SMU School of Computing and Information Systems

What makes some research organisations produce meaningful, high-impact work while others struggle, even with talent and resources?

In this episode of Why Research Matters, Varunika Goyal speaks with Professor Steven Miller, Professor Emeritus of Information Systems at Singapore Management University and founding dean of SMU’s School of Computing and Information Systems.

Drawing on his experience across academia, industry, government, Carnegie Mellon University, Fujitsu, and SMU, Professor Miller explains how research cultures are built, why feedback systems matter, and what leaders can do to help researchers do their best work.

The conversation explores research leadership, innovation, grant strategy, interdisciplinary collaboration, post-COVID work culture, AI as a collaborator, automation vs augmentation, quality control, and why skeptical voices are essential when adopting powerful new tools.

Watch it at https://youtu.be/FXK7_7Fq4T4?si=rcBezsZ0m8vjeT8A

The AI Shift: How Leaders Can Avoid Falling Behind? | Dr. Steven Miller What makes some research organizations produce meaningful, high-imp...

We are proud to honor our exceptional undergraduates through the NCS Awards. Our sincere thanks go to NCS Group for their continued support in fostering academic excellence and empowering future leaders in software engineering and related computing fields.

Congrats to the recipients for 2025/26 Term 2:
• Victoria Santos - NCS Award for Top Student in Computational Thinking & Programming
• Asher Laiu Yan Kang - NCS Award for Top Student in Digital Business – Technologies & Transformation
• Chia Meo Hui Natasha - NCS Award for Top Student in Algorithms & Programming

From a hackathon in Thailand straight to the Thai news! SMU Undergraduates Nicholas Boey (BSc, Software Engineering), Sherlin Choo (BSc, Computer Science), and Shaarav Shukla (BBM) recently represented at the SEA Quantum Leader Summit. Here is Nicholas with the inside scoop on their exciting journey:

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💬 "5 days, 3 cities, 1 massive particle accelerator, and somehow making an appearance on Thai news 🇹🇭.

From the quiet trails of Khao Yai National Park to the high-tech quantum labs at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), representing Singapore, Singapore Quantum Youth Collective, and SMU Quantum Computing Society at the SEA Quantum Leader Summit 2026 in Thailand was surreal.

The trip perfectly mixed intense brainstorming with exploring Thailand's nature. between coding, we hiked the Pha Diao Dai trail, saw the Haew Suwat waterfall, and observed the Khao Yai Thiang wind farm. we also toured SUT’s quantum labs and stare in awe at the particle accelerator at the Synchrotron Light Research Institute.

My team’s hackathon problem was "wildfire & emergency response", and we built "Q-Pithak", utilising a QUBO + QAOA algorithm to optimise classical sensor placements for wildfire detection. Bbalancing technical complexity with business sense was tough, but we had the best help. thank you Pak Shen Choong, Chirawut Kanogart, and Denis Diop, for your guidance on feasibility, business insights, and pitching! thanks also to James Lee, Angelina Frank, and Muhammad Taufiqi for being our hackathon judges and refining our ideas with your sharp questions!

The learning curve on this trip was steep but so worth it. Beyond picking up quantum concepts from people who are ridiculously skilled and learning how to actually pitch a business idea, my biggest takeaway was about community building. Watching Worawat Meevasana & QTRic bring together people from different nationalities and educational backgrounds proved how valuable diverse perspectives are when you're tackling big problems.

Can't wait to see where Southeast Asia's quantum journey goes from here..."

Congratulations to the winning team comprising Su Myat Myat Htay (BSc, Software Engineering) and Jovan Wong (BSc, Information Systems), for taking the top spot for the Micron Technology Track at the National AI Student Challenge organised by AI Singapore.

Su shares more behind their problem statement and winning solution:

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💬 "Winning this at the end of my freshmen year at SMU SCIS made this experience especially meaningful, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to apply what I’ve been learning to a real industry problem.

The problem we tackled was in semiconductor manufacturing: equipment generates logs in many different formats, and even machines of the same type can differ across vendors. Engineers often spend valuable time deciphering each vendor’s syntax, while rule-based parsers can break whenever a firmware update changes the log format.

Our solution was an AI-powered Smart Tool Log Parser.
We built a real-time pipeline that ingests raw logs in different formats, uses an LLM to normalise and extract structured fields, and classifies events by urgency for downstream routing. The goal was to turn messy, inconsistent logs into clean and unified data that can support cross-tool comparison, anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance.

This competition taught me a lot, from designing the distributed system architecture from scratch to building and shipping the solution end to end. More importantly, it helped me better understand how to work with AI in a practical industry setting. AI is powerful, but the real value comes from staying updated with changes in technology, research, knowing where it fits, how to make it reliable, and how to think one step ahead about scalability, maintainability, and what companies actually prioritise.

A huge shoutout to my teammates Cody T. and Jovan Wang for being part of this journey. Grateful for the teamwork, late nights, and everything we learned together."

Check out their GitHub:
https://lnkd.in/g9M7Kj96

Reposted .ai •••••

At the SMU Artificial Intelligence Club, we believe that true readiness isn’t just about understanding AI: it’s about building it responsibly, collaboratively, and at speed. We recently brought this builder mindset to the AI Student Developer Conference 2026, hosted by AI Singapore.

At Our Booth: We showcased a UBS award-winning project co-created by our members: a multi-agent system engineered to streamline end-to-end KYC workflows.

Highlights from the Exhibition: It was an incredible learning experience touring the exhibition, connecting with industry leaders, and witnessing inspiring UNSDG-focused AI demos from ASEAN national finalists.

What’s Next: To keep bridging the gap between academia and industry, we promoted our upcoming Prompt & Builder Lounge at the NCS Hub, an exclusive space for uni students to connect with AI leaders.

A massive thank you to AI Singapore, Doye Lee, and Chung Wei Tat for providing a phenomenal platform to explore AI for Good. Deepest gratitude to NCS Group and the SMU School of Computing and Information Systems (SCIS) for their steadfast support.

We are not waiting for the future. We are building it. 💻🚀

As AI transforms financial services, preparing talent for the sector requires more than technical knowledge alone.

The Young Talent Programme for AI in Finance (YTP-AIF), launched at SMU, brings together AI learning, industry projects and internships to help university students apply their skills to real challenges in the financial sector.

Developed with contributions from SMU, including SMU - X and SMU School of Computing and Information Systems, the programme reflects a shared commitment to nurturing graduates who can combine technological expertise with critical thinking, judgement and adaptability.

Read how SMU is helping shape the next generation of AI talent for Singapore's financial sector: https://sgsmu.com/3S3qc0k

The Gift That Keeps Giving: Why SMU Alumna Joanna Teo Keeps Coming Back to SMU Discover how SMU alumna Joanna Teo gives back to the University through teaching, mentoring, and philanthropy, ensuring education remains accessible.

BSc (Computer Science) students Yam Junjie, Lim Jun Sheng and Hor Xiang Zhi, as well as SIM student Brayden Scott Chen, have gone viral with a humorous MRT-themed mobile game inspired by Singapore’s daily commuting experience. The game, titled “Train to Bishan”, was created in about five hours for the “Singapore Stupid Hackathon”, a coding competition centred on absurd and comedic ideas. Set on a virtual journey from City Hall station to Bishan station, the game recreates familiar commuting frustrations, including train breakdowns, seat-snatching passengers and requests to give up seats.

Source: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20260524-9078432?ref=today-news-section-card-12

四大学生发挥创意 研发地铁手机游戏火出圈 高峰时段的地铁车厢，短视频外放声与孩童啼哭交织；好不容易看到一个空位，却被他人抢先一步坐下——面对这些令人烦躁的通勤场景，你是选择默默忍受，还是想在虚拟世界里“反击”一把？