SINGAPORE - Students at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine may, in the future, be assisted by a "virtual tutor" that can adapt learning to each individual, said Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on Wednesday (Oct 25).

This comes as NTU announced its collaboration with technology firm IBM to develop the proof-of-concept "tutor" for medical students.

It could come in the form of a mobile app or computer program with voice command, or be integrated with the school's team-based learning platform.

It should also be able to adapt learning to each individual, analyse a student's performance, as well as his or her weaknesses and strengths, and help the student to brush up on areas if needed.

For example, when a student wants to recall content on a topic, the "tutor" should be able to retrieve the relevant content, helping to identify key information and deepening the application of the knowledge, said NTU.

This complements other hands-on learning experiences that students have, added NTU, in science and anatomy practicals and supervised interactions with patients in hospitals and clinics across Singapore.

"Artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies will enable NTU to provide its medical students with a highly customised learning experience," said Professor Kam Chan Hin, NTU deputy provost of education.

"This is an important milestone in NTU's move in the last few years towards technology-enhanced learning, which uses multimedia components such as 2D or 3D animations, simulations, and augmented and virtual reality," he added.