Engaged City University

The new SMU Urban Institute (UI) is dedicated to multi- and inter-disciplinary research on cities in Asia and was launched in response to trends that underscore a critical need to prioritise urban research. These include the rapid urbanisation of many Asian cities, and the need for policymakers to face increasingly complex and pressing challenges when it comes to balancing urban growth with the development of resilient and sustainable cities.

SMU Patron’s Day 2024 saw the annual celebrations given a major boost as crowds of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of SMU came together on SMU’s Campus Green to celebrate the University’s 24th anniversary.

The focus, in line with the University’s Vision 2025, was on environmental protection and sustainable development. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam graced the event, on his first visit as SMU’s Patron. He attended with his spouse, Ms Jane Ittogi.

As a university, SMU has showed continued commitment to creating meaningful impact by engaging with the community and conducting research with direct societal impact. One of the most important considerations for multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore is to ensure that the diverse population lives harmoniously together – an area which overlaps with SMU Assistant Professor of Psychology Jacinth Tan’s research interests in social status and inequality.

Financial services are a key sector of Singapore’s economy, contributing around 14 per cent of our GDP and employing nearly 190,000 workers. It is also a highly competitive and fluid sector – financial crises add to its volatility, while geopolitical risks and technology can create massive challenges. At the same time, every challenge can also present an opportunity – but it is critical to have good leadership for the financial sector.

Will we have planned well enough to live well in our golden years, especially if some form of long-term healthcare is needed? How well do we plan for retirement?

Aligned with SMU’s “Growth in Asia” strategic priority and its continued commitment to provide high-quality education and contribute to regional development, the University inaugurated its latest Overseas Centre in bustling Bangkok, Thailand on 27 October 2023. The establishment of Overseas Centre Bangkok (OCB) marks the University’s second regional presence, with the first launched in Jakarta, Indonesia in December 2022., SMU plans to launch its third Overseas Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam next year.

In a move that's set to ignite the flames of innovation and entrepreneurship across Singapore's higher education landscape, Protégé Ventures (PV), a student-run venture fund programme initiated by the SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE), has unveiled the Marina & David Su Protégé Ventures Fund II.

 SMU holds the 11th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition

 At theThe Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games (WUG), 12 SMU athletes represented Singapore in badminton and shooting, among other sports. As the Chair of the Singapore University Sports Council (SUSC), SMU liaised international sports organisations and took charge of a whole slew of logistical and administrative matters.  

On 13 July 2023, SMU’s Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL) announced the formation of the Asia-Pacific Research Alliance on Law and Sustainability alongside the University of Sydney’s (USyd) Sydney Law School, and The University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) Faculty of Law. This research alliance aims to drive law-focused research and teaching initiatives on achieving sustainability in the Asia-Pacific region and is the first of its kind in this region.