Transformative Education

The importance of global exposure for future leaders has never been more pressing. The world is changing at a breakneck pace, and an overseas experience during tertiary education helps broaden our view of what's happening elsewhere in this wide-open universe we call home.

With the rise of sustainability and social impact as key priorities in the global economy, there is an urgent need for business educators to reflect these goals in their teaching. The Financial Times has created a new award to recognise business schools making significant contributions to transforming global practices.

The university sector across the globe often comes under attack for offering out-of-date programmes that lack relevance to the needs of industry.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.

Founded on 12 January 2000, SMU has since been at the forefront of higher education as a purveyor of transformative learning and leading-edge research. The University's mission is to equip students with broad-based expertise, and nurture creative and entrepreneurial leaders ready to face real-life challenges in the knowledge-based economy of tomorrow.

The highly anticipated SMU Arts Festival 2021 brought the year to a close with a month-long, multisensorial showcase themed 2GETHER AS 1.

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.

Over many decades, university has been the final stop for many students before they venture into adulthood. It stands as an institution that tests and challenges those who enter, providing them with knowledge to be ready when it matters most-the real world.

As any avid Facebook user might be aware, vlogger Nas Daily has recently been accused of being disrespectful of Filipino culture. He was alleged to have scammed a revered Filipino tattooist into conducting an online course featured on his website, and of being impudent during interactions with another Filipino social entrepreneur.

University campuses — with their sprawling lawns that serve as a heartbeat of a vibrant student body; award-winning architectural monoliths; and cosy seminar rooms that encourage lively debate — are traditionally thought of as physical epicentres for inspiring discovery and thought. Covid-19, however, has transformed higher education the world over, triggering a need to pivot existing institutions, and for educators to delve deep into newer, and sometimes better ways of delivering learning outcomes.

SMU has set digital transformation, sustainable living, and growth in Asia as the three priority areas for the university’s next phase of growth. These priorities will guide the development of SMU’s strategies for realising SMU Vision 2025. Among these strategies are: a continued focus on transformative education and cutting-edge research.