The National University of Singapore (NUS)
School of Computing has announced the
establishment of a new executive education centre
which is aimed at empowering senior business leaders with the knowledge and
skills to harness emerging technologies for digital transformation and business
competitiveness.
The new Advanced Computing for Executives (ACE) was
launched by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye at the Innovate Connect
Economy (ICE) 2018 Conference which was held on 18 July 2018.
The programmes at the centre are aimed at senior executives who are
operating at or near the top of their organisations.
This includes CEOs, managing directors or executive vice-presidents in large
and medium-sized corporations; senior partners in professional firms; senior
executives in not-for-profit or public organisations;
entrepreneurs; owners of large family businesses; and board members; and senior
IT consultants and advisors.
Professor Mohan Kankanhalli, Dean of NUS
School of Computing made it clear that technology has become an integral and
strategic part of all businesses today. He added that the establishment of ACE
is timely, and it will enable industry leaders to better understand technology
and formulate strategies to deal with digital disruption and business
transformation.
ABCD
of the internet economy
ACE will offer relevant courses in the
‘ABCD’ of the internet economy – Artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain,
Cloud, and Data. Participants can also learn about the future of branding and
retail, financial technology (fintech),
as well as the risks associated with regulatory technology and fintech.
The courses conducted by ACE are eligible
for the SkillsFuture and Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) subsidies.
One example of the various courses offered
by ACE is the ‘Actionable Intelligence’ course, wherein the participants learn
how to equip team members with accurate, reliable, useable, and timely information at their fingertips. The one-day
course will rely on big data to provide guidance on the essential first steps a
company needs to take to effectively manage information and use it to deliver
business results quickly.
Another upcoming course is scheduled to
take place from 23 to 24 August 2018. It is entitled ‘Machine Learning’ and provides a general introduction to using
various IT-driven tools, software, and
techniques for decision making support. Participants will learn how to decode a
business problem and will identify the
data, tools, and algorithms appropriate to answer the problem. Executives also
learn intelligent techniques for decision making, e.g., expert systems, machine
learning in-a-box, and the visualization of output to make sense of it all and
provide a path to take action and measure results.
Professor Alex Siow, Director of ACE stated
that technological advancements have accelerated the pace of change over the
years. When companies fail to keep up with changes and hesitate to adopt
emerging technologies, they are at risk of becoming obsolete. He added that attending
the courses offered by ACE would enable business leaders to learn, apply and revitalise their businesses.
The course participants will be able to
learn from leading researchers and practitioners from the NUS School of Computing and benefit from opportunities to
network with other business leaders.
Addressing
industry needs
NUS Computing has a strong focus on
providing relevant training programmes to help industry and the private sector
keep pace with technological changes. In 2009, the Strategic Technology
Management Institute (STMI) was set up to provide information technology
leadership and operation management training to over 2,000 IT professionals and
managers in Singapore and the region. In
2012, the Centre for Health Informatics (CHI) was created to provide IT and
analytics training – it has since trained nearly 1,000 healthcare practitioners
and allied health professionals. Both STMI and CHI are now part of ACE.
