Thought leadership

SUTD Chief Strategy and Design AI Officer Mr Poon King Wang reflects on how innovation has traditionally followed a structured path—from problem definition to real-world deployment—and why the challenge now lies in rapidly translating ideas into practical, working solutions.

An opinion piece by SUTD President Prof Phoon Kok Kwang – Academic mastery no longer suffices. Universities will have to adopt a new approach when AI will likely be able to do everything a university graduate can do – better and faster.

Professor Yow Wei Quin’s commentary on the role of AI in education highlights both its potential to enhance learning and student wellbeing, and the need to preserve critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and the central role of educators in a human-centred approach.

An opinion piece by SUTD President Prof Phoon Kok Kwang and Mr Danny Koh (Managing Director, South-east Asia, Spencer Stuart) – leaders must design intentional human-artificial intelligence partnerships instead of deploying the technology as a cost-cutting tool.

LKYCIC Assistant Professor Samuel Chng explores the topic of how Singapore’s many ride-hailing options can make commuting harder and suggests greater coordination and integration so that commuters can trust the system to deliver what they value most: reliability, predictability and confidence.

Associate Professor Calvin Chua on Singapore’s malls — rather than building more “Grade A” malls, the focus should be on “Grade A” ideas to strategically adapt existing “Grade B” spaces like strata-titled malls.

Assistant Professor Roy Lee’s commentary on online age checks: a tougher line is vital, but there’s room for a nuanced approach that doesn’t compromise privacy and data safety.

Firms and agencies have to reorganise data, rebuild systems, redesign processes and jobs, and retrain people. The writer of this opinion piece is SUTD Provost and Chief Academic & Innovation Officer (CAIO), Professor Chee Yeow Meng.

LKYCIC Research Assistant Professor Samuel Chng and Research Fellow Sarah Chan’s commentary on how the 10-cent deposit return scheme reframes empty beverage containers from rubbish into unfinished resources.

LKYCIC Research Fellow Dr Cai Yanjun wrote an opinion piece on how Singapore should not leave older seniors behind in our advancement towards becoming a Smart Nation. This includes providing the right learning support, garnering seniors’ feedback when designing new tech, not completely phasing out physical counters for public services, among others.