In late August, the SPARK AI Marking Machine became a major topic of discussion in Singapore’s education sector. This educational tool, powered by Chinese AI technology, was invited by the Global AI Nexus of Schools—an alliance spanning 23 leading institutions across seven countries—to share best practices for integrating artificial intelligence into education. From undergoing technical validation within renowned school networks to supporting national-level competitions, the SPARK AI Marking Machine has demonstrated both strong capabilities and high local adaptability. It has received unanimous recognition from Singapore’s Ministry of Education, industry experts, and top schools.

School Networks Explore Chinese AI to Address Teaching Challenges

In the conference room of Nanyang Girls’ High School, a two-day “tech dialogue” brought together more than 30 senior teachers from Singapore and the SPARK AI Marking Machine team. Their goal was to explore how the system could be further enhanced through in-depth discussion and localized upgrades to better support Singapore’s multilingual teaching environment.

During the demonstration, stacks of assignments piled up in the hands of the SPARK AI Marking Machine presenter: widely used commercial workbooks, bilingual test papers compiled by the school, and students’ in-class exercises. These materials reflect the diverse and multilingual nature of Singapore’s educational landscape—and served as real-world samples for on-site observation by visiting educators from Hwa Chong Institution and the School of Science and Technology, Singapore.

Using a Chinese composition as an example, the team showed how the SPARK AI Marking Machine—powered by the SPARK X1 deep reasoning model and OCR recognition technology—can not only decipher messy handwriting but also deliver personalized writing suggestions and learning analytics. The system is capable of grading a full class’s assignments in just a few minutes. “The AI annotations didn’t just identify grammar errors—they offered tailored revision advice. Students get a clear picture of where to improve, which makes their learning more focused. At the same time, teachers can use the feedback to refine their instructional strategies,” commented one Chinese language teacher, visibly impressed.

Global Perspectives: Diverse Applications of AI in Education

The outstanding performance of the SPARK AI Marking Machine in Singapore has captured the attention and earned recognition from key educational leaders, including Ms Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Education; Dr Lim Bee Kim Jocelyn, Deputy Director of the Mother Tongue Languages Branch at the Ministry of Education and Head of Secretariat of the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning; and Dr. Cai Zhili, President of the Association for Research on AI-assisted Language Learning. Its success was also highlighted in a special feature by Lianhe Zaobao, which reported that the integration of AI not only introduced a new and engaging dynamic to competitions but also enhanced their fairness and efficiency.

From adapting to specific school scenarios to proving its value in real-world competitive settings, the deployment of the SPARK AI Marking Machine in Singapore reflects a core principle: “functionality driven by real needs.”

Today, the SPARK AI Marking Machine has been seamlessly integrated into the learning environment at Hwa Chong Institution. But this is only the beginning—SPARK has embarked on a collaboration with Singapore’s Ministry of Education to explore pathways for digital transformation in education. Guided by the philosophy of “understanding teaching and delivering impact,” along with a strong focus on local adaptation, SPARK is well positioned to light up classrooms in many more countries around the world.