Student Success Stories

Li Kangli
School of Information Technology
Diploma in Cyber Security & Forensics

With an impressive 'O' Levels aggregate score of five points, Li Kangli could have gone to a top junior college. But he saw how both his elder brothers excelled at Nanyang Polytechnic and knew that this was the route for him too. Since then, he not only achieved excellent grades, he's also made his mark in several regional and international competitions. Kangli has chalked up numerous professional certifications and is on his way to becoming a well-rounded IT practitioner. He is NYP's 2018 recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Award, CSIT Gold Medal and CSIT Award for Outstanding Project Work.

Read on to find out what Kangli has to say about his time in NYP.

1) Favourite spot to hang out at in NYP?

Maybe the IT lab? Actually I don't really have a favourite spot as most of my time is spent in the lab doing training. Ya, I'm a geek and proud of it! Although my friends and I do sometimes hang out in the café at the Library. We like the drinks and pastries there. It's a good space to just sit and chill, especially because we face our computer screens like 80% of the time.
 

2) What's the best thing about studying in NYP?

Definitely the lecturers! They have been simply wonderful, especially in supporting and providing me with the resources for my training and projects. My favourite has to be Mr Ang Jit Hwee. To me, he is very caring and always looks out for his students. If we need help, we can go to him and he will take his time to explain the concepts to us.
 

3) So, have you considered doing anything other than IT?

No, actually! I picked up IT in primary school and I realised I'm good at it. So I've been dabbling in it since then. In SIT, I learned a lot and even got to take up some IT certifications. It's quite significant because these professional certifications are typically taken up by working adults. So when my lecturers asked if I was interested, I was a bit hesitant at first. And not many of us were selected to go through it. In the end, only 2-3 students made it. So, I'm really happy that I chose IT.
 

4) You won one of Singapore's only four medals at WorldSkills 2017. What was the experience like?

WorldSkills was very tough. We trained for almost a year in advance and during the competition itself, we were in the arena by ourselves. I picked up many skills – some were related to my course, and some were not. For example, we had to learn how to multitask and work under pressure, especially for the timed challenges. On the last day, I thought I didn't do too well. So when the results were announced, I was really surprised! It was intense but I'm glad for the experience.
 

5) So what's next for Kangli?

I hope to pursue a career in the cyber security field. As for which university to pick, I don't know yet. NUS and NTU have both offered me places in Computer Science. So we'll see!

Because We Can