Where No One Feels Left Out

Technology continues to transform the way we live, but conversations around the ethics of phenomena such as artificial intelligence have lagged behind adoption. How can we stay ahead of the curve? Learn how NUS is contributing to the conversation.

To quote United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, climate change — or rather, the climate emergency — is a “battle for our lives”. Fortunately, we have technology on our side. Numerous technological breakthroughs and innovations are being created, including at NUS, enabling us to learn, work and live more sustainably. 

We are all getting older and there is nothing we can do about it — or is there? One-dimensional thinking posits ageing purely in terms of deteriorating health or as a burden to society. In helping Singapore prepare for an ageing population, NUS wants older adults to enjoy long, healthy, happy and productive lives. 

No one knows what the future holds, except that there is a vast and technology-driven world out there. NUS has done its best to prepare students for a digital, post-pandemic society — and done it well — through the introduction of game-changing tech tools and major reforms focusing on technology subjects.

The Bukit Timah Campus is a throwback to NUS’ early beginnings and a rarity in Singapore’s modern built environment. For close to a century, generations of students have passed through the campus, their memories adding to its long history — a story that continues to be written. 

Women today, including many from the NUS community, are key players in corporations, government and society. It appears that the faint outline of a gender-equal world can be seen. But it requires some squinting, and we have our work cut out for us. 

At a time when everyone’s physical world has shrunk within their own borders, NUS is not passively watching the pandemic unfold but has recommitted to its global community of enterprising students, influential researchers and inspiring alumni. 

COVID-19 has made life within and beyond the classroom virtually (pun intended) unrecognisable. Stripped of the in-person interactions so vital to the student experience, some might say that universities have lost their value and become yet another casualty of the pandemic. But institutions of higher learning still have legs — if they dare to re-imagine themselves.