Very soon, all undergraduate and postgraduate students taking finance-related programmes at the Singapore Management University (SMU) will have access to investment and financial market-related contents from Singapore Exchange (SGX) Academy, as well as SGX’s investor resource portal, My Gateway, as part of the University’s business curriculum.

This was made possible by a partnership which was officially sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 21 August 2013 between SMU and SGX.

[Photo: Dr Christopher Ting, SMU's Associate Professor of Quantitative Finance, demonstrating how SMU students get hands-on trading experience within SMU’s Simulated Trading Room.]

Focusing on listed securities, the collaboration will not only benefit SMU students but also enhance the investment knowledge of investment professionals and the public, as SMU and SGX will jointly launch the SMU-SGX Quantitative Trading Course in October this year.  This short-term training programme will be open to SMU students and the public, in particular, traders who want to find new trading strategies.

Designed and delivered by faculty members of the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business in conjunction with industry partners, the course will give participants hands-on trading experience within SMU’s Simulated Trading Room.  This course will also be open to participants from the ASEAN region, in line with Singapore’s role as an international financial centre and SGX’s position as the Asian Gateway.

In addition, the partners plan to join efforts to increase research and resources for the investing and trading communities.

[Photo: Professor Howard Thomas, Dean of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, speaking to guests at the MOU signing ceremony.]

On the new partnership, Professor Howard Thomas, Dean of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, said, “The collaboration with SGX exemplifies our strategy to make SMU’s research and brand of education relevant to the industry.  The live-feed market data to our classroom will create an exciting learning experience for our students.  In time to come, I see great potential in this collaboration which will produce significant results that impact and transform the financial industry.”

“At a time when investors want to be better informed about investing in financial markets, this collaboration with SMU allows us to offer knowledge for beginners right through to professionals.  By adding SGX content to the university’s business curriculum, we will help new graduates prepare to enter the workforce and be more confident in their investment decisions,” commented Lynn Gaspar, Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Investors at SGX.

[Featured Photo: Professor Howard Thomas, Dean, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, and Lynn Gaspar, Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Investors from SGX at the MOU signing ceremony held at SMU.]