Opening in August 2025, NUS’ newest residential college offers a cutting-edge curriculum focused on Artificial and Human Intelligences. Helmed by NUS Computing‘s Assoc Prof Heng Cheng Suang, incoming students will embark on an exciting curriculum that dives into the relationship between AI and all facets of life and work, while acquiring practical skills and know-how in Generative AI, AI programming and Machine Learning.
NUS will be setting up Acacia College in University Town – its fifth Residential College (RC) on campus and the first new RC to be established in a decade since the last RC was launched in 2015. The new RC will open its doors in August 2025 with an inaugural cohort of 100 students, scaling up to accommodate 600 students by August 2026.
Building upon the successful curricular design and pedagogical approaches of the four existing RCs and offering the University Town College Programme, Acacia College will be the first RC in NUS to study the theme – “Fundamentals of Artificial and Human Intelligences” – where students from different degree programmes come together and read interdisciplinary courses delivered through immersive small-group sessions at the college.
With artificial intelligence (AI) becoming integral in our daily lives and its pervasive influence reshaping our interactions with the world, there is a pressing need to equip students to thrive in this new hyper-technological era. As society grapples with the ethical, social and cultural implications of AI, students will explore the relationship between AI and all facets of life and work, while acquiring practical skills and know-how in Generative AI, AI programming and Machine Learning.
The expansion of NUS’ stable of RCs is aligned with NUSOne, the latest effort by the University to encourage and imbue greater self-directed growth through the vibrancy of student life, living on campus, and out-of-classroom experiences. It also marks another step towards NUS’ goal of providing every undergraduate the opportunity to experience on-campus living and learning for a year, especially during the freshman year.
LIKES curriculum for AI
Students who gain admission to Acacia College will embark on a two-year residency programme, gaining access to exclusive interdisciplinary courses. In their first year of residency, they will explore the concept of “AI versus humans” through Junior Seminars, learning about the tensions and conflicts between AI and humans, stemming from the fundamental similarities and differences between them. This will provide students with foundational knowledge to engage with advanced topics in AI in their Senior Seminars.
Building on this, the second year of residency will allow students to deep dive, through Senior Seminars, into cross-disciplinary topics on how “AI and humans” can co-exist across the diverse facets of life in the following areas:
- AI and Living
Explores how AI can be integrated into our everyday lives – whether in daily routines or leisure activities – from the creative arts to competitive athletics and even companionship.
- AI and Innovation
Analyses how AI is utilised across different industries and its unique role in revolutionising innovative breakthroughs, elucidating the triggers, catalysts, and other essential factors.
- AI and Knowhow
Imparts technical knowledge and knowhow, problem-solving skills and other practical skillsets to work confidently using Generative AI (text, image, video), AI programming and Machine Learning.
- AI and Exploration
Examines historical precedents and patterns of technological innovation, both past and present, to uncover unexplored territories within AI across the social, economic and cultural contexts.
- AI and Susceptibility
Delves into the legal and ethical considerations, such as controversies and dilemmas surrounding the usage, governance and exploitation of AI, to better understand the complexity and intricacies underlying policies within and across different countries.
Students at Acacia College will also get to lead and organise their own initiatives such as hackathons and symposia as well as benefit from opportunities for industry engagement, global exposure and pastoral care as part of the experiential educational journey of an RC.
Acacia College will be located on the premises currently occupied by NUS College (Cinnamon Wing). NUS College students will be moving into the residential buildings on the Yale-NUS College campus later this year.
Fostering interests with action and imagination
Associate Professor Heng Cheng Suang from the Department of Information Systems and Analytics at NUS School of Computing, who has served as the Master-Designate of Acacia College since 1 November 2024, will assume the role of Master from 1 July 2025. He is an Associate Professor with tenure at the Department of Information Systems and Analytics at NUS Computing, where his primary research focuses on how organisations strategise their use of technology.
Dr Heng is now ex officio after four years as Chair of NUS Teaching Academy, a unit under the NUS Office of the Provost that serves as a think tank for educational matters for the University. He also serves on the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) Steering Committee, Faculty Teaching Excellence Committee, Department Deputy Head (Research & Admin), Department Teaching Mentorship Chair, and Department Ethics Review Committee.
He has been appointed to the Editorial Review Board of academic journals MIS Quarterly and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, having served as the Track Chair and Associate Editor for the International Conference on Information Systems, European Conference on Information Systems, and Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems. In addition, he is a reviewer for top journals such as Information Systems Research and Research Policy.
The new RC will adopt the motto “Action. Imagination.”, with Dr Heng explaining: “Action turns dreams into reality, while imagination ignites the spark of possibility. We aspire to build a world where technology doesn’t merely solve problems; it deepens understanding, fosters connections, and elevates the human spirit.”
“It is not the brilliance of technology alone that will lead us, but our shared humanity that will chart the course for true progress. By embracing both wisdom and empathy, I hope students of Acacia College will benefit greatly from their residential living experience and be bold in their endeavours, fuelled by curiosity, compassion, and care,” he added.
Fostering the next generation of AI talents
From Academic Year 2025/2026, NUS will also launch a new NUS AI Talent Scholarship awarded to 20 freshmen pursuing full-time undergraduate degree programmes in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Business Artificial Intelligence Systems, or Robotics and Machine Intelligence.
The NUS AI Talent Scholarship is open to Singapore citizens and offers a comprehensive package that includes full coverage of subsidised tuition fees, a living allowance for each academic year, as well as allowances for on-campus accommodation and travel grants for each semester.
In addition to financial support, scholarship recipients will benefit from development opportunities, such as mentorship by top AI researchers, entrepreneurship training opportunities in one of the start-up companies on an AI project through our flagship NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) programme in various locations, or gain overseas exposure and acquire global perspectives at a partner university through our Student Exchange Programme (SEP).
NUS AI Talent Scholars will also receive priority to enrol in the University Town College Programme. This includes access to Acacia College, a new Residential College set to open in August 2025 with a focus on AI. Acacia College will provide a unique living and learning environment, tailored to students with a passion for AI, to align their interests and fortify their strengths in this area.
