AI Integration Begins at DISTED College
Dear DISTED Community,
We have previously shared glimpses of how artificial intelligence is being explored at DISTED College. In this issue, we take a closer look at our growing commitment to AI, highlighting our engagements with experts, our readiness to embrace this transformative technology, and the steps we’ve taken to integrate AI into both academic and operational areas.
This semester, we launched pilot AI programmes within the School of Computing, where students are preparing to earn the Pearson AI Specialist Badge. At the same time, our Diploma programmes have introduced a new module titled Fundamentals of AI, designed to provide students with a strong foundation in core concepts and practical applications.
Through ongoing conversations with industry leaders and AI specialists, DISTED has adopted AI engines to support staff productivity, enhance student learning experiences, and encourage the development of industry-relevant AI solutions. These efforts reflect our commitment to equipping both staff and students with the tools and knowledge needed to thrive in an AI-driven future.
We invite you to explore the articles in this issue that showcase DISTED’s engagements with AI thought leaders. Next week, we will be sharing DISTED College’s full AI rollout plans.
President,
Dato’ Lim Si Boon
Exploring AI Implementation in Higher Education with PwC
Bonanza Educare and DISTED College recently partnered with PwC to explore the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) at DISTED College. Through this collaboration, six key areas of opportunity were identified, including enhancing student outcomes, ensuring academic program relevance, delivering personalized learning experiences, improving teaching and learning effectiveness, strengthening talent management, and increasing non-academic operational efficiency through AI.
This engagement with PwC reflects the College’s strong commitment to innovation and its proactive approach to shaping the future of education in the era of AI. With the rapid advancement of technology and the rise of Generative AI (GenAI), the College is actively exploring potential AI use cases across its operations to enhance efficiency, enrich the student experience, and drive sustainable growth. This initiative aligns with the College’s mission to empower students through practical, industry-relevant education delivered by experienced lecturers, supported by advanced facilities and strong industry partnerships.
DISTED College continues to uphold academic excellence and community engagement through initiatives such as scholarships, while proudly celebrating a thriving alumni network of more than 15,000 graduates. These efforts underscore the College’s commitment to remaining a resilient and competitive private higher education institution (PHEI) in an ever-evolving educational landscape.
President,
Dato’ Lim Si Boon
Reimagining Education with AI Tools
On October 22, 2025, I had the opportunity to attend the Beyond the Basics: AI for Education workshop held at the Penang Marriott Hotel. It was a full-day session from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., packed with insights, hands-on learning, and a renewed sense of purpose as an educator in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
The workshop explored how AI can transform both learning environments and administrative processes in higher education and K-12 settings. We engaged with tools like Gemini 2.5, Learn LM, Google Workspace, Google Classroom, and Notebook LM, not just discovering features, but understanding how they can reshape teaching, planning, assessment, and student engagement.
Learn LM stood out as a powerful AI model designed specifically for education. It enhances Gemini’s capabilities, offering clearer explanations, personalized responses, and subject-specific customization through “Gems.” Gemini Canvas, which supports coding, brainstorming, and lesson material generation, proved to be a timesaving and creativity-boosting tool.
While the AI landscape is crowded, with platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, and Midjourney, Google’s educator-first approach made a lasting impression. The message was clear: AI is here to support, not replace, teachers.
I left the workshop inspired and confident in AI’s potential to enrich learning experiences. At DISTED, we are already taking steps to integrate AI into our teaching ecosystem. This workshop reaffirmed our direction in preparing educators and students for a future where AI enhances every aspect of learning.
Seethai Subramaniam
Head, School of Computing and Engineering
Empowering Educators with AI: Tools for Teaching and Assessment
On 31st October 2025, DISTED College successfully conducted a hands-on workshop titled “Practical AI Tools for Teaching and Assessment”. Facilitated by Dr. Nurul Ashikin, Lecturer at the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the session attracted academic staff from diverse disciplines eager to explore AI’s potential in education.
The workshop introduced participants to a range of emerging AI platforms including ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, DeepSeek, Manus, Mapify, Canva AI, Gamma AI, and Notebook LM. These tools were showcased for their ability to enhance teaching efficiency, improve assessment quality, and foster student engagement.
Interactive activities focused on AI teaching assistants, AI-supported grading and rubric alignment, and AI-assisted feedback design. Lecturers had the opportunity to experiment with these tools in real time, gaining practical insights into how AI can complement human judgment in both formative and summative assessments.
Participants expressed appreciation for the session’s practical approach and shared that it boosted their confidence in applying AI ethically and effectively in their classrooms. The exposure to diverse AI applications broadened their perspective on future-ready pedagogy.
This initiative underscores DISTED College’s ongoing commitment to professional development and digital innovation. By equipping educators with cutting-edge tools and methodologies, the college continues to foster teaching excellence and adaptability in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.
Kaushalya A/P Tinakaran
Lecturer, School of Computing
How AI Is Transforming Manufacturing Operations
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising manufacturing by improving efficiency, accuracy and decision-making. In production, AI-powered robots are programmed to learn how to handle different products and materials, making processes faster and more precise.
One key application is predictive maintenance. AI tools analyse historical machine data, including operating hours, breakdowns and repair records, to predict when a machine might fail. This allows companies to schedule maintenance proactively, reducing downtime and increasing productivity. Intelligent vision inspection systems also help ensure product quality by detecting defects in real time.
At DISTED College, students are exposed to the practical use of AI in operations management. The curriculum includes AI applications in process control, product design, quality management and preventive maintenance. Students also gain hands-on experience using built-in AI tools in Microsoft Excel, such as Copilot and Analyze Data, particularly in supply chain management.
By integrating AI into teaching, DISTED prepares students to meet industry demands with confidence. They learn how to use technology to streamline operations, improve decision-making and maintain high standards in manufacturing environments.
AI is not just a tool for automation. It is a strategic asset that helps future professionals think critically, solve problems and innovate in the field of operations management.
Elaine Chan
Senior Lecturer, School of Business and Hospitality
The Impact of AI on Finance
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the global finance and accounting landscape, reshaping how professionals analyse information, manage risks, and make decisions. To stay ahead of these developments, DISTED College has integrated FinTech, Data Analytics, and Accounting Information Systems modules into its accounting programs at both the diploma and degree levels.
These modules are designed to equip students with strong digital competencies, enabling them to understand how technology drives efficiency, automation, and innovation in financial management. Students learn how AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Power BI and Excel’s built in AI features can be applied in areas such as financial planning, analysis and decision making to enhance accuracy and strategic insight.
By embedding technology focused learning into its curriculum, DISTED reaffirms its commitment to preparing future ready graduates who can thrive in a fast evolving, data driven financial world shaped by AI and continuous digital transformation.
Sharizan Abdul Rashid
Program Leader, School of Business and Hospitality
Innovating Media and Communication Education with AI
Artificial Intelligence is transforming how we teach, learn and create, especially in communication, arts and media education. At DISTED College’s School of Communication, Arts and Multimedia, AI is more than a trend. It is a practical tool embedded across programmes that enhances teaching, content creation, production workflows and student learning outcomes in line with industry expectations.
Lecturers now integrate AI tools meaningfully into classroom preparation and delivery. ChatGPT assists with brainstorming and tutorial design, Canva supports visual learning, Perplexity strengthens academic research, and Microsoft Copilot simplifies documentation and assessment planning. Adobe Firefly helps students visualise concepts and generate prototypes in multimedia subjects.
In advertising modules, students use AI to conceptualise campaigns, refine brand messaging and produce creative assets. Media production students benefit from AI in scriptwriting, storyboarding and post-production tasks like editing and audio enhancement. Social media strategy courses leverage AI for content planning, platform-specific creation and real-time audience analysis.
These experiences build stronger digital literacy, strategic thinking and creative confidence. At DISTED, AI is viewed as a collaborative extension of human capability. Used responsibly and ethically, AI can empower educators and students to innovate meaningfully while preserving the human touch that defines communication and media.
Nadia Jefri
Head, School of Communication, Arts and Multimedia
How AI Supports Psychology
Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being used in psychology to simplify and accelerate many foundational tasks. In research, AI can process and analyse large datasets efficiently, helping psychologists identify patterns in behaviour, emotion and cognition. Tasks that once took hours, such as scoring questionnaires, organising data and running statistical analyses, can now be completed in minutes.
AI also plays a growing role in psychological assessment. It can automatically score personality and cognitive tests, analyse written responses and detect emotional patterns through facial expressions and language use. These capabilities help reduce human error and improve consistency and accuracy.
By automating routine tasks, AI allows psychologists and students to focus more on higher-level thinking. This includes interpreting results, designing research studies and developing practical applications of psychological knowledge. While AI offers many benefits, ethical concerns such as data privacy, transparency and fairness must be carefully considered.
At DISTED College, we view AI as a supportive tool that enhances psychological practice. It improves efficiency and accessibility while preserving the critical thinking and human insight that define the field.
Teoh Ker Hsin,
Program Leader, School of Psychology,
AI in Counselling: Enhancing Practice, Not Replacing Humanity
As a counsellor, I have found that the most time-consuming part of the job often comes after the session. Managing paperwork such as case notes, logbooks, client lists and session hour records can be overwhelming. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, I began exploring how technology could ease this administrative burden while maintaining ethical standards.
I developed a digital logbook that integrates AI functions to automatically calculate session durations, organise client data and summarise counselling hours. This tool allows me to spend less time on paperwork and more time engaging meaningfully with clients. AI also assists in structuring notes and maintaining consistency across documentation.
Despite these benefits, I remain mindful that AI cannot replace the empathy, ethical judgment and human connection essential to counselling. My participation in an AI and counselling workshop reinforced this belief. AI should be used as a supportive tool that enhances practice, not as a substitute for the counsellor’s role.
Moving forward, I plan to continue integrating AI responsibly into my counselling practice. My goal is to improve service quality and accessibility while upholding the LKM Code of Ethics and preserving the human essence of therapeutic work.
Chew Yong Peng
Lecturer, School of Psychology
AI in Education: Our Role as Lecturers in a Changing Landscape
On 17 October 2025, we participated in the workshop Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Organizational Design and Learning at DISTED College. The session featured Prof. Phanish Puranam, a scholar in organizational design, who shared valuable insights on how AI is reshaping education.
Prof. Puranam emphasised that AI is not here to replace educators. It supports us by automating routine tasks and enabling personalised learning experiences. This shift allows lecturers to focus more on mentoring, ethical guidance and helping students develop critical thinking skills.
During the workshop, we explored how AI tools can be integrated into teaching. NotebookLM enables the creation of interactive learning materials such as flashcards and quizzes tailored to individual student needs. Mapify AI helps students visualise abstract concepts through dynamic mind maps, making learning more engaging and accessible.
DISTED College is actively embracing this transformation. AI will gradually be embedded into classroom teaching across various subjects, giving students hands-on exposure to the tools shaping the future of education.
As lecturers, our role is evolving. We are not just delivering content. We are guiding students to become thoughtful, ethical and future-ready learners in an AI-driven world.
Tan Sue Lin
Lecturer, School of Business and Hospitality
