Curriculum

The world in which we work has undergone significant changes, marked by a surge in the adoption of digital tools. Furthermore, the complexities of conducting business have grown in a globalised economy, adding to the challenges that legal professionals must address to stand out in a fast-evolving landscape. Striving to ensure that students graduate with a future-ready foundation, SMU’s Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL) regularly updates its curriculum to ensure it meets new and future challenges.

The robots are coming. Indeed, in many cases, they are already here — tech-enabled automation has taken over many manual, routine tasks across industries including accounting, and that will continue to happen at an accelerating rate.

SMU is recognised twice for its groundbreaking business education, at the annual Reimagine Education Awards & Conference. Imagine guest speakers from halfway across the world delivering a classroom address – via a holographic avatar; or students taking in a lecture right at their desks during lunch – instead of fighting rush hour traffic to get to night classes every other day of the week.

For the first TY Lee Mindfulness Distinguished Lecture Series 2019, distinguished psychologist Dr Steven Hickman explored the value and practice of mindfulness and how it can help to shape a happier future. With rapid technological advancement and socio-political turmoil roiling the world today, it’s not surprising that a pervasive sense of isolation is on the rise. That probably explains why mindfulness has become the subject of increasing attention in recent years.

Tan Kar Way, the winner of the 2019 Innovative Teacher Award, spent years refining her teaching methodology. She explains the experiences and goals that shaped her meticulous approach.

From August 2019, students in all six SMU schools can prepare for the world of big data by taking up this second major The only constant is change — this adage has never been more apt, with traditional industries now being upended by technology all over the world. A new generation increasingly finds themselves in jobs that didn’t exist just a few years ago, and what careers of the future will look like is anyone’s guess.

With Globalisation 4.0 in motion, the waves of connectivity and digital transformation that it rides on are set to revolutionise the way we do things.

In recent years, e-commerce, data analytics, artificiaI intelligence and machine learning have made the quantum leap from being mere buzzwords to real revenue-generating technologies: a fact borne out by a 2018 study by US management consultancy Bain & Co which found that digitalisation could grow the Asean gross domestic product by an estimated SGD 1 trillion by 2025.

Beyond infiltrating the business lexicon, the notion of sustainability is becoming a part of business strategy. After all, all signs are pointing towards a focus on sustainability in businesses: from government-led initiatives to create infrastructure that addresses the problems of climate change, to growing consumer demand for sustainable brands. It is becoming more important for organisations to embrace and promote sustainability on environmental, social and economic fronts as a long-term business game plan.

It has come to a point where it is no longer enough for tertiary education institutions to be producing a workforce that will be mere cogs in the machine that is our society. Instead, in a time of climate change, political uncertainty and rapid technological advancements, universities are now expected to produce future-ready global citizens who have the vision and drive to make a meaningful social impact.