NTU makes AI literacy mandatory

Nanyang Technological University will require every undergraduate to take artificial intelligence literacy lessons from August 2026. (ntu.edu.sg) The requirement expands lessons that had been limited to computing students, and it starts with the new academic year in August. All undergraduates will also get access to Google’s Gemini Enterprise, Google AI Studio and Vertex AI. (straitstimes.com) NTU said the rollout covers all 52 undergraduate degree programmes, and students will receive computing credits to build and deploy their own artificial intelligence agents for coursework and problem-solving. The university said students may create dozens of those tools during their studies and keep improving them after graduation. (ntu.edu.sg) Artificial intelligence literacy in this context means learning how to use these systems, check their output, and handle them responsibly rather than treating them as magic. NTU said half of its planned artificial intelligence-embedded courses will use the tools to personalise learning, while the other half will teach students to build, deploy and manage agents for real-world tasks. (channelnewsasia.com) The university is tying that requirement to a larger curriculum overhaul under its NTU2030 plan. It said courses with artificial intelligence components will rise to about 40 per cent by 2030, up from about 5 per cent now. (ntu.edu.sg) NTU is also building its own support systems around the commercial tools. Its NTU AI Learning Assistant, known as NALA, lets educators create course-specific tutors trained on class materials so students can get round-the-clock help on gaps in their understanding. (ntu.edu.sg) The university has already set rules for generative artificial intelligence in assessment and research, including guidance on disclosure and permitted use. NTU said its broader approach is to train students to use the tools productively, ethically and critically across subjects including engineering, medicine and education. (ntu.edu.sg) University leaders are framing the shift as a workforce issue as much as a teaching one. NTU President Ho Teck Hua said graduates should leave with both an understanding of artificial intelligence and a portfolio of working agents they can use from their first day on the job. (ntu.edu.sg) The move also formalises a campus-wide baseline in a place where access to these tools had depended more on course choice than on university policy. NTU said the Google rollout was developed in consultation with the NTU Students’ Union and will be offered regardless of discipline. (channelnewsasia.com)