At the National University of Singapore, a new AI-powered approach to activity-based risk assessments is fostering a culture of risk awareness among students while maintaining human-in-the-loop accountability.
How can we foster a culture of risk awareness amongst our students? Enabling them to not only comply with safety protocols but also appreciate risk as part of a dynamic decision-making process?
At the National University of Singapore (NUS), this challenge has become the driving force behind a new AI-powered approach to activity-based risk assessments.
Each year, NUS students organise more than 300 co-curricular and outdoor adventure activities, ranging from local events to overseas expeditions. The scale and variety of these programs demand a robust and consistent framework for safety and health (S&H) risk management. However, beyond regulatory compliance lies an equally important goal: cultivating a deeper understanding of risk among the students themselves.
How the AI Tool Supports Better Risk Decisions
To address this dual objective, NUS has introduced a generative AI application that integrates a safety planning tool and a learning companion for student leaders. The tool is a web-based application that utilises a data-secured version of a large language model to provide context-specific guidance on common hazards and corresponding safety measures tailored to the planned activity.
It is important to note that the AI tool does not generate responses instantaneously. In fact, it does the opposite. Rather than providing ready-made answers, the AI prompts students to reflect more deeply. For example:
- Are the identified hazards comprehensive?
- Have environmental, medical, and even geopolitical risks been considered, especially for overseas activities?
- Do the proposed control measures meaningfully reduce the risk?
Based on students' inputs, the tool will flag incomplete areas such as overlooked hazards and weak control measures. This structured, iterative engagement encourages students to internalise risk thinking and makes the tool a valuable extension of traditional S&H educati