SenseTime, a Hong Kong-headquartered artificial intelligence (AI) company, recently signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU): one with non-profit organisation Business China and the other with Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
According to SenseTime, the agreements aim to support AI capability building in Singapore by providing AI knowledge and hands-on experience to local tertiary students, post-graduates, and adults with an interest in AI to develop their technical capabilities in the field.
To help facilitate AI development across the region, SenseTime is also launching an AI innovation hub which the company says will feature eight different zones that showcase real-world AI applications for augmented and mixed reality, healthcare, and customer engagement scenarios.
“With over 70% of Southeast Asia consumers concurring that AI is crucial to the region’s future, there is a critical need for governments and AI providers to equip the workforce across the region with fundamental AI skills. As such, SenseTime is promoting and facilitating AI development across the region,” said Martin Huang, Managing Director, SenseTime International.
Nurturing AI professionals
The thrust behind SenseTime’s MoU with Business China is to jointly provide internship and international exchange opportunities for talent from both countries. Their purpose is to equip a new generation of Singaporean youths and talent with the competencies to navigate the AI landscape in China, enabling them to familiarise themselves with the economic and business landscape in Singapore.
Under the MoU, SenseTime will join the Singapore-China Youth Interns Exchange Scheme to provide tertiary students from Singapore and China with internship opportunities at SenseTime’s China and Singapore offices respectively. Through a series of curated activities, such as training programmes and technology forums held with Chinese technopreneurs and industry players.
SenseTime will also launch a new programme to introduce China’s business landscape to students under the Industrial Postgraduate Programme, to nurture a pool of talent with a good understanding of China’s economic, business, social, cultural, and educational environment.
“While internships can be a stepping stone to a student’s professional career, they can also help companies to build a pipeline of promising young talent. We believe this arrangement will play a role in cultivating professional AI competencies and the ability to appreciate local cultures and operating environments in Singapore, China, and the region,” said Tin Pei Ling, Chief Executive Officer, Business China.
Cultivating local AI talent
SenseTime’s MoU with ITE aims to promote and facilitate AI education in Singapore by developing AI competencies for students and staff. As part of this two-year agreement, SenseTime and ITE aim to equip ITE students, staff, and adult learners with AI technical competencies through:
- Support in AI competency building for educators at ITE through SenseStudy’s AI education curriculum.
- An industrial attachment program to place ITE students with SenseTime’s partners so they can explore and work on AI industry proof-of-concept projects with coaching and mentorship.
- Continuing education and training programmes on computer vision and smart cities for adult learners, with certification provided upon completion of the course.
“This partnership will enable ITE to leverage SenseTime’s know-how in deep learning and computer vision technologies to deepen AI competencies in our students, staff, and adult learners,” said Low Khah Gek, CEO, ITE.
