According to SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer during a plenary session at the inaugural World Academic Summit, four new universities – with space for 25,000 students each – would have to be built every week for the next 20 years. This is assuming the world's population grows to nine billion, with a fifth opting for higher education, he said. And this is why more universities are venturing out of their home countries and setting up campuses abroad, or starting joint programmes with local universities. But as this trend grows, Prof De Meyer noted that "there will be a lot of failures". Without naming them, he referred to foreign institutions that have come to Singapore and left, due to "difficult business models". Prof De Meyer said that it takes hard work and well-thought-out implementation to overcome such challenges. For instance, prestigious institutions have to find ways to "preserve" their brand at overseas campuses. He added that the "international capabilities" of university leaders must also improve, and faculty members should not just be "a portfolio of passports" but people with global mindsets.