Singtel gets SMU students comfortable in using AI to create video stories

Singtel’s impact on digital inclusion will see its agency Publicis Groupe partnering with the Singapore Management University (SMU) to hold a workshop for students to challenge them to create engaging video stories. The workshop exposed students to the latest available AI tools and technology and challenged them to conceptualise and create engaging, impactful and memorable stories and characters for various audiences and media and applying what they have learnt in real-world client projects.

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As part of the initiative, students were given a project brief, developed by creative agency Leo Burnett Singapore, to create a compelling story focused on digital inclusion. They were required to use the latest AI storytelling tools such as Runway Gen2, Meta AudioCraft, ChatGPT, ElevenLabs, Lexica, DreamStudio and Clipdrop.

“At Singtel, we are leveraging on AI technology to ideate and co-create in ways that will enhance customer experiences and drive learning. The submissions from the SMU students have been incredibly inspiring and have given us much food for thought” said Bill Ang, director of brand marketing, Singtel Singapore.

Laurent Thevenet, head of creative technology, APAC at Publicis Groupe added that the collaboration with Singtel has given a new cohort of 37 SMU students an advantage in the future workplace.

"AI is fundamentally changing the creative process, and although human creativity is more important than ever, learning how to partner with machines to create something out of the ordinary will become an essential skill for graduates,” said Thevenet.

According to the agency, the workshop was put in place as part of a 13-week SMU-X course titled ‘Storytelling for Organisations and Brands’ offered at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB).  Working alongside Singtel, this is the first time the workshop involved a real brand, to give students practical, hands-on experience to prepare them for the future creative workplace.

“It has been an honour partnering with the largest mobile network operator in Singapore to encourage a new generation to embrace A.I. and push the edge of new possibilities,” said Mark Chong, LKCSB professor of communication management.

The top 10 films were then showcased in a mini film festival at SMU on 8 November 2023. Five undergraduates were also awarded with internship opportunities with Singtel and Publicis Groupe, after having delivered the best short films in their class.

Singtel has also previously worked on a short film in honour of Singapore's 58th birthday as well as to commemorate founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's 100th birth anniversary earlier this year.

Titled 'From Mudflats to Smart Nation', the film aims to reference Lee’s famous quote from Singapore’s first year of independence in 1965 when he spoke of turning Singapore from mudflats into a metropolis.

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