Mrs Fang Ai Lian, SUTD Honorary Graduand

Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Chairman, Board of Trustees, SUTD,

Board of Trustees,

Proud parents,

Esteemed faculty and staff,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

and most importantly, the graduating Class of 2026.

Good morning.

Today is a very special day. We are gathered here not only to witness your graduation, but to celebrate a defining milestone as you begin the next chapter of adulthood. Whether you choose to build a career in industry, start your own venture, or continue your education, your time at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) will remain one of the most significant chapters of your academic journey.

As you take this moment to reflect and celebrate, it is timely to look ahead to a world evolving at an extraordinary pace. Over the past few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from the background into the foreground of our lives. What was once experimental is now embedded in how we work, design and make decisions. In fact, it has now been elevated to a national priority as articulated by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech in February 2026.

Not surprisingly, the speed of change has left many unsettled, as fears of replacement and displacement take root. After all, if AI can outperform us, what then is the value of a university education? How can humans compete against a machine that is seemingly smarter but also decidedly faster. SUTD, I believe, has the answer, and is uniquely positioned to respond holistically by supercharging our “school of design innovators” to the next level. To me, AI is about enhancing and re-imagining human innovation and intelligence in general.

In the last 17 years, we have become a university known for design, technology and innovation. These are strong foundations that we are now building upon to prepare for what comes next.

In a world transformed by AI, academic mastery alone will not be enough. It is necessary but not enough. The innovators of the future will need to combine technical excellence with creativity, adaptability and human-centred thinking.

That belief led us to take the next step in SUTD’s evolution. Last year, we pivoted to AI and introduced Design·AI as a new horizontal across the university, strengthening the interdisciplinary and hands-on approach that has always defined SUTD. We boldly launched SUTD as the world’s first “Design·AI University” in January 2025. We did not drop “tech”. This is our forte that we will further enhance with AI in education, research, innovation and enterprise. Simply put, we have pivoted to become the “Singapore University of Technology and Design and AI”, but this is a mouthful. SUTD remains committed and believes the pathway to the future is to nurture design innovators and innovator-leaders. Our main mission is always nurturing better innovators and humans that will flourish and thrive, not better tech or AI.

This emphasis on tech and design innovation is now apparent through the launch of DIVE, which stands for Design·AI Innovation and Venture Exploration. More than just a new initiative, DIVE represents the centerpiece in the next stage of SUTD’s evolution — one that places even greater emphasis on learning through doing and building, interdisciplinary collaboration and scaling ideas into real-world solutions. DIVE will also shift AI from software to hard tech. This is called Physical AI. Through DIVE, students will have more opportunities to experiment boldly, work across disciplines, learn domain knowledge, develop prototypes, build ventures and test ideas with real users and industry partners. Some will even get a chance to work with companies as Design·AI specialists to gain domain experience before they graduate.

DIVE also reflects a broader shift in how universities will nurture future innovators. Success will increasingly be measured not only by academic mastery, but also by the ability to create meaningful impact through innovation, problem-solving and venture experience, while gaining real world domain and work experience prior to graduating.

Although many of you may not have had the opportunity to experience DIVE during your undergraduate years, you have helped lay the foundations for this next chapter of SUTD’s journey. And as DIVE continues to grow, we hope many of you will one day return as postgraduate students, mentors, collaborators, entrepreneurs or partners within this expanding ecosystem. We are now laying the pathway for postgraduate programmes by innovation that is an extension of DIVE for the workforce.

SUTD has always been a university that nurtures leaders and innovators skilled in design and technology.

In a world where AI can generate answers, the real differentiator is no longer the answer itself. It is the ability to ask the right question and to understand why that question matters through design thinking.

More importantly, it is the ability to apply these human skills and human-centred perspectives with resilience, purpose and empathy in solving real-world problems for people and communities. That is what will distinguish you as graduates of SUTD.

Let me share the example of Chen Yirong, a graduate who reflects the collaborative and hands-on spirit of SUTD. As President of ROOT Student Government, a House Guardian, and an active member of the DDZ dance club, Yirong played an important role in strengthening student life and fostering community within SUTD. Beyond the classroom, he worked with fellow students on creative projects such as building a Ferris wheel installation for Orientation 2023, designing infinity mirror cubes for the Singapore Cyber-Physical Learning Alliance launch event, and curating this graduating cohort’s yearbook.

At the same time, Yirong balanced part-time work teaching children at a coding academy while developing an interest in AI and workflow automation. Today, he works in the AI automation space at a start-up that was previously a client during one of his Design AI studio projects.

Yirong’s journey reminds us that innovation is rarely the work of individuals alone. It is built through collaboration, creativity, adaptability and a willingness to contribute meaningfully to the communities around us. These human qualities will become even more important in a world increasingly influenced by AI.

At SUTD, we have also taught you the difference between using AI merely as a tool and working with it as a collaborator, ensuring you recognise that there are moments when you must rely on your own judgement and values to decide what should or should not be done.

Design thinking continues to play a critical role in the innovation process, reminding us that technology needs to be human-centric. In a world of increasingly powerful AI, the human factor becomes even more important. The challenges we face extend well beyond the technical — they are ethical, social and profoundly human.

Some of the most important challenges of our generation will also demand the unique skills you’ve learnt in SUTD. Few understand this better than Adelin Johari from the Master of Architecture programme. Driven by a deep curiosity about the intersections between architecture, climate resilience, ecology, technology and design, Adelin embraced SUTD’s interdisciplinary environment to explore ideas across research and entrepreneurship. During her time at SUTD, she contributed to major exhibitions and installations, while founding ZEN, a start-up that later developed into a pilot study opportunity with Kajima Corporation. Through research work with the Centre for Climate Adaptation, internships at leading architecture and design firms, and collaborations across multiple disciplines, she developed a growing interest in how AI, computation and architecture can contribute to climate resilience. After graduation, Adelin will continue this journey as a Research Assistant and PhD student at SUTD, pursuing research that bridges architecture, ecology and emerging technologies in response to global environmental change.

Addressing environmental shifts is as much about understanding communities as it is about building structures. Consequently, the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) play an important role in helping you understand the cultural, political and societal contexts behind technological solutions. This year, we took it one step further by supercharging our Design and AI degree programme, introducing two new interdisciplinary academic tracks that feature more social sciences-related modules.

True innovation requires more than technical capability alone. It begins with empathy, a deep understanding of real human needs and the ability to design solutions that create real impact in people’s lives.

I share our recent report, “Designing a Human-AI Innovation Edge” – it reflects this shift. Developed with support from SGTech and SkillsFuture Singapore, the findings suggest that organisations increasingly value individuals who can bridge people, workflows and AI-enabled problem-solving. By lowering technical barriers and accelerating prototyping, AI has democratised innovation.

And that is why I am confident in your future. SUTD has prepared you to work with AI, work beyond AI and retain your human agency to work without AI.

As graduates of SUTD, you have learned that innovation is about more than building what is possible — it is about building what matters.

So, Class of 2026, I salute you for the hard work you have put in over the last four years. Today, you take on a new place in the SUTD family, no longer as students, but as alumni. Go forth with confidence. Be bold in your thinking. Be open in collaboration. And never lose sight of the human purpose behind what you create.

You are stepping into the future, with both the opportunity and responsibility to help design it.

Congratulations, Class of 2026! Go out and trailblaze a better world by design. The future isn’t just waiting for you; it’s waiting to be designed by you.

Thank you.