Smart manufacturing and services is the future, and a new master's program is training the talent to lead it
The fourth industrial revolution (also called Industry 4.0) has been upon us for years. It's characterized as an amalgamation of different technologies — IoT, robotics, Big Data, 3D printing, and AI — that help companies become more digitalized and smarter in terms of how they handle their business and operations. But like everything else, it was accelerated by Covid, according to Puay Guan Goh, a professor with the National University of Singapore.
"During the disruptions and shutdowns, companies realized they needed to digitalize and become more efficient," he said. "They needed to be able to do remote coordination. This was about control of what was happening in their remote sites."
Places like Singapore, where there is limited manpower, are ripe for smart manufacturing using robotics and automation, Goh said. "We recognize we can't compete on cost and therefore we need to have more efficient operations and value-added services in order to be more effective," he added.
And for a country like the US, that is looking to possibly reshore manufacturing, especially for semiconductors, electronics, and automotive, but does not have access to low-cost labor, there will be a need for high-end smart manufacturing, he added.
A big part of Industry 4.0 over the past two years has been AI, and Goh said it can apply to many different parts of the business. For example, procurement departments can identify better cost savings, e-commerce operations can optimize to generate more revenue, and hospitality companies can figure out how to run efficiently even when occupancy is down.
A new opportunity to learn
In this environment, it's not enough to just teach technical skills, but also business skills to understand the context of the technologies. "Technology doesn't exist in a vacuum," Goh said. "We must know what our business process is, what our key drivers are, what we are trying to apply [technology] toward, and then bring in data technology to have the most impact on the business."
Navigating this world brought on by Industry 4.0 is at the heart of the National University of Singapore's Master of Science program in Smart Industries and Digital Transformation, for which Goh serves as Program Director. This multidisciplinary graduate degree program combines both business and technical perspectives, bringing together courses on technology transformation and different domains of technology and implementation. It draws on the expertise of NUS's Business School, School of Continuing and Lifelong Education, School of Computing, College of Design and Engineering, Faculty of Science, and Institute of Systems Science.
Goh said the program attracts a broad base of students — from recent graduates to people who have working experience. Both want to have a better understanding of the digital transformation process, including the business concepts around digital transformation and more technical aspects like data programming, IoT, and data analytics. For those who are already working, they could be in positions within companies where they can drive change and explain the business need for digital transformation. For recent graduates, they could go on to take these sorts of roles, but also engineering or data science roles within companies, where being able to incorporate business language could be valuable.
Key components of the program
One integral part of the program is the core Capstone Project Course, where students work with a sponsoring company to produce an innovative solution to solve a business problem, leaning on what they've learned about smart industries and digital transformation.
The MSc curriculum is also designed in accordance with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) Singapore Smart Industry Readiness Index. It's intended to further aid companies in transforming their capabilities through the right talent and support Singapore's drive toward becoming a Smart Nation.
The full-time one-year program (1.5 to 3 years for part-time) attracts students from across the world, though in the past the majority of students have come from Asia, with some coming from the Middle East and Europe.
NUS is eager to welcome students from the United States as well, and has already taken steps to work with universities there. For example, students from USC Marshall MBA program recently joined students from NUS in Singapore for a global AI case competition, where the teams came up with ideas for AI use cases for a company of their choice.
Applications for the MSc program in Smart Industry and Digital Transformation, beginning in August 2026, will be open from November 2025 to January 2026.
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