Thought Leadership

SMU President Prof Lily Kong was one of the eminent participants in “Inspiring Inclusion in a fragmented world”, a panel discussion hosted by BlackRock Singapore in celebration of International Women’s Day 2024.

SMU celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) 2024 with a slew of inspiring initiatives, that many women and allies in the SMU community were able to take part in and enjoy.

SMU was again partner and host of The Straits Times Education Forum, which examined the opportunities and challenges around AI, and the critical issues demanding solutions from policymakers, companies, and individuals. Moderated by SMU Professor Lim Sun Sun, it featured Mr Ben King from Google, Mr Tan Kok Yam from SkillsFuture and SMU Asst Prof Jerrold Soh.

At the 3rd annual Sustainability Week Asia, organised by Economist Impact in Bangkok, three of the panels featured SMU’s academics and experts sharing their profound perspectives while exchanging knowledge with other sustainability-minded individuals from various sectors.

Creating sustainable cities demands large initial investments, but the benefits of these sustainable cities often take many years to materialise. This challenge was the inspiration behind the theme for the SMU City Dialogue session hosted on 18 January 2024.

Creating sustainable cities demands large initial investments, but the benefits of these sustainable cities often take many years to materialise. This challenge was the inspiration behind the theme for the SMU City Dialogue session hosted on 18 January 2024.

From August to November 2023, SMU Libraries hosted artist Priyageetha Dia in its inaugural Artist-in-Residence (AiR) programme. She worked on research concerning the communist insurgency during the Malayan Emergency and the role of rubber plantations in the Cold War that was concurrently developing at about the same time.  “This area of study is not only historically rich but also complex, requiring a deep dive into various aspects of political, social, and economic narratives of that era,” she explains.

Finance plays a critical role in supporting nature and biodiversity. In fact, according to a news report by the World Economic Forum back in 2020, around US$44 trillion (about SG$58.6) of economic value generation – more than half of the world’s total GDP – was found to be moderately or highly dependent on nature. It therefore makes sense that governments, organisations, and financial institutions are increasingly recognising the need to account for nature in their strategies and capital allocation decisions.

Active teaching and learning are an important part of nurturing 21st century skillsets that are aligned with evolving industry demands. It is with this belief in mind that SMU organised its inaugural INDEX Symposium.

On 10 November 2023, the Business Families Institute (BFI) held its 10th anniversary conference, “From Succession Planning to Legacy Building”. This acknowledges how family businesses have both supported and benefitted from BFI’s programmes and initiatives. BFI was officially launched by SMU in March 2013 as Southeast Asia’s first regional business-family-centric institute, a few months after it was first established in response to the growing need for research and education.