It was made mandatory for all central government departments in 2017 and is currently implemented in the main secretariat of 97 ministries/departments.
Earlier this month, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister launched the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) eAwas web portal. It will help efficiently allot departmental pool residential accommodation and separated family accommodation (SFA) held by the CAPF. The portal will enable the online registration and allocation of residential quarters/SFAs to eligible personnel. It also maintains an online inventory of residential quarters/SFA held by CAPFs, as well as their allotment. The portal will notify the applicant through SMS and e-mail about the various stages of the allotment process. It will also facilitate planning for the construction of new quarters based on demand-gap analyses.
The first-ever UN-Singapore Cyber Fellowship Program, jointly established by NUS, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore through its ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (ASCCE), and the United Nations Office for Disarmament (UNODA), has graduated over 20 senior cybersecurity leaders from 18 United Nations member nations.
Professor Yaacob Ibrahim, Professor in Practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and former Minister-in-Charge of Cybersecurity, and Ang Leong Boon, Head of IT Security, NUS Information Technology, co-created the inaugural fellowship programme.
“The programme was a testament to cybersecurity being a team sport, one that requires the close collaboration of global cybersecurity agencies as represented by their respective delegates, to defend against a common threat,” says Ang.
High-level national cybersecurity authorities were gathered for the exclusive capacity-building programme to develop interdisciplinary knowledge in efficiently managing cyber and digital security policymaking, strategies, and operations.
The fellowship provides a forum for fostering relationships and networking among international cybersecurity experts in addition to cultivating a deeper understanding of the topic. Content preparation included input from NUS academics, business experts, and UN and Singapore government agency representatives.
The programme included lectures, campfire discussions, site visits, and tabletop exercises to address a variety of themes, including cyber and digital security governance, cyber ecosystem development, and cybercrime. The programme also employs a multidisciplinary approach to the cybersecurity dilemma that is pertinent to operational teams in charge of cybersecurity as well as policymakers.
The fellows’ interaction with eminent speakers was instructive. The fellowship also emphasised the value of public-private partnerships (PPP) in cybersecurity and the necessity of PPP in fostering a robust digital environment. It is more crucial than ever for leaders to be knowledgeable about international law as it relates to cybersecurity in this new volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.
The risks of international cyber conflicts, as well as the difficulties of applying international law and putting in place standards of responsible behaviour by states in cyberspace, were discussed by the speakers. They also discussed best practices in crime detection and cross-border cooperation with law enforcement agencies on technical, legal, and diplomatic issues.
Fellows also had the chance to participate in a special conversation on cybersecurity diplomacy with His Excellency Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York.
To put what they had learned over the previous five days into practice, fellows engaged in a cybersecurity tabletop exercise. They were instructed to spot any strange activity within the organisation, find the malware to communicate information with the appropriate stakeholders, and ultimately, practise crisis communications in a simulation of a cyberattack on a vital infrastructure facility.
This exercise was carefully planned to make sure that Fellows had the necessary knowledge and abilities to deal with cybersecurity concerns in the future. The Fellowship gave cybersecurity regulators, academics, professionals and Fellows a great opportunity to connect and exchange experiences.
Meanwhile, the School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB), a new academic division that intends to become the leading example of excellence in multidisciplinary education and research, was formally introduced by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore).
To solve issues of food security, safety, and sustainability, the school of CCEB will act as a launchpad for new research fields that combine science and technology, such as food science and technology. CCEB is starting a competition focused on creativity and entrepreneurial spirit to promote deep intellectual thinking and innovation even more.
The new Budding Innovators Technathon (BIT), organised in partnership with NTUitive, NTU’s innovation and business organisation, pushes participants to create solutions for a sustainable and inclusive society.
The Bac Ninh province plans to promote digital transformation to create breakthrough advancements in administrative reform. During a recent event, the Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, Nguyen Anh Tuan, said that Bac Ninh has quickly responded to the government’s policy on digital transformation, with the provincial Party Committee issuing a digital transformation programme to 2025 with an orientation to 2030.
The conference gave officials of departments, sectors, and localities in Bac Ninh a multi-sided view and deeper awareness of the importance of digital transformation. As of 30 August, over 3 million documents were processed online in the province, accounting for more than 90% of the total documents processed by the provincial state administrative system.
The programme has contributed positively to administrative reform and improving the local business and investment environment. Bac Ninh has also put in place robust information technology infrastructure, rolled out a digital government, and applied a software application for businesses and people to send their opinions to authorities, the Secretary claimed.
He stated that digital transformation should start with digital citizens, so it is necessary to develop a generation of digital citizens for sustainable transformation. He assigned the provincial Department of Information and Communication to advise the steering committee in rolling out key tasks every month, quarter, and year. The Department has also been tasked with building a digital transformation index to assess the performance of local departments, agencies, and localities.
Presenting a thematic report on digital transformation in Bac Ninh, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Nguyen Huy Dung, noted that the province ranked fourth in the national digital transformation index in 2021, with a value of 0.5276, down one place but up 0.118 in terms of value compared to 2020. For the main indicators, Bac Ninh ranked 16th in digital awareness (0.8); 4th in terms of digital institutions (0.75); 7th in terms of digital infrastructure (0.6068); 34th in digital human resources (0.1976); 5th in network information security (0.5335); 9th in digital government activities (0.6167); 21st in digital economic activities (0.3972); and 10th in digital social activities (0.3725).
The province has performed well regarding public awareness about digital transformation and has joined the national communication channel on digital transformation. The Deputy Minister suggested several solutions to help Bac Ninh build a digital government, digital economy, and digital society, which are the three pillars of digital transformation. He also gave out advice and warnings on issues that the province should pay attention to in the field in the time ahead.
The Standing Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Vuong Quoc Tuan, highlighted the key contents of Resolution 52-NQ/TU and a plan of action to carry out the resolution. A representative from the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) delivered a report on information safety and measures to help Bac Ninh ensure cybersecurity.
In June 2020, the National Digital Transformation Programme to 2025, with a vision for 2030 was approved. It set the target of turning Vietnam into a digital, stable, and prosperous country that pioneers in testing new technologies and models. It aims to renovate government management and administration activities fundamentally and comprehensively. It will modernise business production and develop a safe, humane, and wide digital environment by 2030.
The Department of Defense’s annual supply chain report focuses on tackling difficulties in high-priority, mission-critical sectors, such as microelectronics, a key element in practically all advanced military weapons.
“The need to onshore semiconductor manufacturing, as well as bolster research and workforce development in this critical supply chain sector, is now,” says Dr Christine Michienzi, Chief Technology Officer for Industrial Base Policy.
She added that the U.S. cannot continue to rely on foreign sources for a capacity that is essential to the maintenance of current Department of Defense equipment and the development of new technologies that are vital to national and economic security.
The US$54.2 billion CHIPS and Science Act, signed last month, represents a national agreement on the need to resuscitate domestic capabilities for microelectronics and a milestone in the Department’s strategic plan to address supply chain vulnerabilities in the defence industrial base (DIB).
Almost every DOD system and component of vital infrastructure rely on microelectronics technology. The same holds true for the commercial sector, where microelectronics are present in virtually everything Americans use on a daily basis.
In collaboration with sector leaders, the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition (OUSD-A&S) proactively examines and analyses the risk and general health of the microelectronics industrial base. Microelectronics Vision, a joint initiative between OUSD(A&S) and the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, was published in May 2022.
With this, the Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has committed to continuing investments that enable overmatch, boost operational availability, and support the combat readiness of the warfighter in pursuit of gaining and sustaining guaranteed, long-term access to measurably secure microelectronics.
The Department will continue to invest in programmes to protect U.S. microelectronics interests, reverse the erosion of domestic innovation and supply, and provide the groundwork for the next generation of microelectronics technology for DOD applications, while simultaneously preserving present systems.
To that aim, relocating a large component of the microelectronics ecosystem will necessitate a collaborative effort on the part of both the public and commercial sectors. Domestic semiconductor businesses must continue to make big expenditures to grow manufacturing capacity in the private sector. The CHIPS Act would improve capacity in both state-of-the-art (SOTA) and state-of-the-practice (SOTP) microelectronic technologies in the public sector.
The mission of the Department in terms of acquisition and sustainment directly benefits from the State-of-the-practice. Future systems and technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and 5G communications, will benefit from secure access to these technologies and be used for both DOD and commercial purposes. This is important for maintaining numerous DOD systems.
Using financing from the Defense Production Act Title III and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment, the Department is also directly investing in DOD-specific microelectronics technologies. These include modern advancements like the Strategically Radiation Hardened chips required for nuclear defence systems.
For the United States and its allies, the shift of microelectronics production to the Asia-Pacific area and the ensuing reduction in American manufacturing pose serious economic and security risks.
Significant industry outreach with members of the microelectronics industrial base is a goal as Industrial Base Policy pursues a whole-of-government approach to manage, and ultimately eliminate, these hazards. This includes a discussion of technology roadmaps and how DOD might aid and profit from future expansion plans.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Asia’s most trusted securities group collaborated to launch ESGenome, a digital disclosure portal for companies to report Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data in a structured and efficient way, and for investors to access such data in a consistent and comparable format.
Under Project Greenprint, the MAS and securities group are working together on ESGenome to make a common disclosure tool that will make it easier for listed companies to report on their sustainability.
“High-quality sustainability data is critical for better decision making by corporates and financial institutions as they look to deliver against the UN SDG 2030 goals and their net zero transition pathways,” says Dr Darian McBain, Chief Sustainability Officer, MAS. He also said that technology is an important way to make sure that this data is reported quickly, correctly, and efficiently in a world where the disclosure landscape is changing rapidly.
Since corporate sustainability disclosures are one of the biggest sources of ESG data in the world, there is a lot of room to use technology to improve and make it easier to compare data to help make the financing decisions needed for a credible transition.
Currently, the proliferation of numerous sustainability reporting standards and rules across jurisdictions, as well as the varied way data is collected, examined, and published, have resulted in substantial disclosure issues and poor ESG data comparability.
On the other hand, a sustainability reporting fintech company will operate ESGenome, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) service. It simplifies the disclosure process for listed firms by providing a basic set of measures that are mapped across worldwide standards and frameworks:
ESGenome gives investors and financial institutions access to relevant and comparable ESG data, enabling meaningful benchmarking against peers and tracking of sustainability commitments. This enables more effective capital mobilisation for sustainable firms and projects.
As part of its ongoing work on Project Greenprint, MAS will also use the lessons learned from ESGenome to address the reporting needs of a broader universe of corporations, including small and medium-sized businesses, supply chain partners, and suppliers.
Meanwhile, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) organised the Land Transport Industry Day for the third time, bringing together industry leaders to share insights and best practices. Multiple announcements were made on the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem and advancement in the land transportation industry.
LTA also presented new skill training courses as part of a bigger effort to build a pipeline of qualified personnel capable of working on the safety and maintenance of electric vehicles.
The LTA developed this with the help of Workforce Singapore (WSG) and the Ministry of Manpower to better understand the influence of technical and sociological trends on the future demands and capabilities of the land transport workforce.
It gives high-level advice on how to train and improve the skills of local workers so that they can be used by different industries and technology partners.
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