Thought Leadership

Among the many events and initiatives organised by SMU in celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) in March 2023 was a panel dialogue themed ‘SMU Women at the Forefront of Sustainability’. The panel consisted of leading SMU alumnae who have each played important roles in driving sustainability efforts in their respective fields.

In a post-pandemic world, rocked by geopolitical crises, the future of cities has never been more uncertain. Whatever they should look like in the future, leaders should always place humans and their needs at the forefront of city development, said Professor Lily Kong, SMU President and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences.

The university sector across the globe often comes under attack for offering out-of-date programmes that lack relevance to the needs of industry. But SMU is keeping a step ahead thanks to its key partnerships with industry, according to the Straits Times Education Forum held in partnership with SMU on 10 February. The forum, held online and in person, explored the evolving role of universities in Singapore and beyond.

Singapore’s higher education system may seem to have always punched above its weight for quality teaching, research and innovation. But it has achieved in a mere three or so decades what other countries have taken centuries to develop.

In an increasingly globalised economy, expansion beyond one’s home market helps to unlock revenue potential, diversify one’s customer base and broaden the scope of investment opportunities. For multinational companies with a strong international presence, the next step to cementing their positions in global markets lies in successfully establishing regional headquarters.

Going global is often part of a burgeoning business’ roadmap for scaling up. But while international expansion into new markets can deliver exponential returns, it could also unleash a plethora of complex new challenges – a scenario that is all the more heightened in the cutthroat realm of real estate.

Sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing is on the rise. But with SRI investing called out as “marketing hype” by sceptics like Mr Tariq Fancy, the former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock Inc, the importance of measuring and assessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact on investment is more pertinent now than ever before. 

Covid-19 has touched multiple aspects of daily living and interactions. How can design research, design thinking, and user design help us navigate the many unprecedented challenges we’re faced with in this new normal? Co-organised by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and the SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, The Singapore Creator Awards 2021 webinar — Decoding User Designs in the New Normal, explored these issues, and more, earlier this year.

Influencer marketing has been a leading marketing method of choice for consumer brands in recent years. But has the strategy reached its peak?

From the closure of workplace premises during the Circuit Breaker and adoption of work-from-home and split teams arrangements in 2020, to 75 per cent of employees returning to the workplace in April 2021, before reverting to working from home as a default arrangement just over a month later, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for organisations and employees during the pandemic.