askST: How will learning about design AI better prepare me for the workforce?

With artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforming industries, Singapore is ramping up efforts to meet new challenges.In Budget 2024, Finance Minister and then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the

Government will invest more than $1 billion over the next five years to develop AI capabilities

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These include growing the AI talent pool and securing access to advanced chips, which are crucial for AI applications.

On the higher education front, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) announced in January a

$50 million investment over the next three to five years on design AI initiatives

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Established in 2009, SUTD is Singapore’s fourth public university. It incorporates both design and technology into its interdisciplinary curriculum and research.

Q: What is design AI? Are design AI-related degrees “less specialised” than traditional ones like engineering or computer science, and how will it affect my job prospects?

A: AI is reshaping industries across the board, says Mr Poon King Wang, chief strategy and design AI officer of SUTD and director of the university’s Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities.

“Design AI integrates design with advanced AI, enabling us to collaborate with AI to brainstorm, problem-solve and create innovative solutions,” he says. 

“In design AI, AI is a partner (and) a team member – not just a tool,” says Mr Poon, adding that students “would be able to discuss, debate and explore options, creating solutions that are more innovative”.

“No matter which field you pursue, knowing when to use AI as a tool, partner, (or) neither will be essential,” he says.

That’s why design AI is integrated across SUTD’s five degree programmes, Mr Poon explains.

“The emphasis is (on teaching students) how to apply their AI knowledge through design thinking to tackle complex challenges, rather than just teaching technical AI skills.”

For Ms Valerie Lu, who graduated from SUTD with a degree in design and AI last May, this interdisciplinary approach has shaped her career path.

Part of the inaugural cohort of 30 students, the 24-year-old now works as a network planning analyst at a local aviation firm, a position she secured before graduating.

During her studies, Ms Lu completed four company-sponsored projects across engineering systems and product development, computer science and spatial design.

These projects allow students like her to work directly with industry players from different sectors and gain hands-on experience with real-world data.

One project – developing a portable solution for a ground handling company to check overweight hand-carry luggage – sparked her passion for aviation.

“When I first entered SUTD, I didn’t know what I wanted to specialise in,” Ms Lu shares. “But working on these projects allowed me to explore my interests and eventually led me to (a career in) aviation.”

SUTD says 90 per cent of Ms Lu’s batchmates have secured jobs in diverse industries, including e-commerce, telecommunications and defence technology.

Q: Will learning about design AI better prepare me for the workforce? Is it about learning how to use AI tools at work?

A: In the past, students were taught to use technology as a tool, says Professor Peter Childs, chairman of SUTD’s external advisory board for its engineering and product development pillar.

“But AI, with its immense capabilities, is no longer simply a tool we direct,” he explains. “Rather, it is a collaborative partner (in our problem-solving process). This creates a new dynamic where each informs the other, propelling them to new levels together.”

Prof Childs is also the Professorial Lead in Engineering Design at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London.

Mr Poon adds that at SUTD, “the focus is on knowing when and how to deploy AI, not just using AI tools”. Students will be better prepared for an AI-driven world by learning to design and collaborate with the technology, he explains.

All first-year students at SUTD engage in a foundational, project-based course on design AI, exploring how people and AI can team up to solve complex problems.

The university is also developing a platform for students to engage with AI assistants that provide support and feedback alongside human instructors.

Q: How will a design AI-related degree give me an edge in the competitive job landscape?

A: “Knowing when and how to work with AI as a tool, partner, (or) neither is a super skill that will give students an edge in a future reshaped by AI,” Mr Poon emphasises.

SUTD’s curriculum is designed to help students “combine creativity, critical thinking, and emotional and social intelligence to create human-centred solutions together with AI”, he explains.

“They will be guided by our strong emphasis on the humanities, arts, and social sciences, which also prepares students to navigate critical issues in AI,” adds Mr Poon, “such as bias, privacy, and accountability.”

All SUTD undergraduates complete about 20 projects during their studies, often requiring them to integrate knowledge from diverse subjects to tackle problem statements. 

For Mr Ryan Wang, 24, the most memorable project was building a solar dehydrator from scratch with his teammates.

Mr Wang is a fourth-year computer science and design student at SUTD, specialising in AI. He took modules in psychology, social science and Chinese literature.

To create the solar dehydrator, the team had to demonstrate how they combined knowledge from all the modules they were taking that semester. For Mr Wang, this includes mathematics, physics, computing and social science. “(Integrating social science) took a bit of creative thinking,” he says.

Mr Wang is now working on a research project exploring whether AI understands humour in comics like Garfield and Snoopy. He is also working on developing an AI assistant for educators in his free time.

This is where knowledge from humanities, arts, and social sciences comes in, Mr Wang says. “I’m trying to see if AI can develop a form of social intelligence and grasp humour, and (this is) very much tied to culture and social context.”

In partnership with Singapore University of Technology and Design