The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has launched a new artificial intelligence platform giving about 3,000 students and 170 faculty members access to some of the world's leading AI models.
Known as the SUTD Large Language Model Gateway, the platform became available on September 14 and provides a single interface for accessing models including OpenAI's GPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, Qwen and Kimi.
Users currently have access to 15 models from six AI providers through the platform's chat interface. SUTD says the selection will continue changing as new models become available and users can request models that are not yet included.
The university has deliberately avoided standardising on a single AI provider. Different models perform better at different tasks, and SUTD wants students to gain experience comparing their capabilities rather than becoming dependent on one ecosystem.
Students and faculty can also use an API key to access a wider marketplace containing more than 500 AI models. This could allow students to incorporate different models directly into software, systems and other projects they develop.
SUTD says AI is already widely used across the university. Student projects have incorporated technologies ranging from generative AI platforms to retrieval-augmented generation, computer vision and multi-agent systems.
The university is also placing emphasis on responsible AI use. Its platform is designed so prompts are not retained after processing, while AI providers cannot use SUTD data to train their models. Automated protections can also detect potentially harmful instructions and redact sensitive information such as phone and identification numbers.
SUTD Provost Professor Chee Yeow Meng said giving students access to AI is only part of the objective. The university wants them to understand the strengths and limitations of different models and recognise when AI improves learning and when completing work independently is more valuable.
The launch reflects a wider shift across Singapore's universities as generative AI becomes increasingly integrated into higher education. Rather than simply restricting the technology, institutions are exploring how students can use advanced AI while maintaining critical thinking and academic responsibility.
For SUTD students, that means AI education will increasingly involve more than knowing how to use ChatGPT. It will involve understanding an expanding ecosystem of models and knowing which one is best suited to the problem they are trying to solve.
