Temasek Poly and AWS establish multidisciplinary AI centre

Temasek Polytechnic (TP) has collaborated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to launch FutureX, a multidisciplinary digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) centre at its School of Informatics & IT (IIT). 

Co-led by TP and AWS, FutureX will allow students and staff across all TP schools to  build upon shared resources for better learning outcomes.  

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the centre was signed on October 3 by TP Principal & CEO, Peter Lam, and AWS Singapore Country Manager, Worldwide Public Sector, Elsie Tan, during the 2024 AWS Public Sector Day event in Singapore. 

The centre, operational from September 30, is part of TP’s efforts to integrate AI into its educational framework to enhance learning and teaching, aligned with the Singapore National AI Strategy (NAIS) 2.0.  

IIT’s Director, Tang Ming Fai, said students and staff at TP would be able to gain hands-on experience, develop technical skills, and receive professional certifications in AWS technologies.  

AWS’s Elsie Tan said the company was proud to extend its collaboration with TP with the launch of FutureX. 

She said the centre will empower students with AI and cloud computing skills essential for the digital economy.  

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“Through hands-on training, industry projects, and AWS experts on-campus, students will gain practical experience using AWS services to drive innovation.  

“This FutureX initiative with TP ladders up to our AWS AI Spring Workforce commitment to train 15,000 learners on AI skills by 2026, and underscores our dedication to developing Singapore’s future-ready talent and nurturing the next generation of cloud and AI builders,” Tan said. 

No longer a “tech thing” 

On the advantages of having a centre like FutureX, TP’s Tang said the application of AI cuts across all sectors and is no longer just another “tech thing”. 

He added that different schools within TP, like Applied Science and Design  “understand the importance of AI” and will collaborate with AWS at FutureX.  

The collaboration was aligned with TP’s commitment to develop students through real-world learning programmes and professional opportunities beyond the classroom, Tang said, adding that the collaboration will be supported by an expanded ecosystem with other industry partners and a co-developed curriculum. 

The emphasis on skills development, industry collaboration, joint training, and internship opportunities, empowers students to thrive in the evolving digital landscape, he added. “As a polytechnic, we want to solve real-world problems,” he noted.  

Projects for the community 

Tang said the centre will work on projects for the community, especially in the non-profit sector, to help them improve their digitalisation programmes. 

“This will benefit both the students, who can apply their skills and the community organisations,” he said. 

“With AWS cloud services, compute power and storage, it is easy for non-profits and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt and utilise advanced technologies like AI without the burden of infrastructure management,” he said. 

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The cross-disciplinary teams at the centre will work on projects that address the digital transformation needs of the local community, drawing expertise from various fields to provide comprehensive solutions, Tang added. 

Training courses 

The centre will also offer AWS-related training courses, both Pre-Employment Training (PET) and Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes, including shorter courses and certifications, to help upskill the workforce in the local community, enabling them to better leverage technology and digital tools. 

“The overall goal is to have a positive impact on the community by providing technology-driven solutions, expertise, and educational opportunities that empower non-profits and SMEs to enhance their digital capabilities and competitiveness,” Tang added. 

As per the MoU, TP and AWS will collaborate in skills development whereby TP students will gain access to AWS’s online training resources, including the AWS Skill Builder and AWS Academy of cloud and AI skilling courses and professional certification programmes. 

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These resources will enable students to acquire hands-on experience, build technical skills, and attain professional certifications. 

Experts on campus 

AWS experts will also be stationed at FutureX. They will work directly with TP faculty and students, co-supervise student projects, co-develop curriculum, and provide advanced technical training not only to the students but also to the teaching staff so that they can incorporate these in their teaching pedagogy, Tang said. 

FutureX will showcase projects developed by TP staff and students using AWS resources, providing opportunities to work on industry-relevant projects and solve real-world challenges.

TP students will also gain practical experience and industry exposure through internships and job opportunities at AWS and its industry partners, Tang said. 

The collaboration is aligned with TP’s commitment to developing students through real-world learning programmes and professional opportunities beyond the classroom, supported by well-established collaborations with industry partners and a robust curriculum developed in conjunction with the industry, Tang said.  

Over a three-year horizon, “we hope to see the centre positively impacting the community”, he added.