Dear SMU community, 

I am delighted to be writing to you on my first day as Chairman of the SMU Board of Trustees. While I’ve been on the Board for much of last year, I’ll be the first to confess that I’m still in active learning mode, and therefore any comments I make are likely to be half-baked! Nevertheless, since first days don’t come very often, I thought it worthwhile to pen a few early thoughts. 

I really want to make three overarching observations:

A. I am in awe 

As I get my mind around what SMU has been able to achieve in its short 23-year history, I cannot help being awed by the pace and scope of its achievements. Universities take decades, if not centuries, to build the brand and gain the recognition that SMU has done so quickly.  

While we may not (yet) have all the global rankings that some of our peers do, that is mostly a matter of size. In fact, several of our individual specialisations already have significant global recognition. On the other hand, the University has done a wonderful job of nurturing multiple batches of young men and women who join the workforce as well-rounded, confident, eloquent and creative leaders. As an employer, I have always marvelled at the complete package that SMU creates, and this is truly distinctive. SMU is also making a global impact with its innovative pedagogy, as well as its emphasis on high-quality research that addresses Asian issues of global relevance.  

It’s quite clear that all of us owe a great debt of gratitude to Ho Kwon Ping, our founding father and Chairman of the Board over this entire period. Not often does an individual have such outsize impact, not just in determining the directions and fortunes of an institution of this nature, but in fact, of the landscape of higher education for a whole country in the process. Kwon Ping, along with the current and past leadership of SMU, has laid a fantastic foundation for us to build on, and on behalf of myself and the entire board, deserves our deepest thanks! 

B. We have a lot more headroom 

It goes without saying that the job is never done, and we have a lot more to do in the normal course. New pedagogy, new programmes, better research… these are, and will be, par for the course. But the truth is that we are in a time of unprecedented change, and what got us here will not necessarily be adequate in our next phase.  

Over the past few years, as a business leader, I have tried to encapsulate this change under three simplistic heads: the shift in the centre of gravity towards Asia, the technological (especially digitisation of everything and progress in artificial intelligence) revolution, and the sustainability agenda (both people and planet).  

Each of these changes has profound implications on us as human beings and as societies. They require us to learn completely new things, but also require us to start revisiting moral and ethical questions about right and wrong, and the very future of our species. Playing around with Chat GPT over the last few weeks shows us how close the machine is to human intelligence already; reflecting on the unprecedented climate changes around the world reminds us that if we don’t act with urgency, we might see some pretty cataclysmic outcomes.  

I am heartened that Lily and the University have already built these focus areas into our vision and strategic agenda, and even launched a Sustainability Blueprint in September last year. However, I do think we will have to continue upping our game, including in the area of research, focusing on the thousands of conundrums and unresolved questions that these changes will bring with them. 

C. The future is about the ‘how’, not just the ‘what’ 

In some ways, the way that work gets done today – whether it be in corporations or in universities – is not very different from a century ago. But it is obvious that the approaches and underlying processes were built for a different technology and world environment. Hierarchical structures, learning by rote and strict disciplinary boundaries all made sense in a world where information was at a premium, and ability to scale was limited.  

Fast forward to today, and it’s obvious that the constraints have disappeared. Today’s world calls for participative work, ‘agile-at-scale’ approaches, and thinking horizontally across disciplines and silos, instead of vertically alone.  

SMU’s pedagogy has always been aligned to this new world. In recent times, initiatives like SMU-X and the CIS are specific efforts in this direction. However, my sense is that we could do more. Our status as a ‘city university’ provides a fantastic platform for collaboration, not just within our own schools but also with industry at large. Our recent efforts at regional outreach are exciting, and should help us create cross-border connectivity as well. 

I am excited about my role, and the incredible platform I inherit. I look forward to working with the SMU Board of Trustees and with Lily and the management team to take SMU to even greater heights.  

Let me close by thanking all of you. Your commitment, dedication and love for SMU have brought the University this far. I am grateful for all that you are doing, and look forward to meeting and interacting with all of you at upcoming university events and platforms. 

Warmest regards,

Piyush Gupta 
Chairman 
Board of Trustees 
Singapore Management University