18 December 2019

At the National University of Singapore, some PhD students are turning their research ideas into inventions as part of a programme that guides postgraduate students and researchers in creating their own deep-tech start-ups

Launched in September last year, the Graduate Research Innovation Programme (Grip) is part of the university’s strategy to grow entrepreneurs. It is tailored for postgraduate students and researchers with a good idea or invention.

Selected teams spend 12 months gaining entrepreneurial skills and experience through workshops, mentorships, industry linkages and incubation support. Each team will receive funds of up to $100,000 from NUS, and have opportunities to pitch its start-up to external investors.

NUS has committed $25 million to Grip, with the aim of co-creating 250 companies over five years.

16 December 2019

Human teachers will still play a very crucial role even though Singapore has embarked on an aggressive plan to use artificial intelligence technologies in education.

For instance, there are no plans to use automated marking systems in exams. Automated systems, to be rolled out to mark secondary English language assignments by 2022, will be applied only in limited areas such as open-ended, short-answer questions and essays.

“Our plan is to use an AI-enabled automated marking system to focus on language errors such as in grammar, spelling and syntax, with the teacher marking for ideas, structure and content,” said an MOE spokesman.

The national AI strategy was unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat last month. Education is one of five AI projects identified.

A former General Paper (GP) teacher in a junior college, who declined to be named, said the human touch is irreplaceable in marking. Citing GP as an example, he said: “The truly exceptional scripts that blow my mind let me feel the personality of the writer as well as his or her conviction.”

14 December 2019

President Halimah Yacob has said that Singapore can learn much from Germany’s education system, which places an emphasis on skills and craftsmanship.

The President was speaking to media in Frankfurt at the end of her five-day state visit to Germany.

In her remarks, Madam Halimah noted how the deep involvement of German companies is critical for the success of the country’s dual education system, where companies and education institutions work together to teach students over three years. Students often go on to work full time at the companies they train at.

A total of 14 memorandums of understanding and agreements were signed during Madam Halimah’s state visit, with half of them in education.

Madam Halimah also hailed the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect last month, as an important milestone.

14 December 2019

As revealed by the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the fear of failure resonates with Singapore’s students.

It is well known that in Singapore, a student’s sense of self-worth and confidence is often influenced by how well he does academically. This is the result of a culture here where personal merit has been intertwined heavily with academic results.

Although Singapore was ranked second in the world in the Pisa assessment for how well 15-year-olds apply knowledge and skills, and solve problems, the study also showed that more than 70 per cent of the students reported being afraid of failure.

The Ministry of Education has said that a rational and moderate sense of fear can motivate students to work hard and do better.

However, education economist Kelvin Seah, from the National University of Singapore, said this fear of failure may prevent students from taking risks. “Thinking out of the box and giving creative answers, especially in exams, rather than sticking to established answers might be too risky for high performers because it could cost them their As.”

10 December 2019

According to a recent study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), students in Singapore are more afraid of failure compared with their 15-year-old counterparts overseas.

The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) found that in Singapore, more than 70 per cent of students expressed concern about failure in a questionnaire that asked then to indicate how they felt about failure through three statements. The statements related to whether they were worried about what others thought of them if they failed, or that they might not have enough talent.

In response, the Ministry of Education said yesterday that an excessive fear of failing could be “disabling” and that it is making changes to dial back the obsession with grades.

The latest Pisa study also showed that 60 per cent of Singapore students had a “growth mindset”, meaning that they believe their intelligence can change with effort that they put in. The opposite is a “fixed mindset”, where people think their talent or intelligence is limited.

06 Dec 2019

Singapore’s national artificial intelligence strategy was unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat last month. Education is one of five AI projects identified. The others are in healthcare, transport and logistics, smart cities and estates, and border security.

However, human teachers will still play an important role. Automated systems will be applied in limited areas such as open-ended, short-answer questions and essays.

An “adaptive learning” system for mathematics will be launched in 2025. It will use machine learning to tell how each student responds to various learning materials and activities, and customise learning.

The MOE will expand both systems to include more subjects in 2030.

In healthcare, a new system dubbed Selena+ will be deployed across Singapore by 2022 to help detect eye conditions, including diabetic eye disease. Before Selena+, images were processed by human graders staring at retinal images on a screen.