• MOU signed during Singapore President’s state visit to Japan marking 50 years of diplomatic ties
• Partnership expands academic cooperation and deepens collaborations in student and faculty exchange, research and more

Singapore and Tokyo, 1 December 2016 (Thursday) – The Singapore Management University (SMU) has inked an agreement with Kyoto University on 1 December 2016 enhancing academic cooperation and exchange mutually. The MOU signing took place during Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam’s state visit to Japan that marked 50 years of ties between both countries, in the presence of President Tan and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, amongst other leaders.

Under the MOU, SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) and Kyoto University’s (KU) Graduate School of Management (GSM-KU) concluded a five-year agreement to promote the exchange of students, faculty members and research information, and conduct joint research and initiatives. The signatories were Professor Gerry George, Dean of SMU LKCSB, and Professor Kayo Inaba, Executive Vice-President for Gender Equality, International Affairs, and Public Relations.

The pact marks and reflects the growth in breadth and depth of the partnership between SMU and KU – this is the second MOU that SMU has inked with KU. Under the existing student exchange agreement at the undergraduate level between SMU and KU’s Faculty of Economics and Graduate School of Economics, which was established recently in August 2016, SMU has already welcomed KU students at SMU. SMU will be sending its new Global Impact Scholars to KU in the academic year starting August 2018.

Elaborating on the strengthened collaborations, Professor Gerry George, Dean of SMU LKCSB said, “We are pleased to forge deeper partnerships with Kyoto University, which is highly regarded and well established. We share a common goal of working together to generate more significant impact on our community through conducting robust research and nurturing students and faculty, and broadening global exposure for students and our international insights. These will pave the way for many exciting initiatives.”

SMU currently partners 14 Japanese universities and more than 200 university partners, globally. To date, there have been over 400 students who have completed student exchanges between SMU and Japanese universities.

SMU also partners with Japanese corporations in Singapore in translational research. The Fujitsu-SMU Urban Computing and Engineering Corp Lab (UNiCEN) combines SMU’s ongoing research into business analytics and urban management, two of SMU’s five Areas of Excellence, with Fujitsu Laboratories’ leading-edge R&D capabilities to build intelligent systems to address urban challenges.

The MOU contributes to SMU's overall efforts and commitment to forge quality partnerships with leading universities and to nurture globally responsible leaders.

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Media Contacts:

Charlene Liew

Assistant Director, Corporate Communications, Singapore Management University (SMU)

DID:        +65 6828 0020

Email:     charleneliew [at] smu.edu.sg