SMU Academic Research PhD Programmes Reaches a Significant Milestone
The SMU academic research PhD programmes reached a significant milestone in June 2018 when it surpassed the 100-graduate mark with the conferment of PhD degrees to its recent batch of graduates. To date, a total of 105 PhD students have graduated from the programmes.
The first academic research PhD programme in SMU, the PhD in Information Systems, was incepted in 2006 and graduated its first student in 2011. Over the years, the PhD programmes have grown to include Accounting, Business, Economics and Psychology.
Professor Robert Deng, Dean of Postgraduate Research Programmes said, “Reaching this milestone is a significant accomplishment for SMU. We are proud of each and every one of the 105 students who have graduated so far. SMU is happy to have trained these high-calibre thought leaders to eventually create or generate highly impactful research and real-world solutions in their respective specialised or multidisciplinary fields.
“It is noteworthy that our graduates have gone on to secure good placements in prestigious academic institutions and industry organisations. Their research has made, and will continue to create, meaningful impact on businesses, public institutions and societies, both locally and internationally.
Graduates of SMU’s academic research PhD programmes can be found working in different countries across the Asia-Pacific (including Singapore), Europe and North America in a variety of fulfilling careers. These include faculty positions and post-doctoral fellowships in leading universities such as Tilburg University in The Netherlands, Tokyo International University in Japan, Carnegie Mellon University in USA, and Zhejiang University in China. A number of them are research specialists in reputable research institutions and industry organisations, such as Alibaba Group in China, Twitter Inc. and Microsoft Research in USA, and Booking.com in The Netherlands. Several of our graduates have also entered into partnerships with businesses looking for entrepreneurship opportunities.
Caption: Academic rigour, strong support and a nurturing environment are some of the key strengths of SMU’s academic research PhD programmes.
SMU’s academic research PhD programmes prides itself for its ability to prepare its students to become world-class academic or industry thought leaders in their respective specialised and multidisciplinary fields of study. Our programmes provide opportunities for deeper integration across Management, Social Science and Computing, including participating in research and teaching teams at the schools, research centres and institutes in SMU, working alongside internationally-renowned faculty members who are experts in their specialised fields.
In addition, our PhD students are provided with strong support, such as being equipped with teaching and presentation skills, as well as by being given the opportunities to share their research with the international research communities.
Being a city campus, our students have easy access to industry partners who provide research data and validation platforms. Also, our students have access to the most up-to-date proprietary and published databases.
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What our recent graduates say about their PhD experience at SMU “I have benefited immensely from the strong support by the experienced faculty members in the Marketing department. Their advice and feedback are instrumental in nurturing independence, discipline and rigour in my research. More importantly, the SMU PhD programme has also been very supportive in providing the necessary resources and opportunities to assist me in both my research and my career. The experienced faculty members, coupled with the supportive PhD programme, are what makes doing a PhD at SMU unique.” - Leon Gim LIM, PhD in Business (Marketing) Graduate, 2018 “My pedagogical experiences at SMU have helped me develop a strong passion in research and teaching. The faculty members constantly provide a nurturing environment to support their students to develop their academic skills. The continuous support has guided me to produce a number of impactful scientific findings published in top journals.” - Andree HARTANTO, PhD in Psychology Graduate, 2018 “The Double-Supervisor System of the PhD in Information Systems programme provided me with a more liberal research environment. It has trained me as an interdisciplinary researcher. The positive and enthusiastic spirit of research and teaching at the SMU School of Information Systems has taught me a lot; I believe this spirit will benefit me in my future academic career.” - Jing REN, PhD in Information Systems Graduate, 2018 |
Featured photo: Professor Yu Jun from the School of Economics engaging with his PhD students in a discussion.