Lianhe Zaobao, 拟开发AI软件助减轻教师压力 新科大生获颁新峡谷奖

A university student plans to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) software to assist school teachers and reduce their workload, helping with tasks such as grading assignments and generating questions, and hopes to develop it into a more comprehensive teaching platform in the future. 

This entrepreneurial idea came from Htet Myat Ko Ko, 24, a sophomore (second-year student) from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). With this, he won the Singapore Valley Award along with four other university students this year. 

Htet Myat Ko Ko is from Myanmar and moved to Singapore with his parents at the age of six. He became a Singapore citizen last year. 

Award winners will intern in China to explore business development opportunities 

The winners of the Singapore Valley Award will intern at technology companies or venture capital firms in China for at least three months, where they will gain a deeper understanding of the local entrepreneurial environment and continue to develop their business plans. They will also receive a prize of $2,000 and other support during their internship. 

Htet Myat Ko Ko’s software, called “TinyEquations” (meaning “small equation assistant”), will primarily train AI models to familiarise themselves with local teaching content in order to assist teachers in tasks such as grading assignments and generating exam questions. Currently, the software focuses on primary school Science, but Htet Myat Ko Ko hopes to expand it to include multiple subjects from primary school level to ‘A’ levels and develop it into an online teaching platform. This will not only reduce the burden of teachers but also encourage students to learn. 

The Singapore Valley Award is open to full-time undergraduate students from six local public universities, regardless of nationality. This year’s winners are: Cai Yingxuan (23) and Bai En Qi (20) from National University of Singapore (NUS), Lin Han Yang (24) from SUTD, and Yang Jun Long (25) from Nanyang Technological University (NTU).  

The Singapore Valley Award was established in 2017 by a group of Chinese entrepreneurs with a fund of $335,000. It is also supported by Singapore-based private equity firm Tembusu Partners and the six public universities. 

Another award winner, Bai En Qi, told Lianhe Zaobao that she plans to develop a software called “Kua Xin” (loosely translated as “crossing the heart”) to help local Chinese children aged two to eight improve their Chinese language skills through bilingual learning. 

“Communication is done with the heart, and I hope ‘Kua Xin’ can help improve the Chinese language skills of Singaporean children,” she said. She also hopes to have the opportunity to bring the project to China in the future, allowing local children there to learn English easily. 

Mr Tan Kiat How, who is Senior Minister of State for National Development and Senior Minister of State for Digital Development & Information, attended the award ceremony on Tuesday (25 March) and participated in a dialogue session with the theme “The Future of Entrepreneurship in Singapore: Opportunities, AI, and Innovation.” 

He said that in today’s era where opportunities and challenges coexist, young entrepreneurs must see the uncertainty brought about by international situations and technological development, while also seeing the new possibilities brought by technological and economic development in countries like China, as well as the rise of AI.