Life has been an exciting experience - both work-wise and play-wise - for Mr Jason Wei, ever since he graduated in December 2007 under the National Infocomm Scholarship programme and went to work for his sponsor NCS.

In the last eight months, he has been posted to two different parts of the world to work on two completely different IT projects. "It has been challenging, but also a very interesting experience," he said.

Immediately after he received his Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Computer Engineering) from the National University of Singapore, he was posted to Shanghai to deliver multimedia solutions for the luxury hotels Conrad and Jumeirah. The NCS team designed and implemented a smart system where everything in the hotel rooms - from lighting to room service to drapery - can be electronically controlled by a central system.

Mr Wei: I love to explore new places and cultures, and overseas work gives me a good platform to do so.

Jason is currently based in Dubai, and he is working on a completely different IT project which involves the usage of fingerprint biometrics and other forms of authentication to secure a building facility for a client. The high-tech project also includes other areas of technology like RFID, where access cards with the right chip will grant access to the correct elevator floors without employees even having to raise a finger or tap a card.

His mantra for coping with his whirlwind tour-of-duty - exacerbated by the fact that Shanghai and Dubai are two very different cities - is adaptability: one needs to "adapt quickly to be effective". "Being overseas, we're on our own, far away from the support of lots of resources back home [in Singapore]," he said.

Work may have been challenging for the self-confessed IT geek - the main reason why he ended up in an IT career - but he is no armchair slouch either when he has leisure time. "Travelling has always been part of my life," he said. "I love to travel and explore new places and cultures, and overseas work gives me a good platform to do so."

During his free time whilst on his Shanghai attachment, he camped in a yurt in the Mongolian grasslands, gone camel riding in the Gobi dessert and hiked up the Yellow Mountains (Huangshan), amongst other activities.

The overseas stint, which came as part of the NIS programme, has given him a "head start" compared to his peers, he said. "Not many fresh graduates have the opportunity to work overseas at the onset of their careers."

Click here for more information on the National Infocomm Scholarships. For details of IDA's other talent development initiatives, visit talent.singaporeinfocomm.sg .