Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) and computing at the National University of Singapore (NUS) get a major boost with today's official opening of two state-of-the-art buildings, Sea Building and Sea Connect. Together, the two new buildings provide dynamic and versatile spaces, spanning a total area of 21,570 sqm, to drive NUS' bold ambitions in cutting-edge research, education, and collaboration, advancing the rapidly evolving fields in computing such as AI and data science.
The naming of the buildings is in honour of the generous S$50 million gift from Sea Limited (Sea) in 2021. The donation, the largest corporate gift received by the NUS School of Computing (NUS Computing) to date, is used to fund scholarships, fellowships, and grants that will enhance the School's ability to attract talent and pursue advanced research.
Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education, attended the official opening of Sea Building and Sea Connect as the Guest-of-Honour, together with Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS President, and Mr Forrest Li, Chairman and CEO, Sea.
Prof Tan said, "We are deeply appreciative of the generous gift from Sea in 2021, which has been instrumental in expanding the resources at the NUS Computing to foster innovation, enhance education, and support cutting-edge research in AI, computing, and related fields. The Sea Building and Sea Connect have enabled us to expand considerably our learning and teaching facilities, research labs as well as collaborative and leisure spaces for students within and beyond the School. We are excited to fully leverage the gift and our longstanding partnership with Sea to build human capital, harness the power of technology and drive meaningful impact."
Beyond the enhancement of physical infrastructure, the gift from Sea has also already benefitted more than 700 students through scholarships and awards for undergraduate and postgraduate students, sponsorships for international symposia, and provided seed funding for research projects.
Mr Li said, "The local tech ecosystem was a key enabler of our growth from a small Singapore startup in 2009 to a global company today. With the success we achieved, we feel it is important to give back to our community and help Singapore continue to produce some of the best tech talent in Asia and beyond. We chose to partner with the NUS School of Computing because it shares our mission of pushing the boundaries of technology to advance humanity and uplift communities around the world. We look forward to deepening our collaboration with NUS in the coming years, working together to transform research into meaningful solutions that will improve lives everywhere."
In his speech, Mr Chan noted that beyond the gift, Sea brings to NUS "a partnership that can define the competitiveness of Singapore". While Singapore has limitations in terms of size, resources and people, Mr Chan highlighted that it can compete on speed, network and ideas. He added that the partnership between NUS and Sea will inspire many more others to come and join the "venture for Singapore to remain competitive and defy the odds of history".
New education programmes in AI
Come Academic Year 2025/26, the new cohort of Computing as well as Engineering students can look forward to new AI-centric programmes and other AI-related initiatives. This educational undertaking by NUS will help to grow the pool of AI talents in support of the Singapore National AI Strategy.
The NUS Computing will be offering a new Bachelor of Computing in Artificial Intelligence, a four-year direct honours degree programme which will provide students with a comprehensive education in AI and prepare them for AI-centric job roles. They will also learn about the responsible use of AI, including issues of ethics, privacy and AI governance.
The current Bachelor of Computing in Information Systems offered by NUS Computing will be revamped into the Bachelor of Computing in Business Artificial Intelligence Systems, to strengthen the focus on AI solutioning and governance for businesses and organisations. This programme is envisioned to be the first-of-its-kind offering a full spectrum of knowledge and skills in AI, including end-to-end solutioning, governance and management, and its impact on business and society.
Postgraduate students at NUS Computing can also opt for the new Master of Computing in Artificial Intelligence, a comprehensive and rigorous graduate programme with specialised courses that include the latest research findings in both applied and fundamental computing fields. It will provide systematic breadth-and-depth training in AI to meet the growing demand for AI-focused education and research as well as training for careers in industry.
The College of Design and Engineering at NUS will also be introducing a new four-year direct honours Bachelor of Engineering in Robotics and Machine Intelligence programme. This programme addresses the transformative trends of today's engineering industry where we see a market demand for graduates equipped with the skills and knowledge in this field.
A dynamic hub that drives high-impact research and synergistic industry collaboration
Sea Building and Sea Connect are home to 12 research labs, including NUS AI Institute, Health Informatics Research Lab, Information Systems & Analytics Research Lab, and more. Research conducted in these labs is expected to foster start-ups and innovations that will make a positive and transformative impact on the industry and society.
Additionally, Sea Building and Sea Connect are set to catalyse long-term, fruitful collaborations between academia and industry by providing cutting-edge facilities, fostering cross-disciplinary interactions, and facilitating real-time innovation and knowledge exchange. Some collaborative initiatives with industry hosted here include the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Programme, National Cybersecurity R&D Laboratory and NUS Fintech Lab.
