As SMU turns 15 this year, SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer said that the University will play a larger role in national-level research on topics like urban sustainability and ageing. The University received $60 million in research funding last year for such projects, and is now involved in 10 large-scale ones. Prof De Meyer said that as a young university, SMU used to be very discipline-oriented, but real-world problems are usually an interaction of different problems from different disciplines. He pointed out that the idea was to have many more of these large contracts, where they mobilise groups of faculty members around problems that are aligned with the needs of Singapore, and involve the PhD and undergraduate students in these projects. Prof De Meyer said that SMU will also continue to improve its learning model, and expressed his hope to see SMU playing its part as a "city campus" by working with the museums in the area.