The Next Generation of AI Talent Begins with Hands-On Learning

Learning AI by Building It

Artificial intelligence will shape the careers of tomorrow, so real learning must involve building and applying technology directly. At the ITE Digitalisation Challenge, students at ITE East explored how Good Bards’ agentic AI powered Marketing OS can be used to support sustainability in fashion. They worked directly within the platform to create and deploy their own Agentic Bot, giving them practical experience with the tools that power AI-driven communication today.

The students set out to help their peers make better fashion choices by building a bot capable of teaching and guiding users on what they can do differently. Fast fashion, which contributes more than 92 million tonnes of textile waste every year and harms both the environment and communities. Every year, millions of clothes are worn only a few times and thrown away. Young people can help change that.

From Static Content to Active Guidance

Through Good Bards, students discovered what makes an Agentic Bot unique. The bot was not designed just to respond and could help users move toward real outcomes such as reducing waste or finding donation points around Singapore. They experienced how AI becomes more useful when built with a purpose and a clear goal in mind.

Also uncovering first-hand how their bot could support a wider digital campaign by being placed within an ecosystem, where posts, tips and user interactions live together, creating one connected experience for learning and outreach. This allowed the bot to become part of a compelling narrative that engaged and informed their peers while promoting responsible behaviour.

Making AI Accurate and Trustworthy

To ensure accuracy and reliability, students learned to use RAG, a capability within Good Bards’ Marketing OS that connects the bot to curated information. RAG or Retrieval Augmented Generation is a way for AI to access trusted information so its responses stay accurate and grounded in reality.

This allowed the bot to share trustworthy sustainability guidance that reflected local realities and youth behaviour. They saw how grounding AI in real knowledge builds confidence in its responses. They learned that AI does not replace human insight. It supports it with context that keeps information relevant and helpful.

Communication as a New Digital Skill

Students also attempted to shape the bot’s personality and clarity through prompt design. Each choice in wording changed how the bot interacted with people and how meaningful its answers became. The students gained early experience in a skill that is increasingly essential in the workplace. They learned that the effectiveness of AI relies not on complexity but on intention and thoughtful communication.

As they refined their bot, they also explored how it could operate externally, outside the classroom environment, allowing members of the public to interact with the bot independently as part of their sustainability campaign. This gave them a deeper understanding of how AI systems meet real audiences, not controlled environments.

Becoming Creators of Future Technology

By developing their bot from concept to a functioning experience, students shifted from being users of technology to becoming creators of it. They gained confidence in their ability to build AI that supports causes they care about while building skills that align with a rapidly evolving digital economy. They tested how their bot could be integrated with campaign content such as posters, videos and user submissions, learning that modern communication requires both creativity and digital systems working together.

Through the challenge, it became increasingly clear that AI does not stand alone. It must be designed, refined and directed by people who know the outcome they want to achieve. In other words, human direction shapes intelligent behaviour.

What They Learned

Through this experience, students built practical skills in AI creation, content grounding, and digital storytelling. Most importantly, they discovered that they can shape technology with their own ideas and see it make a difference in the real world.

The ability to guide AI systems will soon be as essential as knowing how to use a computer. Early exposure to Agentic AI gives the next generation a head start in developing the confidence and competencies needed for emerging roles.

Empowering a Generation Ready to Lead

We are proud to have enabled this hands-on journey into agentic AI, where students turned curiosity into impact and demonstrated what responsible, forward thinking innovation can look like.

Join us in shaping a future where young creators lead in designing the intelligent tools our world needs. We welcome collaborations with educators and organisations who want to help the next generation learn through hands-on experience.