SAF RECOGNISED FOR LEARNING, INNOVATION AND MYIPPT APP

For the third year in a row, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has been recognised as one of Asia's Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE). The MAKE award is given out by research firm Teleos and online knowledge-sharing community, The KNOW Network.

Brigadier-General (BG) Lee Shiang Long, Head Joint Communications and Information Systems Department (JCISD) said the accolade was a strong endorsement of the SAF's efforts in preparing its people to meet operational challenges.

The MAKE award recognises organisations that excel in various knowledge management performance indicators, which ultimately helped them to outperform their peers by growth in societal value (for non-profit or public organisations) or intellectual capital and shareholder value (for profit organisations).

Examples of the indicators include developing and delivering knowledge-based products and services, and managing and maximising the value of enterprise intellectual capital.

BG Lee cited examples such as the Learning Network, or LEARNet, where soldiers learn with new media devices, as initiatives that brought the "most relevant, current and content-rich" lessons and training to SAF soldiers.

To cultivate an environment of learning and innovation, BG Lee said that the SAF also encouraged soldiers to develop useful applications to improve productivity.

One example of such an app is MyIPPT, which was designed to enable Operationally-Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) to make IPPT- (Individual Physical Proficiency Test) related bookings on the go.

It is the only app from a Singapore government agency that allows users to not only view information, but make bookings.

In the month it was launched, the MyIPPT app was downloaded about 500 times. Today, five months after the app was made available to Apple iPhone users, the app has clocked more than 11,000 downloads, a sign of its increasing popularity.

The app was shortlisted as one of the five finalists of the Best Mobile Product category at the fifth Mobile Excellence Awards, held in Los Angeles, United States, on 17 Oct.

Touted as the largest awards show in the mobile entertainment and technology industry, the awards names other four other finalists in this category, including big names like Samsung s mobile tablet, the Galaxy SIII and WOWee One s bass speaker, the WOWee One Pro which was the winner.

Apart from making bookings for IPPT, IPPT Preparatory Training (IPT) and Remedial Training, the MyIPPT app also enables NSmen to view their latest training and test results, track and monitor the progress of their workouts and find friends to workout with. It also features a Global Positioning System tracker for recording workouts like running and cycling.

The Android version of the app is due for launch by the end of the year and other NS-related e-Services currently available on the NS Portal like My Call-Ups will be made available as apps in the coming year.

"We hope that such initiatives will strengthen the roots of our Knowledge Enterprise by honing our learning and innovating culture," said BG Lee.

4 Dec 12 UPDATE: The SAF has been named the Overall 2012 Global MAKE Individual Operating Unit (IOU) winner, beating other big names such as Samsung Electronics and Toyota Astra Motor to emerge the overall champion. Part of the global MAKE study, this award recognises the individual units which are part of a larger organisation. With this latest accolade, the SAF is now a two-time Global MAKE IOU winner.

This year, the SAF clinched the overall award based on its strengths in creating a knowledge-driven organisational culture; and developing knowledge workers and leaders. Receiving the award on behalf of the SAF, BG Lee said: "This award is a strong endorsement of the SAF s efforts to become a knowledge-based 3rd Generation SAF and a testament to the leadership support and quality of our people."

He continued: "Where applicable, the SAF encourages our soldiers to innovate from the ground up by using readily available commercial technologies such as mobile apps. This engages our soldiers and the improvements benefit the SAF. We believe our ongoing effort in creating knowledge hubs, to network people from different backgrounds, has helped us achieve a more integrated SAF."