Time to rethink our higher education in Singapore and set our own agenda

09 Aug 2023

In this commentary by SMU President and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor Lily Kong, she discussed how Singapore’s universities, while young, have garnered significant recognition in Asia and globally. She believes that it is now suitable to relinquish the fixation on benchmarking achievements against universities elsewhere as the only or even primary measure of success. Catering to academic, intellectual, or policy audiences in other parts of the world seems to fall short of what local universities should aspire towards. In education, addressing skills gaps in transforming economies, building connections and networks among the next generation, and upskilling and reskilling the workforce all require sensitivity to local and regional economic needs in order for universities to contribute in targeted ways. She added that collaborations should also extend beyond academia to encompass industry, with a focus on addressing challenges faced by business, government, and society. One such example is Dell Technologies’ collaboration with SMU, the SIT, NP and SP in 2021 to co-develop curriculum in emerging technologies like cloud computing, data analytics, the Internet of Things and digital cities management, in ways relevant to Singapore.