Professional development short courses

Professional development courses for graduate students

At SUTD, we are committed to providing opportunities for graduate students to learn skills/knowledge that are complementary to their specialisations, so as to enable them to respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Supporting SUTD’s vision of nurturing technically-grounded leaders, the suite of professional development courses enables students to be adaptable to the environment and uncover their abilities as individuals, better preparing their transition from University to career by enhancing the necessary skills for success.

These professional development courses* will be supplementary in nature, providing breadth beyond engineering and technology modules. Course structure and credits will be construed accordingly to the requirements of different programmes.

*These courses are subject to change. Please refer to more details during each enrolment exercise.

Course offerings

• Professional Communication
  • This course is designed to empower students to communicate accurately and concisely to achieve desired positive outcomes in the global workplace.
  • It aims to equip students with practical techniques to build confidence in choosing appropriate responses with consideration to the audience in specific contexts.
• Skills & Tools for Conducting Literature Review and Research
  • Students will be trained in various tools and skills needed for conducting literature review and research.
• Innovating with Design & AI for Leaders (IDeAL)
  • This course is an intensive, studio-based 3-day programme for students seeking advanced fluency in Design Thinking, AI-augmented creativity, multi-agent workflows, and rapid prototyping using artificial intelligence.
  • Grounded in the iDeA framework and SUTD’s Double Diamond pedagogy, this course introduces participants to the Design·AI Double-8 Model, advanced AI prompting strategies, multi-modal AI workflows, custom LLM agent building, and human-AI co-creation for high-impact problem-solving.
  • Participants will work hands-on in a team with real-world challenges, using AI to accelerate:
    • user research and insight mining
    • system mapping
    • opportunity framing
    • ideation and multi-modal concept generation
    • rapid evaluation using AI scoring frameworks
    • storytelling, communication, and visualisation
  • Each team will create a Design·AI Concept Pack that demonstrates mastery of human-centred and AI-augmented design.
• Technology Commercialisation and Venture Exploration (ARISE Explore)
  • This course is an experiential learning programme for students who are curious about entrepreneurship and technology commercialisation.
  • Through an AI-powered venture sprint, participants will gain hands-on experience turning ideas or research into a real product or start-up.
  • Develop entrepreneurial skills and mindset through practice, mentorship, and collaborative team-based learning
  • Join ARISE Explore if you are interested in:
    • Learning how AI is transforming entrepreneurship
    • Building skills valued in startups, industry, research environment
    • Expand your network through collaboration with like-minded peers and mentors
    • Explore entrepreneurship in a low-risk, supportive environment

For enquiries, please contact pdcourses@sutd.edu.sg.