[Beijing, April 12, 2013] – A senior delegation from the Singapore Management University (SMU) led by President Professor Arnoud De Meyer visited Peking University, and is signing  a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tsinghua University in Beijing. The new partnership aims to improve academic education and research through the annual exchange of students over a period of three years between Tsinghua School of Economics and Management and SMU’s School of Accounting, School of Economics and Lee Kong Chian School of Business.^[1]

Beijing is the second stop of SMU’s weeklong China visit that started in Shanghai at Fudan University and Shanghai Jiaotong University, and will continue to Sichuan University in Chengdu. During the visit, SMU will engage in meetings with university heads, MOU signings as well as keynote lectures to university faculty and students.

With strengths in single and multi-disciplinary research, close links with the corporate sector in Asia and distinguished teaching, SMU generates cutting edge research with a global impact and produces broad-based, creative and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy. Of SMU’s faculty, 80 per cent hold PhDs from top universities around the world, and among international authoritative academic rankings, SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business and School of Economics are ranked 3^rd in Asia^[2]. Additionally, the University is ranked 1^st in Asia and 10^th worldwide in accounting^[3], and 2^nd in Asia and 25^th worldwide in finance^[4].  The University, through its Lee Kong Chian School of Business and School of Accountancy, has also earned accreditation from AACSB International and EQUIS for its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.^[5]

Professor Arnoud De Meyer said; “With a vision to become a premier university for the World of Business and Management, SMU has been committed to working with the world’s top universities in combining our strengths to create educational and research collaborations. Over the years, we have established strong partnerships with many distinguished universities in the United States, Europe and Asia. By way of this trip, I am happy to reinforce our China ties. This is to strengthen our international reputation and brand in this part of the world. I firmly believe that our collaboration with Tsinghua University will add great momentum to our endeavour.”

Currently, SMU has collaborations with leading educational institutions which include the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Carnegie Mellon University; Booth School of Business, University of Chicago; Babson College and Stanford Graduate School of Business in the United States. In Europe, SMU has also established partnerships with Swiss Finance Institute (Switzerland); University of St. Gallen (Switzerland); Cass Business School, City University London (United Kingdom); as well as the five institutions under the prestigious THEMIS law network^[6]; among others.