As the nature of work continues to evolve with the rise of automation and artificial intelligence, the question is no longer if AI will transform our jobs—but how we can prepare ourselves to lead that transformation.

On 11 June 2025, Gleematic co-founders Ada Lim and Christopher Lim facilitated a one-day workshop as part of the “Digital Skills for Business Professionals” course hosted by the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). This short course is under SIT-Learn with objective to equip participants with practical knowledge and hands-on experience in leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA)—especially through the concept of AI Agents—to streamline business processes, enhance productivity, and prepare for the evolving demands of a digital-first workplace. Through a blend of theory and applied learning, the session aimed to empower professionals to not only understand emerging technologies but also to begin designing intelligent automation workflows that add real value to their work.

Equipping Professionals with Practical Digital Skills

As technology continues to evolve quickly, businesses today has a growing range of tools to automate tasks and analyze data. From real-time data capture through the Internet of Things (IoT) to the increasing sophistication of AI-powered insights, the digital transformation is accelerating, especially in forward-thinking economies like Singapore.

But having access to digital tools is only part of the equation. What many organisations now need are professionals who understand how to clean, organize, and model data to uncover useful insights that support better decision-making. This growing demand highlights the importance of building digital skills across all business functions—not just in IT or data teams.

That is why the “Digital Skills for Business Professionals” course, hosted by the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), was designed to close this gap. It combines case studies with hands-on activities using accessible, popular software tools—like Gleematic—so that participants from different business units can confidently explore automation and analytics. The goal: to empower more professionals with practical knowledge they can immediately apply, helping their organizations become more efficient, data-driven, and future-ready.

Understanding the Shift: Why AI Agents Matter

As businesses enter the era of digital transformation, there’s growing urgency to move beyond traditional tools and embrace intelligent automation. During the workshop, Ada Lim and Christopher Lim guided participants through a structured exploration of how AI is reshaping the job landscape, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities that come with digital transformation.

To respond to this shift, we introduced the concept of AI Agents. A smart digital workers that combine Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to go beyond simple task execution. These AI Agents not only follow rules but also learn from data, understand context, and make informed decisions. Thus, transforming how to complete work across various industries.

Building a Foundation in AI: From Core Concepts to Application

To build a strong foundation, the session proceeded with a clear introduction to what AI is and the basic principles behind its key categories:

• Computer Vision: Teaching machines to interpret visual data
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Enabling machines to understand and generate human language
• Machine Learning: Allowing systems to learn from data without being explicitly programmed.

Understanding these building blocks helped participants see how each technology contributes to the functionality of an AI Agent—whether it is extracting data from documents, understanding a customer email, or making predictions from historical trends.

Discriminative vs. Generative AI: What is the Difference?

One of the more thought-provoking discussions was around the difference between Discriminative AI and Generative AI. Discriminative AI focuses on identifying patterns and classifying data—useful in tasks like fraud detection or document sorting. In contrast, Generative AI creates new content, such as generating text, filling in missing data, or drafting emails.

Understanding this distinction helps participants grasp how different types of AI Agents can be applied depending on the task, as it helps determine the type of intelligence required. Should the agent simply recognize patterns and respond accordingly? Or should it generate new content and make decisions in dynamic situations?

RPA is Evolving with AI

Another highlight was the exploration of RPA and how business professionals can combine it with AI to automate office works in various business operations. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology designed to mimic human actions when interacting with digital systems. Think of it as a software robot that can perform rule-based, repetitive tasks—like copying data between systems, sending emails, generating reports, or extracting information from spreadsheets. It works best in environments with structured data and clearly defined rules, making it especially useful for improving speed and accuracy in tasks such as invoice processing, employee onboarding, or system updates.

However, while RPA alone is powerful, it has limitations. Traditional RPA bots cannot make decisions, adapt to changing input, or handle unstructured data like emails, scanned documents, or customer queries. This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes in to extend RPA’s capabilities.

By integrating AI with RPA, businesses can now automate more complex and cognitive tasks:

• AI with natural language processing allows bots to understand and extract meaning from emails or chat messages.
• Machine learning models can guide bots to make decisions based on patterns or predictions (e.g., prioritizing support tickets or approving low-risk loan applications).
• Computer vision enables bots to “read” and process information from images or scanned documents.

This combination results in what we call AI Agents—intelligent bots that can read, think, and act. These agents can adapt to context, learn from data, and work across multiple systems, enabling end-to-end automation of office processes that once required human judgment.

Experiencing AI Agents with Gleematic: Hands-on Practice

Theory turned into action as participants rolled up their sleeves to create their own automation scripts using Gleematic software. These hands-on exercises guided them through:

• Identifying processes suitable for automation
• Understanding how to structure automation workflows
• Using Gleematic’s no-code interface to build simple AI-powered bots

By the end of the workshop, participants had successfully built small AI Agents capable of performing real-world business tasks—an empowering experience that turned abstract concepts into tangible outcomes.

Shaping the Future of Work with AI Agents

The workshop concluded with lively discussions about real-life use cases, challenges in automation, and participants’ own ideas for improving productivity through AI. From finance to HR, from operations to customer service to sales, the potential applications of AI Agents were widely explored.

More than just a training session, the workshop acted as a catalyst—equipping professionals not just with knowledge, but with the confidence to take their first steps in deploying AI in their daily work.

Collaboration and Curiosity: A Day of Discovery

What made this workshop truly meaningful was the spirit of collaboration and curiosity. Participants shared their automation wish-lists, asked insightful questions, and engaged in thought-provoking discussions. From simplifying manual reports to automating invoice validation, they envisioned how automation could support—not replace—their work.

We are proud of each attendee for taking their first steps into AI-driven automation. Watching them create mini-AI Agents during the hands-on sessions was a powerful reminder that the future of work is not about replacing people, but it is about empowering them.

Gratitude and Looking Ahead

We extend our warmest thanks to the team at SIT for their seamless facilitation and to all participants for their energy and openness to learn. Your active participation and thoughtful questions made the session incredibly fruitful. 🥂

As AI continues to transform the way we work, sessions like these highlight the importance of upskilling, rethinking workflows, and embracing intelligent tools. We are excited to see how these newly minted AI practitioners will carry forward what they have learned—and build more intelligent, future-ready workplaces.

Save to your reading list: Building a Future-Ready Workforce with Automation: Empowering People—Not Replacing Them

Written by: Kezia Nadira