Learn with curiosity, and cultivate understanding with bias to action

Amanda Chew Qian Yi is one of Singapore's Top 100 Women in Tech 2023 honourees and the VP of Product Horizon Quantum where she leads the product vision, strategy, design and development of developer tools for programming quantum computers.

She is also recognised for her contributions to the Tech industry with the 2024 SG Digital Leader award, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science from Brown University, and executive certifications from Stanford University, Wharton Executive Education and INSEAD Executive Education.

In this interview, she shares her approach to keeping up with the continuous changes in the Tech industry, managing work-life balance, as well as advice for the next generation of girls and women looking to join the Tech industry.

How would you describe yourself as a person — in your professional and/or personal capacity?

Collaborative, open-minded, determined, looking to learn and grow, and having high standards for excellence.

Can you share an example where you had moved out of your comfort zone, and how you dealt with it? What was the outcome?

Earlier in my career, I was invited to speak at a conference at short notice. It was a conference that I was not prepared for or didn’t yet have the skills to present at. Although I hesitated, I decided to say “yes”, trusting that the decision to commit would lead me to figure out how to get there.

The couple of days that I was given to prepare forced me to be aware of the gaps in skills and knowledge, learn them, and apply and polish them to a high degree of excellence in a short period of time.

It was also a lesson to learn to do your best with the constraints you’re given (in this case, time), and then letting go of the desired expected outcome and enjoying the process and opportunity for growth and the experience.

How do you keep up to date with the continuous changes in the Tech industry to stay relevant or ahead of the game?

To learn with curiosity - either experientially or academically, spend time thinking and reflecting on the experiences, and surround yourself with different types of perspectives and expertise.

To read reliable sources and books on history and autobiographies on how pioneers in an emerging field collaborated and built innovative technologies, and attempt to apply them to your circumstance and field - although the present and future isn’t exactly like the past, we can learn from the lessons of history.

By exchanging ideas with other experts and peers from different backgrounds, it helps to learn how others approach a problem, foster integrative thinking, and allows you to see potential synergies and applications to your domain. I am also continually reminded of how much I don’t know during these exchanges and it is humbling and motivating to keep growing.

More importantly, to actually do the work and have a bias to action, as it is through years of personal experience, experimentation and reflection that can help cultivate a greater depth of understanding.

Work-life balance has been a hot topic in the last few years. How have you managed this balance in your life?

As much as we are passionate about and dedicated to our work, I think we become more holistic and improve in our cognitive abilities if we take a break and switch our focus to other domains.

I try to take the time to be with loved ones and enjoy other passions in life, and this helps to recharge my motivation for work to be a better leader.

How do you re-charge? What do you do in your downtime?

I play competitive squash, take walks in nature and meditate. Squash is really fun and I’ve been playing since I was 16 years old. I’m by no means an expert, and the journey of growth and strength with a community of similarly motivated and disciplined individuals is valuable to me.

I also remind myself to be grateful each day for the life around us and that we get to enjoy our world with loved ones.

What has been the best advice given to you in your career?

It was to follow your curiosity and understand how your work aligns with your personal principles, and to approach a problem from different?perspectives and argue?for them on all sides. With curiosity and conviction, on the toughest days, the reason for your work can motivate you and keep you disciplined to keep walking on the path.?

What advice would you offer to girls or women who are thinking of pursuing in a career in Tech?

I would encourage aspiring individuals who want to contribute to the field to pursue a career in Tech. Technology has the capacity to impact society in tremendous ways. For example, look at how computing hardware and software has dramatically changed the ways we interact with the world.

I’d also encourage them to reach out to people in this industry to learn how experts think and how they approach problems. There is a place for different types of talents and skills in this dynamic field, and there are many opportunities, professional development programs and like-minded individuals in this industry.?

This interview is part of a series run by Singapore Computer Society SCS Women in Tech Chapter to cast a spotlight on the achievements and experiences of #SGWIT100 Singapore's Top 100 Women in Tech honourees. To find out more about this initiative, visit https://www.scs.org.sg/awards/sg100wit .