Published: 17 September 2026
An NUS Dentistry team has been recognised with the NUS Innovative Teaching Excellence Award – Artificial Intelligence (Team category) for 2026, in recognition of its creative and purposeful use of artificial intelligence to enhance teaching and assessment at the National University of Singapore.
The award recognises positive contributions to the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of technology-enhanced teaching and assessment using artificial intelligence within NUS.
The winning team comprises Dr Eugene Loh (Team Leader), Associate Professor Kelvin Foong, Dr Angela Li, Dr Wilson Lu, and Mr Paul Lim.
Reimagining how dental diagnosis is taught and learned
At the heart of the team’s award-winning work is an innovative platform designed to transform dental diagnostic education.
By harnessing AI-generated facial images alongside a large, multi-modal learning archive, the platform provides students with a virtually limitless range of realistic clinical cases for repeated practice. This enables learners to encounter a broader variety of diagnostic scenarios and develop the skills and confidence needed to navigate real-life clinical situations.
The platform also incorporates automated feedback and personalised case variation, supporting a more consistent and independent learning experience. By enabling students to practise repeatedly and learn from their mistakes in a safe educational environment, the platform helps strengthen diagnostic reasoning while reducing potential sources of bias in learning.
Importantly, the use of AI-generated facial images also helps protect patient confidentiality, allowing authentic clinical information to inform learning without compromising patient privacy.
Beyond dentistry, the approach has the potential to serve as a model for AI-enabled diagnostic education across other clinical disciplines, demonstrating how emerging technologies can be thoughtfully integrated into healthcare education.
Enhancing teaching, empowering learners
For Dr Eugene Loh, the award represents more than recognition of technological innovation — it reflects the team’s vision for a more effective and learner-centered approach to clinical education.
“Winning this award is a wonderful recognition of our team’s vision to reimagine how clinical diagnosis is taught and learned. By bringing together AI, digital learning, and authentic clinical information, we can give every student more opportunities to practise, learn from their mistakes, and build diagnostic confidence — while safeguarding patient confidentiality. Most importantly, this is not about replacing the teacher; it is about using technology to enhance teaching and give educators more powerful tools to help every student succeed.”
The team’s achievement underscores the potential of artificial intelligence as a powerful educational tool — one that can complement the expertise of educators, expand opportunities for practice, and provide students with richer, more personalised learning experiences.
As dental education continues to evolve alongside advances in digital technology and AI, Dr Eugene’s team demonstrates how innovation can be harnessed purposefully to prepare the next generation of dental professionals for the complexities of clinical practice.
Congratulations to Dr Eugene Loh, Assoc Prof Kelvin Foong, Dr Angela Li, Dr Wilson Lu, and Mr Paul Lim on this well-deserved recognition!
(image from left to right: Dr Angela Li, Mr Paul Lim, Assoc Prof Kelvin Foong, Dr Eugene Loh, and Dr Wilson Lu)
