Foundations and emerging trends in database systems

This lecture covers key database concepts such as relational models, data modelling, query processing, and transaction management. It highlights modern advances like NoSQL and distributed databases that handle large-scale data. In the AI industry, efficient data management is critical – AI systems depend on vast, well-organized datasets for training and analytics. Understanding database systems equips businesses to manage data effectively, supporting AI development and deployment. This talk connects foundational knowledge with real-world applications, emphasising the vital role databases play in powering today’s AI-driven technologies.

Shyam Sunder Rai is a senior technology leader at DBS Bank, where he heads core platform engineering and spearheads the development of modern data lakes and AI/ML platforms. With over 15 years of experience across databases, data warehouses, and big data systems, he specialises in building cloud-native platforms using open-source tools and OpenShift Kubernetes.

Shyam’s work underpins DBS’s digital banking capabilities, bringing together operational and analytical data environments to drive innovation, scale, and resilience. Beginning his career in 2006, he has worked across engineering, implementation, and training roles, giving him a holistic view of the data ecosystem.

Curious by nature and driven by complex challenges, Shyam is passionate about mentoring future technologists. When not engineering next-gen platforms, he enjoys hiking and scuba diving – always exploring, whether on land, underwater, or in code.

Harish Kumar Malaga is Vice President at DBS Bank, where he leads data security engineering, delivering enterprise-scale access control and protection across the bank’s data platform. He previously designed and built DBS’s petabyte-scale, multi-tenant data platform, developing high-performance ETL pipelines using Apache Spark, Trino, and Presto.

With over a decade of hands-on experience, Harish has helped Fortune 100 companies modernise their data architecture, migrating legacy systems to big data platforms. He is certified in Kubernetes, Kafka, Spark, Hadoop, and Snowflake, and is known for applying open-source technologies to solve complex platform and security challenges. Harish brings a unique blend of deep technical skill and real-world impact, an inspiring example for aspiring data engineers and security specialists.