In yet another opportunity to pick up new skills for nothing, AI Singapore launched the AI Student Outreach Programme on Jul 27, offering some 15,000 secondary schools and tertiary students gain artificial intelligence (AI) literacy over the next three years.
The Ministry of Education will support this programme with S$1.8 million in funding.
Students can choose from three levels based on their proficiency and at their own pace. AI Singapore said that each level of completion offers industry-recognised certification, including one from Google. University and poly students who attained level 3 will have paid internship opportunities with AI Singapore’s AI engineers and apprentices on real-world projects.
To participate, interested participants must first form a group of at least ten members from the same educational institution to complete each level.
Source: AI Singapore
Click here to register.
AI – an integral part of our lives
Minister of State for Education Gan Siow Huang, who officiated the launch, said that AI is fast becoming an integral part of our lives and is already part of daily work.
Source: Gan Siow Huang Facebook page
For instance, she said that some companies are using AI to identify skill gaps of their employees and households are using robot cleaners to do chores.
MOE is also using text-to-speech and speech evaluation engines to help children with mother tongue language learning, she added.
“More than 720 students have already on boarded the AI student outreach programme since its soft launch in April. I hope such efforts will gather speed and ignite interest among even more students to pursue STEM and AI-related careers,” she shared.
To constant upskill and reskill
Upskilling or reskilling is not limited to seniors or retirees. With the blistering pace in technology advancements, the ability to pick up new skills to match future job market’s demands is indeed crucial, especially for young Singaporeans.
Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in May this year that teaching and learning must go beyond just understanding yesterday’s solutions.
“Beyond understanding yesterday’s solutions for yesterday’s challenges; teaching and learning must now increasingly focus on finding tomorrow’s solutions and framing tomorrow’s challenges right,” he said.
So the constant going back to alma mater to upgrade knowledge and skills could be the norm. Universities are already moving toward a modular system, where students can take different courses based on interests or market demands.
Cover photo credit: AI Singapore