Local unis focus on efforts that benefit society

SMU Provost Professor Lily Kong was interviewed for an article which discussed how SMU, NUS and NTU are building their Singapore identity and giving back to the country. She noted that one answer is to pursue research that matters to Singapore and the region. "Universities are part of the community they are located in... It is important that... what we do feeds back into society," Prof Kong said. For instance, SMU has identified five areas of research that are relevant to Singapore - finance, analytics, innovation and entrepreneurship, ageing and healthcare management as well as urban management and sustainability. There is also a big focus on applied research which will have a more direct impact on society. Prof Kong noted that about 40 per cent of SMU's faculty are doing this, and academics who do more "blue skies" or theoretical work are also encouraged to do applied research - even if it does less for their international reputation. "Applied work is more difficult to publish internationally because it's about local issues. It's the work that may not get cited as much," she said. "So universities have to be conscious... that we also recognise and reward this work."