For adult learners, the most difficult questions do not always arise during class or consultation hours. They may surface late at night, between work commitments or while revising independently.

At Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), that challenge helped inspire AI Tutor, an artificial intelligence (AI) learning tool developed in partnership with NCS.

Designed as a 24/7 learning companion, AI Tutor helps students work through difficult concepts, reinforce understanding and progress at their own pace. For continuing education and training learners, many of whom hold full-time jobs and have limited opportunities to consult lecturers, this added support can make a difference.

“We saw an 8 to 10 per cent improvement in examination pass rates among students who used the tool, compared with a previous batch that did not,” said Ms Lynn Fong, senior director and registrar at NP and director of its Centre for Learning & Teaching Excellence.

THE PARTNERSHIP BEHIND THE PLATFORM

• AI Tutor brings together the complementary strengths of NP and NCS to support student learning
• NP contributes curriculum expertise, so interactions remain tied to course materials and aligned with academic standards and rigour
• NCS brings AI engineering capabilities and behavioural insights
• The partners turn curriculum knowledge into responsive, adaptive interactions that guide, motivate and engage learners

NOT JUST ANOTHER CHATBOT

At first glance, AI Tutor works much like a chatbot. Students type a question into a search bar and receive an instant response. The difference lies in how those responses are generated.

Rather than drawing broadly from across the internet, AI Tutor is grounded in NP’s course materials. This keeps responses aligned with what students are expected to learn, while reducing the risk of inaccurate, conflicting or irrelevant information that can surface with general-purpose AI tools.

“By anchoring AI Tutor in relevant materials, we guide learners in a structured and pedagogically sound way to arrive at an accurate conceptual understanding of the subject matter,” said Ms Fong. “Learners engage with ideas consistently, in line with what they are expected to analyse, apply and evaluate in the curriculum.”

The close partnership also helped the platform evolve in response to learners’ needs. NP and NCS found, for instance, that text alone was not sufficient when diagram- and circuit-based problems formed a key part of learning.

“We initially assumed text-based inputs would be sufficient, but feedback quickly showed otherwise,” said Mr Wong Boon Kiat, partner and practice lead of AI mission engineering at NCS. “That led us to build image upload capabilities so learners could submit diagrams, charts or problems and get meaningful explanations.”

Added Ms Fong: “The AI was engineered to break these visuals down into step-by-step explanations, helping learners to see how concepts connect.”

WHEN ANSWERS LEAD TO BETTER QUESTIONS

General-purpose AI tools can provide a wide range of information, but they may not always help students think through a problem. AI Tutor is designed to support the learning process rather than simply retrieve information.

Ms Fong said the tool guides learners from basic understanding towards analysis, synthesis and evaluation, skills that are important for those upskilling or moving into new careers.

At a foundational level, AI Tutor helps students quickly find relevant information from their course materials, clarify areas of difficulty and build understanding through follow-up questions.

The tool is also designed to encourage deeper thinking. When a student asks how a circuit works, for instance, AI Tutor can do more than provide an explanation. It may surface higher-order questions that prompt analysis and reflection, such as: “How can the superposition principle be applied to analyse the circuit?” This can help learners connect multiple concepts and think more critically about the topic.

The platform also supports more targeted revision. Students can generate personalised quizzes to test their understanding, followed by a performance summary that highlights strengths and areas for improvement. This lets them focus on what they have yet to master, rather than revisit entire sets of lecture notes.

KEEPING LECTURERS IN THE LOOP

AI Tutor is meant to support, not replace educators. Lecturers have been involved from the outset, helping determine how the tool fits into teaching and learning. “We started by running hands-on demonstrations with lecturers to understand their workflows – not to pitch a product, but to find where AI could genuinely reduce friction,” said Mr Wong. “That feedback directly shaped what we built.”

The tool also helps address a common classroom challenge: Students often ask foundational questions that have already been covered in lecture materials. “By surfacing these as commonly asked questions within AI Tutor, students get immediate, curriculum-accurate answers without waiting for their lecturer,” said Mr Wong.

At the same time, lecturers need visibility into how students use the tool and where they may be struggling. “They need to understand how the AI behaves, how students interact with it and how to guide its use effectively,” said Ms Fong. “Learning analytics show lecturers where students may need additional support, allowing them to intervene more purposefully.”

For learners, AI Tutor offers more flexibility to study on their own schedule. For lecturers, it gives insights into where additional support may be needed.

THE NEXT PHASE OF AI-ENABLED LEARNING

NP and NCS are expanding their collaboration through innovations and initiatives involving AI. One such development is the AI Adaptive Learning Assistant, which is designed to personalise learning at scale. By assessing each student’s level of mastery, it provides tailored insights and progressively guides learners towards stronger understanding.

The platform has been rolled out to more than 1,100 full-time diploma students this year. Initial findings showed that students who continuously used the adaptive quizzes recorded a 15 per cent increase in quiz scores from the first to the last attempt.

The partnership is also extending into curriculum, capabilities and industry exposure. This includes embedding NCS’ AI-enhanced Software Development Lifecycle Platform into coursework, as well as offering AI-focused internships and practitioner-led talks.

Together, these initiatives are designed to connect academic learning with industry practice, preparing students for workplaces where AI is increasingly used.