Programme dates:
9 – 13 February 2026

Singapore Economy in a Globalized World

By Dr Sng Hui Ying (NTU School of Social Sciences)

Dr Sng Hui Ying is Senior Lecturer of Economics in the School of Social Sciences at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She received her PhD (Economics) from NTU.

Her research interests include development economics and Singapore economy. She has authored Economic Growth and Transition: Econometric Analysis of Lim’s S-Curve Hypothesis (World Scientific) and is the co-editor of the books Singapore and Asia in a Globalized World: Contemporary Economic Issues and Policies (World Scientific), Singapore and Asia: Impact of the Global Financial Tsunami and other Economic Issues (World Scientific) and Crisis Management and Public Policy: Singapore's Approach to Economic Resilience (World Scientific). She has also published in refereed journals such as Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Singapore Economic Review, World Economics and Journal of Economic Development.

Mastering Digitalisation: Analytics Skills for Tomorrow’s Leaders

By Prof Ben Choi (NTU Nanyang Business School)

Digitalisation reshapes the way businesses, governments, and societies operate, creating unprecedented opportunities for innovation and growth. At the heart of this transformation lies Business Analytics, the discipline that converts data into insights and insights into actionable outcomes.

In this seminar, participants will explore how digitalisation drives change across various industries, including healthcare, finance, retail, and smart cities, and how analytics empowers leaders to harness these changes for real-world impact. Through case studies and live demonstrations, we will explore how data can be leveraged to address pressing challenges, anticipate emerging trends, and generate value in a rapidly evolving digital economy.

Designed for aspiring master’s students, this session will provide a glimpse into the high-demand skills of the future, such as data literacy, digital strategy, and analytical thinking, while also highlighting how these capabilities open doors to global opportunities in strategic growth sectors. By the end of the seminar, participants will understand why analytics is the engine of digitalisation, how it fuels career pathways in business and technology, and how they, as future leaders, can have a meaningful impact on the digital age.

Robotics and Embodied AI

By Prof Lihua Xie, President’s Chair, NTU (NTU School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering)

Sustainability and Environmental Engineering 

By Prof Chong Tzyy Haur (NTU School of Civil and Environmental Engineering)

How Does AI Work?

By Prof Adams Wai-Kin Kong (NTU College of Computing and Data Science)

Dr Adams Wai-Kin Kong received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Currently, he is an associate professor at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and the director of the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence programme. His research works have been published in major AI conferences and journals. His papers were selected as spotlight papers by IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, ICML and ICRL, an Honorable Mention by Pattern Recognition and CVPR for oral presentation. His PhD students received Best Student Paper Awards in The IEEE Fifth International Conference on Biometrics: Theory, Applications and Systems (BTAS), 2012 and IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering, 2013 and other awards such as Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship. He served as an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, area chair for the major AI conferences, including CVPR, ECCV and BMVC and expert consultant for cross-border legal cases. He is listed in Stanford University's Top 2% Scientists’ Study. In 2022 and 2024, Dr. Kong was nominated for the MSc in Business Analytics Teacher of the Year Award and in 2022, he received faculty award from his school. In addition to teaching and academic research, he works closely with industrial partners, including Rolls Royce, Siemens and Procter & Gamble for various R&D projects. His recent research interests include AI safety, deep networks and their applications on, healthcare, drug discovery, computational simulation, and biometrics.

Financial Data Analytics: Modelling, Simulation, and Generative AI

By Prof Patrick PUN Chi Seng (NTU School of Physical and Mathematics Sciences)

In this seminar, we explore how data-driven modelling and simulation techniques underpin modern financial analytics. Beginning with the intuitive binomial lattice model, we demonstrate how asset prices can be modeled through simple yet powerful discrete-time frameworks. We show how historical market data can be used to calibrate key model parameters and then simulate possible future price paths. These simulations enable us to solve important financial problems such as option pricing, risk quantification, and strategic decision-making under uncertainty. Extending to continuous-time models, we introduce geometric Brownian motion and its role in simulating realistic asset dynamics. Finally, we bridge into the emerging frontier of generative AI, highlighting its conceptual connection with simulation and its growing impact on financial data synthesis, scenario generation, and synthetic market modeling. This seminar offers prospective MSc students a glimpse into the interdisciplinary techniques powering our MSc in Analytics (SPMS), MSc in FinTech (SPMS), MSc in Modelling and Simulation (SPMS), MSc in AI (CCDS), and MSc in Data Science (CCDS) programmes. 

Dr Patrick PUN Chi Seng is currently a tenured Associate Professor, Assistant Chair (MSc Programmes), and the Programme Director of Master of Science in Financial Technology (MSc in FinTech) at School of Physical and Mathematics Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. In 2018, Patrick founded the MSc in FinTech programme to cultivate the FinTech talents. The programme has been well-received in Asia.

Prior to NTU, Patrick obtained his Ph.D. in Statistics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2016. His Ph.D. thesis on “Robust Stochastic Control and High-Dimensional Statistics with Applications in Finance” won numerous awards, including Nicola Bruti Liberati Prize 2016 (Best Ph.D. Thesis in Quantitative Finance, worldwide) and the Young Scholars Thesis Award 2016 (Best Ph.D. Thesis from Faculty of Science, CUHK). His research paper on high-dimensional portfolio selection won Best Student Research Paper (First Place) in INFORMS Financial Section in 2015. Patrick also won Best Teaching Assistant Award in 2014. Patrick obtained his M.Phil. in Risk Management Science from CUHK in 2013 and obtained his B.Sc. in Statistics, from Nankai University in 2011. He also passed the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) qualification examinations in 2012.

Patrick has strong research interests in Financial/Actuarial Mathematics, Big Data Analytics, and AI applications in Finance, as evidenced by his numerous top-tier publications in these fields. He has received several distinguished grants, namely from MOE, NRF, QEP, DSAIR, and NTU, to further his research work alongside his tertiary teaching responsibilities.

The New Era of Medicine: How AI is Driving the Healthcare Revolution

By Asst Prof Fan Xiuyi (NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine)

Role of Optics and Lasers in Industry 4.0

By Prof Murukeshan Vadakke Matham  (NTU school of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

Economists and historians predict in the same way that the coming big wave of cyber-physical production will define the fourth industrial revolution — also known as Industry 4.0 or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). From a historical point of view, industrial revolutions have completely changed the way the world works. The first industrial revolution is considered as the development of the steam engine and urban centres. The second was the transition to electricity and with that factory assembly realised, which enabled mass production of products like automobiles and clothing. The third industrial revolution, the Digital Age, was marked by the advent of computing and the internet. The fourth one, the industrial Internet of Things, marked by widespread interconnection of the digital and physical aspects of mass production and beyond, now in its infancy has the potential to disrupt business practices and the job market just like previous industrial revolutions did. In this Industry 4.0, everything produced in factories will be monitored, analysed, quality approved, packaged and shipped by self-sustained, cloud-connected, AI cyber-robots. 

The question raised in recent times was about the role of optics and photonics in Industry 4.0. In general, Industry 4.0 otherwise known as the smart factory is seen as the immediate innovation phase in manufacturing. Combining data connectivity, sensor technology, speed and artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0’s mission is to create smart, highly efficient factories where autonomous machines will do almost all of the work. It is very clear that lasers and photonics will be pivotal to delivering Industry 4.0 on multiple fronts. The convergence of light-assisted processing and communications underpinning Industry 4.0 is stimulating the ever increasing demand for more integration and novel approaches to manufacturing for applications in individualised manufacturing, precision healthcare and autonomous vehicles. In short, Industry 4.0 would be nowhere without optics and photonics.

This seminar in this context, will be covering all the above-mentioned aspects with a special emphasis on lasers and optics for advanced manufacturing and 3D printing underpinning their impact in Industry 4.0.  The talk begins with brief historical perspectives followed by analysing the major pillars of I 4.0. The key role played by optical and photonics technologies in this 4th industrial revolution will be discussed in detail. The talk specifically includes cases such as optical technologies for smart manufacturing, imaging and sensing for manufacturing, vision sensors for smart robots, optical NDT for smart manufacturing, precision medicine and medical diagnostics. Application areas discussed will also be covered ranging from zero-labour factory to precision medicine. 

Dr Murukeshan Vadakke Matham, is the Program Director of MSc Smart Manufacturing at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NTU Singapore. He serves as the Director of the Center for Optical and Laser Engineering (COLE), Deputy Director of The Photonics Institute (TPI), and is an Associate Professor of School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NTU Singapore. He leads a research group specialising in Biomedical Optics, Nanoscale Optics, Laser-based Micro and Nanoscale Fabrication, and Applied Optics for Metrology. Prof. Murukeshan has an extensive academic profile with over 28 years of professional experience, including 3 years of postdoctoral work and 25 years of teaching. He has published over 215 international journal papers and over 200 international conference proceedings/presentations, co-authored two books, and filed or awarded 26 patents and 16 innovation disclosures. To date, he has supervised 28 PhD students and 30 Master (MEng by research and Master of science in Engineering) students. He is also Associate Editor for Optical Engineering and the International Journal of Optomechatronics (IJO). He serves in international committees related to optics at different capacities. Prof. Murukeshan has received more than 25 prestigious international recognitions or awards. He is a Fellow of SPIE, Fellow of OPTICA (USA), a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK), and a Distinguished Fellow of the Optical Society of India.

Entrepreneurial Mindset

By Dr Xia Zhiqiang (NTU Entrepreneurship Academy)

This seminar discusses the mindset and practical dimensions of entrepreneurship. It illustrates risk, uncertainty, and the value of learning through trial-and-error, with failure being reframed as a source of valuable experience. A core focus is the growth mindset, contrasting fixed versus developable intelligence and highlighting the role of beliefs in motivation, achievement, and well-being. Entrepreneurial thinking is presented as the ability to generate new approaches, persist in problem-solving, think creatively, and above all, create new opportunities. 

Dr Xia Zhiqiang is the Academic Director at the NTU Entrepreneurship Academy (NTUpreneur). He oversees the Master of Science Technopreneurship and Innovation program (MSc TIP) and provides strategic direction to the management and operation of the undergraduate MiE and SMiE programmes. Dr Xia’s professional expertise in entrepreneurship education spans across training, mentoring, innovation and leadership development in a multicultural context. He has won recognition for developing educational partnership with top international universities and institutions, for programmes or projects including NTU’s pioneering Global Immersion Program for undergraduates’ overseas study and industrial attachment as well as overseas entrepreneurship immersion and international venture competitions. In 2006 he received the NTU’s Nanyang Award for Teamwork. Prior to his two decades of experience in education, he worked in IT and real estate industries with project management experience in ERP outsourcing, knowledge management, asset valuation, and business M&A. Dr Xia actively participates in professional communities and social services. He is an Adjunct Professor of Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He served as the President of the International Council for Small Business (Singapore Chapter) from 2015 to 2017. He has been frequently invited  to judge for Singapore Prestige Brand Award competitions since 2015. With his extensive network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, policy makers, and educators in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Singapore and internationally, he has helped many entrepreneurs and startups in securing venture funding or strategising business growth or international development. In 2019, he received the Commendation Medal (Education) on Singapore’s National Day, in recognition of his commitment, performance, and efficiency in education.

Strategies for career success in the Digital world

By Mr Justus Teo (NTU Academy for Professional and Continuing Education)

The workshop is intended to help participants develop a holistic, integrated and strategic approach to how they discern career choices, navigate the career marketplace and ensure their career competitiveness in the digital career marketplace. Through a sharing of key concepts, strategies and approaches, participants will be better prepared for career readiness in today’s complex but exciting digital career landscape.

Justus Teo

• 20 years of human resource experience
• 6 years full-time coaching (Career/Leadership/Performance)
• Full-time career coach with NTU PACE supporting Data Analytics, UIUX and Digital Marketing
• Credentials:
  • Certified International Career Services Provider (CCSP) by the National Career Development Association (NCDA)
  • Professional Member of Career Development Association Singapore (CDAS) + Honorary Auditor
  • Accredited IAC Coach
  • Facilitator for Career Development (FCD)
  • Knowdell Career Adviser