The SMU Office of Industry Engagement (OIE) is the first stop for companies, government sectors and professional bodies to holistically explore the various partnership opportunities across SMU. Our team works closely with partners to understand their interests and needs to identify the best engagement opportunities that meet their requirements.
Whether it be the building of a talent pipeline, tapping on SMU's expertise, leveraging our networks and resources, or simply wanting to give back, OIE is committed to providing a seamless platform to connect our partners to the right parties in SMU (and beyond) to create meaningful partnerships that have a lasting impact. By partnering with SMU, businesses have the opportunity to gain access to a wealth of knowledge, resources, and networks, while making a positive impact on the future of education.
Catherine Chong
Director
Email: catherinec@smu.edu.sg | Connect on LinkedIn
Catherine leads the engagement with industry partners and government sectors with a shared vision for growth to holistically support their transformation journey through strategic access to the University’s talent, expertise, technologies, and resources. She is responsible for developing the University’s Industry Engagement Strategy and fostering meaningful partnerships that supports the University’s strategic ambitions in creating positive impact in the world.
Catherine has been in Business Development throughout her career, starting at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) from 2007 to 2014, driving industry development in the Consumer Businesses Sector as well as attracting high-net-worth individuals to invest in Singapore before joining the Health Promotion Board (HPB), where she led in the development of healthier food policies and industry incentive schemes to promote food industries to develop healthier food products from 2014 to 2018. She was with Johnson and Johnson’s Human Performance Institute from 2018 to 2019 to promote wellness solutions to corporations in Asia Pacific before returning to public service in 2019 at the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) as the Business Development Director to drive research investments from 2019 to 2022.
Catherine holds a Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Science) with Honours, from the National University of Singapore (NUS), with a Minor in Technopreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania, USA (co awarded with NUS through the NUS Overseas College programme). She was also part of the University Scholar’s Programme (USP) at NUS.
Nelson Ng
Associate Director
Email: nelsonng@smu.edu.sg | Connect on LinkedIn
Nelson is responsible for identifying and engaging industry partners and government sectors with a shared vision for growth to holistically support their transformation journey by tapping on the University’s talent, expertise, and technologies. He is leading the efforts to harmonize and standardize Industry Engagement activities across the University to enhance the experience for partners working with SMU.
Before joining SMU, Nelson led the APAC degree business development of the Edtech company Emeritus Institute of Management. In this role, he leveraged his strong understanding of the higher education framework to ensure students received a high-quality online education experience with top-ranked universities and programs that are accessible and affordable to all learners.
Nelson has 16 years of experience in the Australian education sector. In his role with the University of South Australia, he oversaw developing and implementing international strategies for new programs, industry engagement, and research collaborations in the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Nelson graduated with a Bachelor of Information Technology from the Queensland University of Technology and was a recipient of the Australia Endeavour Executive Fellowship in 2014.
Phoebe Pua
Manager
Email: phoebepua@smu.edu.sg | Connect on LinkedIn
Phoebe is responsible for engaging and supporting industry partners and government sectors interested to work with the University for its talent, expertise, and technologies. She is leading the development of the SMU Partnerships Concierge, a dedicated platform for external partners to access partnership opportunities and navigate and reach out to the relevant teams. Additionally, she supports the VP of Partnerships & Engagement to coordinate a wide range of strategic outreach initiatives with the aim of fostering meaningful connections between SMU and the world beyond.
Prior to joining SMU in 2023, Phoebe was an academic researcher of media and culture in Southeast Asia. She was the Mentor of the 2022 Singapore International Film Festival’s Youth Critics Program and Editor of the festival’s inaugural publication, Atlas. She continues sharing her love for independent cinema as a film programmer, most recently collaborating with Objectifs Film and Photography Centre in Singapore and the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan in South Korea.
Phoebe graduated with a Master of Philosophy in Film Studies from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Arts with honours in English Literature from the National University of Singapore.
Valeria Choo
Personal Assistant
Email: valeriachoo@smu.edu.sg
Valeria lends critical support to VP of Partnerships & Engagement and Director of Office of Industry Engagement. In addition to supporting office administrative duties, she also supports the office for events and outreach activities.
She previously worked at the Singapore University of Technology & Design as Executive Assistant to the Dean and brings over 12 years of administrative experience in supporting senior executives in project coordination, meetings and events management. She is a fitness enthusiast and enjoys participating in ultra-trail races and marathons.