[15 January 2010]
Asia's first university of the millennium celebrates 10 years of education
Singapore, 15 January 2010 – Singapore Management University (SMU) today marks the new decade of the 21st century with its 10th Anniversary Celebrations on its Patron's Day 2010.
SMU Patron, His Excellency Mr S R Nathan, President of Singapore, graces the evening celebrations, commemorating the occasion along with Minister for Education, Dr Ng Eng Hen, invited guests, and SMU students, staff, faculty and alumni.
His Excellency, President Nathan, said, “SMU has come a long way since it started in 2000. With a state-of-the-art city campus, an experienced and committed faculty, as well as a holistic curriculum, SMU has rapidly made a mark for itself with graduates who are confident, articulate and equipped with the skills to excel in a rapidly changing and dynamic world. The University has also produced some students who have a strong sense of social responsibility and who are generous in giving back to the University and society through various ways, ranging from setting up scholarships and bursaries for fellow students, helping the disadvantaged here and elsewhere, to the protection of wildlife. SMU has achieved much in just a few short years. I congratulate SMU on your 10th anniversary, and wish the University many more successful years ahead.”
Entering the higher education space as the first government-funded private university on 12 January 2000, SMU has been dubbed a “change agent” and a catalyst for innovation, redefining the university landscape in Singapore in the last decade. Engendering an entrepreneurial spirit, SMU grew rapidly in a short span of time and pioneered a number of firsts - from its hallmark American-styled pedagogy of small, interactive seminar-style classes, holistic admissions system, broad-based curriculum, global-oriented education, multi-disciplinary learning and research, to its autonomy in university governance and administration and ability to impact society meaningfully.
From some 300 students and one school in a single building, today SMU has some 7,000 undergraduates and post-graduates, and six schools in its 4.5-hectare city campus. As testimony that SMU's unique pedagogy and goal to groom outstanding business leaders and creative entrepreneurs with a strong sense of social responsibility has worked, close to 100% of the university's 5,000 alumni found employment upon graduation and remain sought-after by employers across industries. Many of the alumni have even started businesses of their own and also applied the ethos of contributing back to society in their personal and professional lives.
With a firm foundation for undergraduate education in place, faculty across its six schools and 16 research centres and institutes continue to generate new practical knowledge through research. Twelve master's programmes in areas such as wealth management, applied economics and Singapore's first Juris Doctor programme and five PhD programmes, enable the advancement of knowledge and education. The level of research generated, shared and applied by an institution the size of SMU reflects its impact on, and successful interface with, the business community and society around its city campus.
“A university is built on the simple idea of people coming together to learn more about the world and to make it a better place. In less than a decade, SMU has grown from an idea on the drawing board to a vibrant university known for generating new practical research and educating future leaders who can respond in a rapidly changing world. I am truly proud to have been associated with this university in one way or another for almost eight years; five and a half as President. I hope that those gathered 90 years from now to mark the centennial of SMU will be pleased with the foundation established in this first decade as they celebrate the birthday of one of the world's leading research and teaching universities,” said Professor Howard Hunter, President, SMU.
“We have come a long way in ten years, bringing university education to a new threshold but we would not have been able to do it without the support and conviction of so many of you – our students and alumni, faculty, staff, parents, employers, donors, partners and friends from the government and private sectors, and the wider public. Thank you. However, a decade is just a blip in the history of a university. We must uphold the SMU spirit that has brought us this far and remember who we exist for, who we serve, and what we stand for,” said Mr Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman, SMU Board of Trustees.
SMU's 10th Anniversary Celebrations kick off with the arrival of President Nathan at 6pm. Invited to take a walk down memory lane with SMU student leaders and experience the vibrant life of an SMU undergraduate, he will be presented his very own SMU matriculation card and a gift specially created for him by SMU students. Tributes are made to the resourceful and determined Development Taskforce, led by SMU founding Chairman Mr Ho Kwon Ping, for their shaping of the university today; to then-Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, for his vision for SMU to be a different university; as well as to friends, supporters and donors of the university. Capping the special evening on a high note are the screening of a commemorative video specially produced by an SMU student, celebratory student performances, as well as the release of three giant balloons, bearing well-wishes for the university from the SMU community and guests, five metres into the air.
SMU celebrates its 10th Anniversary throughout 2010 with forums, lecture series, conferences and many other major events. Alumni and students have also initiated a car decal campaign and interactive web pages, where students, alumni, staff, faculty as well as friends and supporters of the university can all celebrate throughout the year by contributing well-wishes and anecdotes, photographs or videos of their memories at SMU.
Annex 1 – SMU Facts and Figures
Annex 2 – SMU Milestones
Annex 3 – 10th Anniversary Celebrations Programme
Annex 4 – 10th Anniversary Celebrations alumni and student campaigns
About SMU Patron's Day
SMU was incorporated on 12 January 2000. Celebrated with its patron, President S R Nathan on campus, the university's birthday has been designated Patron's Day. A much-anticipated annual celebratory tradition for the SMU community, Patron's Day is held on a Friday in the middle of January each year.