Bridging academia and industry through experiential education

Thought leaders and educators from across the globe convened in Hong Kong for the highly anticipated INDEX Symposium 2025, co-hosted by SMU. It explored how industry partnerships, interdisciplinary learning and global collaboration can better equip students for the evolving workforce.

Held from 4 to 7 March 2025, SMU’s fellow hosts were The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, and the event saw participants from Canada, China, Hong Kong, Iraq, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore and Thailand.

Themed “Future-Ready Global Business Education: Enhancing Experiential Learning Through Industry and Interdisciplinary Collaboration”, this second edition built on the success of the inaugural edition held in Singapore in 2023.

For this edition, SMU-X joined forces with CUHK Business School to expand this global dialogue, reaffirming the University’s commitment to advancing experiential education through interdisciplinary partnerships.

Professor Timothy Clark, then-SMU Provost, said in his opening address: “At SMU, we have witnessed how hands-on, project-based learning bridges the gap between academia and the real world. But the responsibility to innovate learning models does not rest with any single institution; it is a collective endeavour, and that is why INDEX exists.”

Prof Clark emphasised the collective responsibility of innovative learning models, a view that was shared by the leadership at CUHK Business School.

Professor Zhou Lin, Dean of CUHK Business School, reiterated that, “It is important to transform educational approaches to keep pace with the rapidly changing world and provide opportunities for students to excel.

“The INDEX Symposium is a platform for sharing our experiences and learning from each other, aiming to make experiential learning more widespread and successful.”

Dr Fred Ku, Associate Dean of CUHK Business School, added, “This gathering underscored the immense value of cross-institutional collaboration, where diverse perspectives and shared expertise converge to innovate and enrich our educational approaches.”

The importance of experiential learning and its challenges

During the Symposium, representatives from the SMU-X Office and SMU’s Centre for Global Education & Opportunities shared valuable insights into scaling experiential learning across disciplines.

One of the key topics covered during the event was the transformative journey of SMU-X over the past decade – the programme’s milestones and the impact it has had on both students and industry partners.

Other topics included innovative approaches that can enhance student engagement and creativity; how to extend experiential learning to adult learnings through various lifelong learning programmes; and the integration of hands-on, interdisciplinary learning across diverse fields and international programmes, fostering cross-cultural competencies and real-world problem-solving.

The discussions also addressed challenges that exist, such as balancing faculty research with industry collaborations, aligning stakeholder expectations, and building sustainable global partnerships. To address these challenges, solutions such as the creation of flexible engagement models and the use of technology to enhance scalability were proposed.

Besides these challenges and potential solutions, the symposium tackled other critical challenges in advancing experiential learning, like keeping a balance between faculty research and industry challenge, as well as managing stakeholder expectations. Speakers also emphasised the importance of building sustainable global partnerships so that cross-border learning can be enhanced. 

See also: Bridging classrooms and careers through innovative and experiential education | SMU Newsroom.