Assistant Director · Office of Strategic Planning, SUTD
Seeking to understand how the
world learns and works together.
A senior academician with 22 years of experience shaping professional development, educational technology, and ecosystems that elevate learning across diverse institutions.
Biography
A career devoted to how people learn — and how institutions grow with them.
Dr Nachamma is Assistant Director at the Office of Strategic Planning, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and serves as Editor of the [Re]Imagine Education Newsletter. She was previously the founding Program Director at SUTD's Office of Digital Education, leading the Learning Sciences Lab since 2016, where she partnered with stakeholders on educational research and continuing education across cyber-physical, blended, online, and face-to-face learning for adult learners.
Prior to SUTD, she served as Assistant Director at the Centre for Teaching Excellence, Singapore Management University, overseeing Blended Learning, Emergency Preparedness for Teaching and Learning, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Her practice spans institutions across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.
She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Erasmus University (Netherlands) and a Master's in Microbiology from the National University of Singapore. Her research centres on technology-enabled teaching and learning, with publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at conferences worldwide.
Beyond research
Speaking, writing & collaborative activities
A cross-cut of the invited talks, editorial writing and cross-institutional collaborations that translate the research into practice worldwide.
Speaking
Keynotes, invited talks and institutional workshops across nine countries — on cyber-physical learning, PBL, GenAI in education and faculty development.
- ›NTEL, TALE, HERDSA & International PBL conferences
- ›Vishwakarma University Faculty Mentorship (India)
- ›SUTD Pedagogy Day & institutional keynotes
- ›SkillsFuture Fellowship engagements
Writing
Books, book chapters, journal papers, white papers and editorial work spanning cyber-physical learning, SoTL and human-centred AI.
- ›Chief Editor, Cyber-Physical Learning Journal (2024–25)
- ›Editor, EduSCAPES pedagogy magazine (2017–)
- ›Editor, Design·AI Newsletter (weekly)
- ›White papers on Cyber-Physical Learning & GenAI
- ›Commentaries in The Straits Times & EdTech outlets
Collaborations
Cross-institutional research and fellowship partnerships bringing together universities, funders and international bodies.
- ›SUTD × Advance HE Educational Fellowship Programme
- ›NMC / EDUCAUSE Horizon Report — international panel (2017–19)
- ›ISSOTL Fellowship community
- ›SUTD–ZJU immersive design-PBL collaboration
- ›Co-PI grants with SMU, NIE and international partners
Areas of specialty
What she works on
Six threads that run through her writing, teaching, framework design and institutional practice.
Cyber-Physical Learning
Co-architect of SUTD's Cyber-Physical Learning (CPL) ecosystem — blending physical, digital and hybrid modalities. Chief Editor of the CPL Journal and lead author of the 2022 White Paper and 2024 Trends & Foresight Report.
Problem-Based Learning
Creator of the Problem Quality Rating Scale (PQRS) and frameworks for designing effective problems that drive deep learning. Associate Editor of the International Journal of Problem-Based Learning.
Design-Based Learning
Co-Investigator on the MOE-TRF AIDE programme (AI for Assessment in Design Education) and the Big-D → Big-D+ next-gen design education initiative at SUTD; contributor to SUTD–ZJU work on immersive design-focused PBL.
Generative AI in Higher Education
Author of SUTD's GenAI Primer (2025) and editor of the weekly Design·AI newsletter — translating fast-moving AI research into pragmatic classroom practice.
Faculty Development & SoTL
Two decades designing academic development programmes and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning initiatives across Singapore, ASEAN, Australia, the US, UK and Brazil.
Educational Technology Foresight
Expert panelist on the NMC-Horizon Report (2017–2019), advising on global higher-education technology trends and their institutional application.
Editorial & Thought Leadership
Chief Editor of the Cyber-Physical Learning Journal; editorial roles across four peer-reviewed venues; commentator in The Straits Times and EdTech Insights APAC.
How the work connects
People · Process · System
Every research thread sits at the intersection of who learns, how they learn, and the systems that hold it together. Hover a pillar to see the projects it anchors — or hover a project to see which forces it pulls on.
17 projects · one portfolio · three intersecting forces.
At a glance
Quick facts
- Based in
- Singapore
- Current role
- Assistant Director, Office of Strategic Planning, SUTD
- Doctorate
- Ph.D. Educational Psychology, Erasmus University (NL)
- Prior training
- M.Sc. Microbiology, National University of Singapore
- Languages of practice
- English (primary); works across 9 countries
- Signature framework
- Problem Quality Rating Scale (PQRS)
Connect
Let's talk
Connect on LinkedInFor invited talks, editorial collaboration or advisory work on cyber-physical learning, GenAI in education and faculty development.
Reach out to
Nachamma@sutd.edu.sgRecognitions & Latest
Fellowships & milestones
SUTD GenAI Primer
Institutional primer on generative AI in higher education, developed at SUTD.
Editor, [Re]Imagine Education Newsletter
Curating and editing a newsletter exploring the future of education, learning design, and educational innovation.
White Paper on Cyber-Physical Learning
Authored to commemorate the Singapore National Technology Enhanced Learning Conference.
Principal Fellow, Advance HE
First in Singapore to be recognised as a Principal Fellow by Advance Higher Education.
Read more →ISSOTL Fellowship
International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fellowship.
Read more →SkillsFuture Fellow
A national-level award recognising lifelong learning and domain expertise.
Read more →Service & Editorial
Editorial boards and expert panels
- Visit →Associate EditorInternational Journal of Problem Based Learning
- Visit →Editor[Re]Imagine Education Newsletter
- Visit →Editorial Board MemberAsian Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
- Visit →Expert Panel MemberNMC-Horizon Report — 2017, 2018 & 2019 Higher Education Editions
- Expert Panelist representing the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) on the international panel of experts.
- Contributed across consecutive editions — the 2017, 2018, and 2019 Higher Education Editions published by EDUCAUSE — evaluating and selecting global educational technology trends.
- In her institutional capacity, applied Horizon Report frameworks — including findings on gamification and flipped classrooms — to evaluate engagement and digital transformation strategies in local higher education.
- Visit →Chief Editor (2024–2025)Cyber-Physical Learning Journal (CPLJ)
- Co-founded and launched the official open-access journal of the Cyber-Physical Learning Alliance (CPLA) at SUTD.
- Serves as Chief Editor, working with an international editorial board across 15+ institutions worldwide.