OCBC partners NUS and NTU to launch postgraduate scholarship in artificial intelligence
SINGAPORE — OCBC Bank announced on Monday (3 June) that it has launched the OCBC Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scholarship in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
The first such scholarship offered by a bank in Asia will be open to applicants of either university’s full-time master’s programme in AI, OCBC said in a media release.
Worth up to $100,000, the scholarship will cover all educational and living expenses. Three students will be awarded the scholarship this year.
The two courses covered under the scholarship are the Master of Computing AI at NUS and the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence at NTU.
After graduation, the scholars will serve at the OCBC AI Lab for between 12 and 18 months and be involved in building up the bank’s AI solutions. They will also receive guidance from OCBC’s senior executives and be given internship opportunities.
Ken Wong, Head of OCBC AI Lab, said, “We recognised the potential of AI early and have been accelerating our efforts in this space over the past five years...As we delve deeper in our AI journey, we are looking to attract and develop top talents to create new roads for us.”
OCBC said it has created more than 50 AI-driven solutions to date, such as in the areas of personalised product recommendations to customers, and an AI-driven home and renovation loan specialist chatbot.
The government has identified AI as one of the core areas of Singapore’s digital capabilities. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation Initiative, said in Parliament on 28 February that Singapore will “double down” efforts to build its AI industry.
Among the government’s initiatives is the AI SG, a national programme launched in 2017 to boost Singapore’s AI capabilities. The National Research Foundation is set to invest up to $150 million in AI SG between 2017 and 2022.
