The Dawn of a New Era at NUS: Introducing the Centre for Computational Social Science and Humanities
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is at the forefront of blending artificial intelligence (AI) with humanities and social sciences through its newly established Centre for Computational Social Science and Humanities (CSSH). Established in July 2024, this interdisciplinary hub unites over 105 researchers from diverse fields to harness computational methods and AI in addressing pressing societal challenges. From simulating public reactions to policy changes to digitizing ancient scripts, CSSH exemplifies how technology can illuminate human behavior and preserve cultural legacies.
In Singapore's vibrant higher education landscape, where universities like NUS lead in AI innovation, CSSH represents a pivotal step. It fosters collaborations across NUS faculties, including Arts and Social Sciences and Computing, while extending partnerships to NTU, SMU, and SUTD. This initiative aligns with national priorities, equipping researchers with tools to analyze vast datasets from social media, digital platforms, and historical archives.
Leadership Driving Interdisciplinary Innovation
Guiding CSSH is a dynamic leadership team committed to bridging divides between disciplines. Co-Director Professor Atreyi Kankanhalli, a Provost's Chair Professor from the School of Computing, emphasizes the centre's role as a "matchmaker and facilitator for interdisciplinary work." Her expertise in information systems and analytics underpins projects exploring social media dynamics and health informatics.
Deputy Director Associate Professor Miguel Escobar Varela from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences brings deep knowledge in digital humanities, particularly in Southeast Asian theatre and textual analysis. Other key members include Peter Millican and Dandan Qiao, forming a management team that supports seed funding for nascent ideas and scales them into major endeavors.
Located at #03-34, Shaw Foundation Building, Block AS7, 5 Arts Link, the centre serves as a physical and intellectual nexus, hosting workshops, hackathons, and symposia to spark collaborations.
Upcoming Official Launch: March 4, 2026
The official launch event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House Auditorium (11 Kent Ridge Drive). This gathering will unveil CSSH's vision, showcase research themes, and highlight upcoming initiatives. Attendees can network with peers passionate about computational approaches to social sciences.
Registration remains open until February 28, offering a prime opportunity for academics, students, and industry professionals to engage. The event underscores NUS's commitment to positioning Singapore as a global AI hub in higher education.
Core Research Themes: Where AI Meets Human Insights
CSSH organizes its efforts around five key themes, each tackling real-world complexities through computational lenses.
- AI and Computational Models of Human Behaviour: Develops models simulating cognitive, social, and economic decisions at individual, organizational, and societal levels. Examples include detecting children's deception via statistical methods and modeling political polarization.
80 - Digital Platforms and Ecosystems: Examines online behaviors, platform governance, and economic impacts, crucial for Singapore's digital economy.
- Health and Social Care: Applies AI to aging populations, mental health, and care delivery, addressing Singapore's demographic shifts.
- Social Media, Networks, and Interactions: Analyzes misinformation spread, network dynamics, and public sentiment.
- Texts, Heritage, and Culture: Focuses on preserving and analyzing historical data, vital for cultural continuity.
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Over 50 projects span inequality, addiction, and environmental sustainability, demonstrating the breadth of CSSH's impact.
Photo by Thomas Allsop on Unsplash
Flagship Project: Simulating Public Opinion for Policy Design
The Computational Social Simulations for Aiding Policy Design initiative, a five-year endeavor starting July 2025, uses large language models (LLMs) to predict public responses to policies on heritage conservation, sustainability, and health. By integrating online data with surveys for underrepresented groups like the elderly, it offers cost-effective alternatives to traditional polling. Involving 14 principal investigators and collaborators from multiple universities and agencies like the National Heritage Board (NHB) and National University Health System (NUHS), this project exemplifies CSSH's policy relevance.
For those exploring careers in AI policy analysis, opportunities abound at higher-ed-jobs and research roles.
Preserving Singapore's Heritage: The Jawi Newspaper Digitization
Led by Assoc Prof Escobar Varela in partnership with the National Library Board (NLB), this project employs optical character recognition (OCR) to transliterate pre-1970s Malay-language Jawi newspapers into searchable Romanized text. Jawi, a Perso-Arabic script adapted for Malay, has long hindered access to Singapore's multicultural history—from family stories to neighborhood events. Running from June 2025 to August 2026, it plans extensions to Mandarin and Tamil scripts, democratizing historical research.
Assoc Prof Escobar Varela notes, "This enables more research by historians and the public on Singapore's history." Explore digital humanities roles via research-jobs.
Other Innovative Projects Spotlight
- A seed-funded analysis of over one million divorce judgments using LLMs to uncover motives over 40 years, correlating with demographics like age and education, and macro trends such as GDP growth and urbanization.
- Projects on children's online engagements, political polarization modeling, and AI for senior cognitive health.
These initiatives highlight CSSH's role in generating actionable insights.Learn more about CSSH projects.
Robust Funding Backbone: MOE's $556 Million Commitment
CSSH benefits from the Ministry of Education's (MOE) Social Science Research Council (SSRC), which allocated S$556 million over five years—a 20% increase—to bolster social sciences and humanities (SSH) research. This supports thematic grants, fellowships for early-career researchers, and large-scale collaborations. Since 2016, SSRC has funded 54 projects under SSHR-TG alone, aligning with Singapore's Smart Nation vision.
In the broader Singapore higher education context, this funding counters challenges like aging populations and social mobility, positioning NUS as a leader. For funding opportunities, check scholarships and higher-ed-career-advice.
MOE SSRC Announcement
Implications for Singapore's Higher Education Landscape
CSSH's emergence reflects Singapore universities' push to integrate AI across disciplines. NUS's AI Singapore initiative and NTU's AI programs complement this, training students in ethical AI applications. Yet, challenges like data privacy and AI biases persist, which CSSH addresses through rigorous validation.
For students and faculty, this opens doors to interdisciplinary PhDs and postdocs. Platforms like higher-ed-jobs/postdoc list relevant positions in Singapore (/sg).
Future Outlook: Global Impact from Singapore
Looking ahead, CSSH aims to scale projects internationally, contributing to global discussions on AI ethics and social good. With Singapore's AI governance framework, the centre is poised to influence policy regionally. Hackathons like the Singapore History + AI and ongoing symposia will nurture the next generation of computational scholars.
Academics seeking to rate professors or find mentors can use rate-my-professor. Explore faculty openings at professor-jobs and career advice at higher-ed-career-advice.
Straits Times Coverage Official CSSH Website