East or West, AI learn from the best
From Beijing to Berkeley, Turing AI scholar Tan Ee Khai grows his AI skills through experiences at top universities and leading tech companies
by Wong SY
For Tan Ee Khai, taking up the Turing AI Scholars Programme at NTU was a straightforward choice. He is a firm believer that artificial intelligence (AI) will permeate every aspect of life in the not-so-distant future and wants to be part of this revolution. Ee Khai has braced himself for an exciting AI journey, one that includes study trips abroad with his NTU mates.
His first stop was Beijing, after his first-year exams. The action-packed one-week trip included visits to China’s top two universities and tours of leading tech companies.
“The students at Tsinghua and Peking Universities were super smart. We also attended an AI class at Tsinghua, taught by a professor who made the complex concepts really engaging. It was a fourth-year class, so it was too advanced for freshmen like us, but we were really impressed and inspired,” says Ee Khai.
What left an even bigger impression were the tours of Beijing-based tech facilities like the lab at Microsoft Research Asia, which showcased the latest advances in generative AI that were particularly fascinating for the Turing AI scholars.
“The university visits gave us a clear sense of different learning cultures and curriculum structures, while the company visits connected our studies to real-world applications. I returned home inspired to work harder and smarter,” he says.
Ee Khai adds: “Visiting other universities broadened my perspective on learning. But it also made me more certain that the AI curriculum at NTU is as good as any top university in the world. We have dedicated, world-class professors, and the resources available to us as students are first-rate.”
That confidence is well founded. In two recent established global university rankings, NTU placed first and second worldwide in AI.
Looking ahead, Ee Khai is eagerly anticipating a semester at the University of California, Berkeley, in his third year, together with the other Turing AI scholars. He is especially keen to experience Silicon Valley firsthand, with the iconic logos of Google, Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA, Oracle and Facebook already flashing through his mind. There is also the tantalising possibility of doing a semester-long internship at one of these tech behemoths.
Despite the programme’s intensity, Ee Khai says the opportunities and experiences make it all worthwhile.
“The applications of AI are far-reaching. It can cover manufacturing, the stock market, military technology, video games, car racing, medicine, film production, designing trading cards – almost anything, except helping you play better football,” he says with a laugh.
Turing AI Scholars Programme
The Turing AI Scholars Programme is designed for exceptionally talented students to push the boundaries of AI research and build cutting-edge solutions to change the world for the better. Learn through overseas internships and studies, masterclasses by leading practitioners, and a capstone project.
This story was published in the Jan-Feb 2026 issue of HEY!.
