[SINGAPORE] The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) announced on Tuesday (Jul 1) that it has established a new Office of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation (OAIDI), to make artificial intelligence (AI) a core component of its undergraduate and postgraduate education, research and enterprise efforts.
It is the first institute of higher learning in Singapore to set up an OAIDI, as the world’s first Design AI university.
The new office is a department dedicated to drive curriculum, innovation and talent development specifically through Design AI.
It will integrate Design AI principles across all educational levels as well, where every SUTD undergraduate will acquire foundational Design AI skills, while a new second major in Design and AI (DAI) will be offered to students who seek a deeper specialisation.
Additionally, the existing minor in DAI will offer students who wish to complement their primary fields of study some flexibility and degree of variation.
The OAIDI office will also coordinate university-wide efforts across the strategic priorities of talent development, research, innovation and enterprise, as well as ethical and responsible AI.
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This move builds on a series of steps taken by SUTD to transform the institution into a Design AI-focused powerhouse, as part of its growth strategy upon its pivot to AI in January this year.
Earlier in March 2024, the university had launched of SUTD Leap, a multi-year and multi-pronged growth strategy aimed to redesign higher education with a strong focus on design and AI.
Led by Associate Provost Professor Tony Quek, who is also head of the Information Systems Technology and Design Pillar, he will report to the Office of the Provost at SUTD on OAIDI’s activities and developments.
Professor Quek said: “At OAIDI, we want our students and researchers work alongside AI to solve real-world problems, and not simply look at cutting-edge research. We want our students, postgraduates, and professionals to be comfortable working with AI and thinking about how it can elevate ideas and solutions as part of the team.”
Professor Chee Yeow Meng, SUTD Provost and chief academic and innovation officer, said: “The establishment of OAIDI is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to strengthen AI as a core part of what we do at SUTD.”
“It is about approaching the use AI in a way that treats it as a partner and not just a tool, and preparing our students for the AI world and equipping them with more than just basic ChatGPT skills,” he added.
SUTD’s Design AI approach is embedded across the curriculum, unlike traditional AI programmes that confine it to a single discipline. Students in all its five programmes – from Architecture and Sustainable Design, Computer Science and Design, DAI, Engineering Systems and Design, and Engineering Product Development – will learn to use AI and gain hands-on experience through integrated coursework and team-based projects.
Other Singapore universities and education bodies in recent years have also been developing programmes and holistic spaces to further AI learning in to the city-state’s educational landscape.
The National Institute of Education (NIE) on May 29 signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with Amazon Web Services to open a new Technology for Education Centre for applied innovation and research in education technology.
It will be housed in a new annex building in NIE’s campus, and is scheduled open at around the same time as Nanyang Crescent MRT station, which will serve the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Smart Campus.
In February 2024, NTU had also announced that it will begin offering a new interdisciplinary degree programme in AI and ethics to train a cohort of graduates to plug manpower needs in the information digital technology industry.
Its curriculum is designed to equip students with essential mathematical and computational skills so that they can develop high-quality AI solutions, while exploring the ethical complexities of AI, including how it can perpetuate inequality, bias and misinformation.
The Bachelor of Science in AI and Society programme is a four-year course, and welcomed its first batch of 60 students in August 2024.
