Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate wins Singapore's first WorldSkills digital construction medal
Samuel Tan, a 20-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate, won bronze in digital construction at the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, Singapore's first medal in the category. His win contributed to Singapore's best-ever showing with 27 awards at the biennial event.
Samuel Tan, a 20-year-old graduate of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, has won Singapore's first medal in digital construction at the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, following more than 1,000 hours of training over about five months. Tan, who specialised in architecture at the polytechnic, took bronze in the category at the Sep 22 to 27 event.
His achievement came as Singapore recorded its best showing yet at the biennial competition, bringing home four silver medals, four bronze medals and 19 Medallions for Excellence. The record haul of 27 awards surpassed the previous high of 22 at the 2019 edition in Kazan, Russia. Singapore fielded 34 youths across 31 skill areas at the event, which drew more than 1,400 competitors from over 70 countries and regions.
Digital construction involves using technology to create and manage information throughout a construction project. Competitors are assessed on tasks including interpreting a client's brief, creating digital building models and identifying potential clashes. Tan spent part of his preparation training with architecture firms, working on real-life projects and having one-to-one sessions with his coaches.
"The toughest part was consistency, doing this day in, day out," Tan told CNA's Singapore Tonight on Sep 29. "Every day there's always something to improve on, some gaps in knowledge to patch. So it was a constant struggle to find my weaknesses." He added that the industry training helped give him confidence going into the competition.
At the heart of digital construction is Building Information Modelling, or BIM, which creates a 3D model containing information about a building's different elements. "When people think about digital construction, some may think it's a 3D modelling software. But how I like to explain it is like Lego, building a Lego model," Tan said. "So each brick has data behind it. And your job is to put the bricks together in such a way that it makes sense."
Singapore first competed in digital construction at the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition but did not win a medal in the category. Song Yu Chuan, a WorldSkills expert in digital construction and manager at Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Design and Environment, said schools have been preparing students in line with industry needs. "We focus on design a lot, but there is a strong demand for digital skills," he said. "What has happened over the last few years is in line with industry needs, the schools, we've also been preparing our students for this … in-demand skill."
Digital construction is also evolving with the integration of computational design and artificial intelligence, Song noted. Tan plans to further his education and is interested in exploring smart cities and how BIM could be applied to them. "BIM for me is like the starting point. It branches out into many more things," he said. "Seeing any piece of work being done in real life is really a great accomplishment to me, and showing … my skills on the world stage is something that really makes me proud."
