When Professor Aaron Thean, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost of NUS, talks about artificial intelligence (AI), he is quick to recentre the conversation. “The core business of a university is really to develop the human, not to develop AI.” That belief sits at the heart of NUS’ AI strategy and drives how the University is preparing every student for an AI-driven world: ensuring human capabilities remain at the forefront as we leverage advanced AI technologies to amplify human intellect, creativity and judgement.

To ensure all incoming NUS students achieve AI literacy before they start their courses, foundational AI competencies are embedded directly into their first-year university experience through the Transition to Higher Education (T.H.E.) Programme(opens in new tab). Starting from Academic Year 2026/27, this commitment takes shape through a new AI foundational course: THE1008 Applied Generative AI: From Prompting to Evaluation.

Developed by Associate Professor Ooi Wei Tsang and Dr Lek Hsiang Hui from the NUS School of Computing(opens in new tab), together with Dr Kate Sangwon Lee from the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre under the College of Design and Engineering(opens in new tab) at NUS, THE1008 is compulsory for all first-year undergraduates. Students learn how to effectively use large language models (LLMs) and multimodal AI effectively to assist them across academic and professional contexts. The course establishes a common foundation in AI literacy that students can scaffold across subsequent mandatory AI courses in the common curriculum and their majors, as they progressively develop the discipline-specific AI fluency needed for their fields.

Assoc Prof Ooi said, “THE1008 teaches students to use generative AI (GenAI) effectively by helping them to understand how it works, communicate with it clearly, and incorporate it into human-led workflows for complex tasks. Upon completing the course, we hope students will understand that while GenAI is a powerful and useful tool, it is still a tool. Humans have an essential role to play in providing direction, exercising judgment, evaluating output, and taking responsibility for the resulting work.”

THE1008 is a blended-learning course, comprising three hours of online lecture videos and a two-hour in-person workshop. Students are required to complete the lecture videos, which include embedded quizzes, before attending the workshop. Both components of the course need to be completed within the first two weeks of the first semester. The course ensures every NUS undergraduate is equipped to use GenAI tools effectively for learning, assignments, internships and their careers.

First-year student Manasvini Mendu from the NUS Faculty of Science(opens in new tab) enjoyed the interactive components of the workshop. “I enjoyed working with other students to present our work to the class,” she said. “I also learnt to use GenAI to explain harder concepts, summarise notes and create flash cards, rather than using it to submit assignments, so that I’m still doing the intellectual work.”

During the workshop, she also found AI useful in other practical areas, having learnt to use AI to create a travel itinerary. “I discovered that I could utilise its planning ability to plan my ideal school timetable, and to coordinate my various activities and assignment deadlines.”

THE1008 is part of NUS’ broader effort to equip all students with AI fluency. By integrating AI competencies at every stage of study, through the common curriculum and majors, NUS students will develop the confidence to deploy AI tools strategically, critically interpret AI-generated results and apply AI thoughtfully within their disciplines. The goal is to nurture graduates who can harness AI for analysis, problem-solving and creative work, complemented by human-centred skills such as critical thinking, judgement and sense-making that employers value the most.