Gurpardeep
In a world increasingly defined by artificial intelligence (AI), equipping the future workforce is more crucial than ever.
At the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), AI is powering efforts to build future-ready talent not just in classrooms, but also behind the scenes.
To enhance both teaching and learning efficiency, the university has begun integrating AI into its academic processes, from assessment management to student support.
One of the AI-powered tools includes an automated grading system that helps educators save time while delivering more meaningful feedback to students.
“The temptation is always to go to the most technically challenging applications, but we look for areas where impact can be immediate,” said APU chief operating officer Gurpardeep Singh.
Speaking during his session entitled “AI-powered teaching and learning with APU and AWS” at the Bett Asia 2025 Leadership Summit on Oct 1, he explained that the university chose to start with AI grading because of its potential to ease lecturers’ workloads.
“That allows them to focus more on what is important – enhancing the student experience in class.
“We want to take away the mundane aspect of teaching and learning,” he said.
Achieving up to 60% to 80% faster grading and handling over 15,000 submissions monthly, the system also delivers near-human-level accuracy while providing students with more personalised feedback.
APU is also developing tools that directly support students’ academic growth.
“The StudyBuddy platform helps students revise for examinations and assessments by consolidating information from multiple sources and presenting concise summaries of key subjects.
“Another tool, StudyBuddy Advisor, allows students to input their interests and receive tailored academic or career suggestions based on their preferences,” Gurpardeep shared.
While the benefits of AI are significant, Gurpardeep emphasised that proper data management and governance are essential for responsible implementation.
“You need to have a data governance structure in place because without that, you can’t really harness the power of AI.
”We have set up an AI governance body to ensure that we are able to really make use of our data and build capability across functional areas not just in the technical team, but in the end-user teams as well,” he said.
