SMU and LSE formalise institutional partnership to advance research on cities, work, and ageing
With cities around the world growing larger and more densely populated, populations ageing and technology changing the workplace, it is growing increasingly important to work towards solutions that travel across borders.
On 19 January 2026, SMU and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) took a decisive step in that direction, announcing a new institutional partnership designed to support sustained collaboration in research and education.
The partnership was formalised through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marking a significant expansion of an already active relationship between the two institutions.
At its core: a shared commitment to addressing complex social challenges through interdisciplinary research and global engagement.
SMU President Professor Lily Kong described the partnership as a natural progression in the relationship between the two universities.
“We are pleased with the elevation of the SMU–LSE partnership to an institutional level,” she said. “This…strategic fund will support rigorous, joint interdisciplinary research by our faculty across both institutions that addresses societal challenges in longevity, the future of work, and urban sustainability. We look forward to advancing scholarship and engagement that deliver meaningful impact for communities in Singapore, the UK and beyond”.
Strategic research funding with a global focus
The MoU establishes a structured platform for academic cooperation, enabling scholars from both universities to work together in areas of shared strategic importance. Rather than a single initiative, the agreement creates the conditions for ongoing exchange of expertise, perspectives, and institutional strengths.
Its first concrete outcome is the launch of a joint strategic research seed fund, intended to support early-stage projects with the potential for long-term impact. The fund reflects a belief that rigorous research often begins with modest, well-supported ideas, particularly when they draw on diverse disciplinary traditions.
The inaugural seed fund is open to researchers from all schools and research centres at SMU and LSE. It will provide up to S$25,000 per project for SMU Principal Investigators and up to £15,000 per project for their counterparts at LSE.
Funding will prioritise projects aligned with three themes of pressing global relevance: Urban Sustainability; Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work; and Longevity and Healthy Ageing. Each proposal must involve at least one researcher from each institution, reinforcing the partnership’s emphasis on genuine collaboration.
At SMU, these themes are supported by the Urban Institute, the Resilient Workforces Institute, and the upcoming Longevity Societies and Economies Institute. The fund is designed to support both new research relationships and the further development of existing ones.
Building on a track record of collaboration
The institutional partnership builds on a series of recent joint initiatives that have demonstrated the value of closer ties between SMU and LSE.
Most recently, SMU collaborated with LSE’s Long Life Venture Builder (LLVB) programme, led by LSE Generate and the LSE Global School of Sustainability, through the SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (IIE).
This collaboration saw LSE extending offers to three SMU IIE-incubated teams to participate in the LLVB programme. In addition, up to four SMU students will enjoy internship opportunities from May to August 2026.
In July 2025, the SMU Urban Institute and LSE’s Department of Geography and Environment jointly launched the Global Alliance on Sustainable Urban Societies. Boston University, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Toronto joined as founding members, signalling the alliance’s ambition to shape international conversations on urban development.
In a higher education landscape shaped by uncertainty and rapid change, the SMU–LSE partnership reflects a shared understanding that complex problems rarely yield to isolated efforts.
As the first research projects take shape under the new seed fund, the partnership offers a clear signal of intent: to move beyond exchange, towards sustained cooperation that responds to the realities of a changing world.
