ACES-YPC Committee Updates
Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore – Young Professionals Connection (ACES-YPC) 2024: A Year of Connection and Growth
Written by Er. Kristian Tung (Chair), Mr. Syeh Hafiz (2nd Vice Chair), Mr. Filbert Yeow (Publications) and Ms. Rosemary Vong (Publications)
In 2024, the ACES-YPC Committee participated in and organized a series engagement to foster relationships with the community, encourage professional development, and increase the networking opportunities for Young Professionals in the industry.
The Key Highlights from 2024 are:
1. Professional Development
a) ACES-YPC Young Engineers Series 2024: The Young Engineer Series is an initiative to bring Technical Sharing sessions of current trends and technology for the advancement of Young Professionals.
The session was held online and at Aurecon office over three weeks and no fee was charged. Approximately 150 participants had registered and joined ACES-YPC for the Young Engineer Series 2024.
The committee is planning to have the next Young Engineer Series in February 2025. Do keep yourself informed by registering as a ACES-YPC member.
b) ACES-YPC Fireside Chat 2024:
A thought-provoking discussion held at Mott MacDonald, where Senior Engineers and industry experts shared insights and personal experiences to Young Professionals.
2. Fostering relationships with the community
a) Partnership with The Astronauts Collective (TAC): A collaborative effort to inspire young minds and provide them with opportunities to explore diverse career paths as well as to create awareness of the consulting engineering profession.
This collaboration included job tasters to give a glimpse into various professions, mentorship programs to offer guidance and support, and site visits to provide firsthand experience of real-world work environments, inspiring the next generation to confidently navigate their career paths
We extend our gratitude to all participants, sponsors, and volunteers who contributed to the success of these events.
b) National Day Social Media Campaign (Celebrate 59th birthday of Singapore with BE Professionals): As the representative of Young Engineering Professionals in the Built Environment, we partnered with BCA for the campaign to showcase what we do during work hours from 9-5, and after work hours from 5-9.
ACES-YPC used Instagram to post these pictures and we can be found at @aces_ypc. Some of our posts were also reposted and showcased on BuildSG Instagram and Linkedin platforms.
* ACES-YPC Inter-Consultancy Badminton Tournament 2024: A thrilling competition that brought together teams from different firms, showcasing athleticism and camaraderie. This competition is open to participants of all ages from ACES registered firms. In 2024, nineteen teams across eleven firms registered to compete. This increased from sixteen teams that registered to compete in the ACES-YPC Inter-Consultancy Badminton Tournament 2023.
The evening rounded up with KTP clinching the gold medal, cash prize and champions Trophy.
c) New Taskforce to attract and retain talent to Construction, Architecture and Engineering Jobs: The Taskforce, chaired by Minister Indranee Rajah and Mr. Charly Mah is working towards attracting and retaining talents in Built Environment community, namely for the architectural and engineering professions. This Taskforce was first mentioned by Minister Desmond Lee in the opening ceremony for iBEW 2024 and is to run for nine months from August 2024. More information regarding this Taskforce can be found online.
ACES-YPC Chair Er. Kristian Tung is representing the Young Engineering Professionals in this Taskforce until December 2024. From January 2025, ACES-YPC Business and Professional Practice Er. Eugene Fu will represent the Young Engineering Professionals in this Taskforce.
3. Networking Opportunities, linking Young Professionals of different organizations ACES-YPC Trivia Night: A fun-filled evening of trivia, networking, and friendly competition.
The Trivia Night on 7 November 2024 offered an excellent opportunity for participants to connect, engage, and build relationships in a relaxed setting beyond the usual office or project environment. To add a fun and interactive element, a trivia quiz was organized, challenging attendees’ knowledge across various categories, including history, geography, engineering, and sports.
With 60 participants in attendance, the event was yet another resounding success.
Want to Get Involved?
If you’re a young professional eager to connect with like-minded individuals, expand your network, and contribute to the industry’s future, consider joining the ACES-YPC as a member or ACES-YPC Committee.
To learn more or to become a member, please reach out to a YPC committee member or contact the ACES secretariat.
Let’s continue to build a vibrant and supportive community of Young Professionals in 2025!
ACES-YPC events of 2023
The ACES Young Professionals Connection (ACES-YPC) Committee planned multiple events throughout 2023; to bring Young Professionals together, fostering friendships, renewing relationships and reconnecting senior Engineers or ex-colleagues. Please join me to thank the planning team (Mr Johnson Li of Aurecon, Er Febrina Aryani of AECOM, Ms Joey Ang of Beca, Ms Ye Qinyi of TY Lin and Er Eugene Fu of WSP) for the planning and seamless execution of the events.These events and activities for 2023 prepared and executed by ACES-YPC is detailed below. Feel free to contact a YPC committee member or the ACES secretariat if you wish to join ACES-YPC as a member.
Trivia Night held at AECOM Singapore
The 1st Trivia Night of 2023 was carried out on 30 March from 7pm to 10pm at the main assembly area of AECOM Singapore.
This event was attended by more than 50 persons who are either registered ACES-YPC members or fellow professionals from consulting firms.
The Alpha Consulting Engineers team accumulated the most points that evening and received a small prize token of $200. This prize token was a personal contribution from CPG SVP Er. Mark Chan.
ACES-YPC Inter-Consultancy Badminton Tournament 2023
The tournament was held on 16 June 2023 and we had attendance from more than 70 persons across 10 engineering consulting firms who supported the event as competitors, volunteers, ushers and cheerleaders (male and female).
By the end of the evening, Mott Mac and Arup emerged as the winners with CPG securing the Sportsmanship award. Congratulations to all winners and well done to all competitors. Would 2024 also be Mott Mac’s year?
After the event, we received a large amount of favourable feedback to arrange for yet another Badminton Tournament, and we will take it to consideration when we plan for 2024 events.
2nd Trivia Night of 2023
The 2ndTrivia Night was conducted at the large pantry section of Aurecon Singapore on 28 September 2023, and brought together more than 80 Young Professionals and Senior Engineers.
Throughout the evening, it can be observed that the Young Professionals and Senior Engineers across different firms were constantly intermingling and having meals and drinks together. Later that evening, teams were formed to participate in the Trivia quiz prepared for the Trivia Night. Eventually, Beca won the top prizes.
We hope that through these events, YPC has created an effective platform for Young Professionals and Senior Engineers across different firms to meet outside of the day-to-day work environment, and unwind while establishing both professional and personal friendships with one another.
The photos taken during the event will be shared with all attendees through email. Do feel free to contact a YPC committee member or the ACES secretariat if you were unable to access these photos.
Events planned for 2024
ACES-YPC (Professional Development) have engaged reputable vendors to host training sessions for interested Engineers (C&S, M&E). Details will be shared with YPC members soon.
YPC members and past attendees will be kept informed of upcoming events. Contact a YPC committee member or the ACES secretariat if you require further information, have feedback or suggestions for future ACES-YPC events.
Creating Awareness of the profession
Panelist for the BCA iBuildSG BE Formation Programme dialogue sessions
YPC Committee members have been actively engaging graduates and Young Professionals through our participation in the various runs of the BCA iBuiltSG Built Environment Formation Programme. Our ACES-YPC Chairman Mr Johnson Li participated in this event as a panelist for the BCA iBuildSG BE Formation Programme dialogue sessions.
The BEFP is a 4-day virtual industry preparatory programme organised by BCA at the start of student internship, comprising of training workshops, industry-sharing sessions and simulation activities. This programme is developed to get students more job ready through compact and intensive training like a BE bootcamp. The other objectives of the programme are to help our future talents appreciate the impetus and need for industry transformation, and to reassure them of a rewarding and meaningful career.
Reaching out through BCA BuildSG Movement
In 2023, BuildSG collaborated with the Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore to create a short video series “Hello Engineer” to interview and showcase Engineers across various engineering roles in Singapore. These videos can be accessed on the BuildSG social media Instagram and YouTube channels.
In the 1st video, ACES-YPC Chairman Johnson Li, Senior Mechanical Engineer from Aurecon gets into the nitty gritty of his role, advice for future consulting engineers and the superhero he relates with most!
Watch his full interview at https://youtu.be/A5IWa6jcXsc
In the 2nd video, ACES-YPC Vice Chairman Kristian Tung, Principal Engineer from CPG Consultants, gives his take on how the built environment is more than just bricks and mortar.
YouTube full interview: https://youtu.be/adOv5gNcC1Q
In the 3rd video, Er. Geoshua Tan from CPG Consultants gives his take on why engineers are problem solvers, how opportunities in the BE sector are bountiful and how emerging technologies can aid in the BE sector.
YouTube full interview: https://youtu.be/dBB7zrjeKls
In the 4th video, Marcus Sim, a Mechanical Engineer from Beca shares his career aspirations, the importance of being open-minded and resilient and the transferrable skills he has picked up from his time in the BE sector.
YouTube full interview: https://youtu.be/LcpU3VjWcGo
In the 5th video, Xie Sihan from WSP. In his journey as an engineer, Sihan shares the importance of time management, and how keeping an open mind to learn new things and gaining new experiences has helped him in his career. He also emphasised the numerous opportunities in Singapore’s BE sector to young aspiring BE professionals.
YouTube full interview: https://youtu.be/2F6kyUTbRIY
In the 6th video, Jaime Doan from CPG Consultants – is a “water engineer”, specialising in hydraulics, hydrology and water infrastructure. Given opportunities to manage diverse projects, it has made her job exciting and meaningful.
YouTube full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7hUv_uiorg
Feedback of issues faced by Young Professionals
Through the year, the ACES-YPC committee meets to deliberate on issues faced by Young Professionals in the consulting engineering industry and to feedback these issues to the ACES Council.
Do feel free to reach out to any YPC committee members or the ACES secretariat if you have any feedback on this matter.