NUS to establish fifth residential college, with a focus on AI and human intelligence

SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore (NUS) has announced the establishment of Acacia College, its fifth residential college (RC) in University Town, marking the first new RC in a decade. The college will open in August 2025 with an initial intake of 100 students, expanding to 600 students by August 2026.

Acacia College will adopt the University Town College Programme (UTCP) and focus on the theme “Fundamentals of Artificial and Human Intelligences.” Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will engage in small-group learning sessions to explore the intersections between artificial intelligence (AI) and human cognition.

The college’s curriculum is designed to equip students with essential knowledge and skills in generative AI, AI programming, and machine learning. First-year students will participate in junior seminars discussing “AI versus humans,” while second-year students will take senior seminars examining AI’s role in daily life, innovation, governance, and ethics.

Acacia College will be housed in the current premises of NUS College (Cinnamon Wing), with NUS College students relocating to the Yale-NUS College campus later this year.

Associate Professor Heng Cheng Suang, from the Department of Information Systems and Analytics at the NUS School of Computing, has been appointed as the inaugural master of Acacia College, effective July 1, 2025.

The establishment of Acacia College reflects NUS’s commitment to fostering interdisciplinary education, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of AI. With its specialized curriculum, the college aims to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of an AI-driven future.