Free AI workshops, resources for SMEs at new AI Centre of Excellence
The collaboration between Asme and ITE will also give students exposure to AI for business purposes
[SINGAPORE] Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can attend free workshops and access complementary resources on artificial intelligence (AI) at a new AI Centre of Excellence launched on Monday (Apr 14).
The new SME@AITE centre is set up by the Association of SMEs (Asme) and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
Asme president Ang Yuit noted that with AI, SMEs in neighbouring countries have the potential to produce output that can rival the quality of work from Singapore’s workforce.
This is not just in copywriting and graphic design, but fields such as data analysis, legal advice and software engineering, he added. “Therefore, SMEs in Singapore have to embrace AI technology in an even deeper fashion to keep pace with global innovation.”
The new centre provides “a risk-free environment for SMEs to try out AI solutions”, understanding how to apply them before adopting customised AI, he said.
The centre will host free downloadable AI resources that can help employees who have low digital literacy.
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These include multilingual human resources (HR) AI agents that automate hiring queries; avatars that can interact with social media users; and AI trained in ‘social listening’ that can draw insights from data.
SMEs can download and experiment with these resources during free hands-on workshops hosted by the centre. The workshops are sector-specific, for industries such as food and beverage, human resources, accounting, retail, engineering and logistics.
Two workshops have already been scheduled, with plans to ramp up workshop frequency to once a month or even every fortnight.
The first workshop is Capabara, a no-code platform allowing SMEs to build their own AI-supported workflows. This could involve, for instance, using a large language model that specialises in HR functions such as hiring and HR regulations.
In the second workshop, SMEs can create videos using existing off-the-shelf solutions that produce AI-generated videos, characters, voiceovers, and music.
Future workshops will feature other AI solutions in areas such as recruitment, logistics, accounting and data analytics.
Getting data
Besides aiding SMEs, the centre will collect data on real-world AI use cases and the challenges experienced by its users. Asme will use this data, in collaboration with government bodies, to shape future AI initiatives and policies.
With the ITE tie-up, the centre will also serve as a platform for youth employability.
ITE CEO Low Khah Gek noted that while ITE supports SMEs by providing resources and workshops, the partnership will also benefit its students, helping them develop “work-ready and future-ready” skills.
Students will be exposed to AI-driven business solutions through internships and industrial attachments with these SMEs, allowing them to improve their familiarity with the evolving technology.
“This ITE-ASME collaboration will create an ecosystem where innovation thrive(s),” said Low.
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