In the Question and Answer session at the Straits Time Education Forum, organised in partnership with SMU, a member of the audience said, “Due to the competitive mindset of the current society, especially in a country like Singapore, a lot of us focus on getting a top grade. Does that, in the end, have a negative effect on our personal and social development in university?” SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer answered, “I think grades are important as they tell you something about what you're good and bad at. But pursuing grades is wrong. To be competitive is okay, because the world is competitive. It actually prepares you for a competitive world. In the professional world, not everybody will get a pass grade. Some of us will do better than others. It is an obligation, I think, for the university to give you a feeling of where you're standing among your peers.”