For the first TY Lee Mindfulness Distinguished Lecture Series 2019, distinguished psychologist Dr Steven Hickman explored the value and practice of mindfulness and how it can help to shape a happier future. With rapid technological advancement and socio-political turmoil roiling the world today, it’s not surprising that a pervasive sense of isolation is on the rise. That probably explains why mindfulness has become the subject of increasing attention in recent years.

Private racism and economic injustice may work against a society’s ideals and values, but explicitly enlarging the scope of justice to address these private acts can make a world of difference, says Dartmouth College’s Associate Professor Sonu Bedi . We usually think of justice as being under the purview of governments, typically expressed in legislation that is shaped by social norms and shared values, and whose workings continue to reinforce these norms and values.

The 2019 SPF Annual Lecture highlights three inspiring women from its Connecting Dots photo exhibition and their impact on society. The Shirin Fozdar Programme (SFP) Annual Lecture, which explores the challenges women face [link], marked its 10th anniversary this year by partnering with Women in Asia, a community that aims to bridge cultural and gender differences.

In July 2019, some 200 students, representing 30 nationalities and 70 universities convened in SMU’s city campus for the annual Global Summer Programme (GSP). Accepting its largest intake since its launch five years ago, GSP comprised 10 credit-bearing courses that drew upon the expertise of faculty from across SMU’s six schools.

A new and improved Core Curriculum begins in Academic Year 2019-2020. Professor Elvin Lim , Dean of the Office of Core Curriculum, explains the impetus behind the changes.

Assistant Professor Yasmin Ortiga of the SMU School of Social Sciences was recently awarded the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship 2019 for her research on higher education in the Philippines.

Tan Kar Way, the winner of the 2019 Innovative Teacher Award, spent years refining her teaching methodology. She explains the experiences and goals that shaped her meticulous approach.

SMU students, working with students from Brunei and Australia, were voted the Best Delegation at the 5th ASEAN Foundation Model ASEAN Meeting (AFMAM) in Bangkok In July this year, a team of six SMU undergraduates participated in the 5th ASEAN Foundation Model ASEAN Meeting (AFMAM) held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Undergraduates in Singapore and China spent the summer learning about each other’s homeland Youths with cross-cultural experiences are able to build better rapport with people from different backgrounds. That was part of the thinking behind the Sino-Singapore Undergraduate Exchange (SSUE), a cultural exchange programme initiated in 2002 by ESM Goh Chok Tong (then-Singapore’s Prime Minister) and Mr Hu Jintao (then-Vice President of the People’s Republic of China).

Professors Lim Ee-Peng and Zhu Feida from the School of Information Systems were recognised at the recent Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD) Awards.