SINGAPORE: Nanyang Technology University's (NTU) provost Christian Wolfrum has been appointed to lead Singapore's national artificial intelligence initiative as executive chairman of AI Singapore (AISG) from Wednesday (Jul 1).Professor Wolfrum takes over from Professor Ho Teck Hua, who stepped down on Tuesday, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) said in a press release. AISG brings together Singapore-based research institutions and the broader ecosystem of AI start-ups and companies to support Singapore’s AI efforts.The programme is driven by MDDI, NRF and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.
As AISG's new executive chairman, Prof Wolfrum will work with MDDI, NRF and relevant stakeholders to lead AISG's next phase of growth. This includes advancing Singapore's priorities under the National AI Strategy 2.0 and supporting Singapore's ambitions to be a leading global hub for trusted and impactful AI, MDDI and NRF said.Prof Wolfrum "has a deep familiarity with Singapore’s research, innovation and enterprise ecosystem, and has been a consistent supporter and advocate for our national initiatives and cross-institutional collaboration", they said.Prof Wolfrum currently serves as deputy president and provost of NTU, and has significant experience in shaping AI research ecosystems, they added.As the former vice president for research at ETH Zurich, he played a key role in defining the university’s strategic research direction and was closely involved in the establishment of major Swiss national AI efforts, including the Swiss national AI institute and the Swiss AI initiative.Prof Wolfrum said that he was "honoured" to take on the role as AISG executive chairman."AISG's unique strength is its position at the interface of academia and industry, and that is exactly where AI champions are built: Companies that embed AI into the core of their products and operations, not as an add-on but as a fundamental capability, backed by a workforce that understands AI deeply enough to build with it. "Research without industry impact is incomplete, and industry without deep research is short-sighted. Singapore's AI ecosystem can close that gap, and AISG will be the engine to get there."
