Singapore – 10 March 2021 (Wednesday) - Companies are increasingly adopting innovative ways of doing business based on advances in digital technology. This integration of digital technology to fundamentally change how businesses deliver value has led to a wave of businesses embarking on what has been referred to as digital business transformation.

In Singapore, guiding companies across sectors to adopt digital technology is one of the key drivers of digital transformation as identified by the Government.  Equipping the workforce with the necessary knowledge and skills would be critical step towards achieving this.  Most recently, on 2 March 2021, the Government also announced a new initiative called the Digital Leaders Programme to be launched next month to help promising local companies to speed up their efforts to transform digitally.

It is therefore timely that Singapore Management University (SMU) will, from Academic Year (AY) 2021-2022 (which begins in August 2021), offer a new second major in Digital Business, to train a pipeline of talent with the necessary knowledge and skills to support the country’s business digital transformation demands across industries. This is the first such undergraduate major in Singapore.

The second major will be jointly offered by Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) and School of Computing & Information Systems (SCIS).  The collaboration leverages SCIS’ strength in delivering more technical courses and LKCSB’s forte and focus on the application of digital technologies to business. Both Schools will also jointly curate courses relevant to digital business.

This much anticipated second major aims to produce graduates who are able to apply basic programming skills, and have a good understanding of the different digital technologies in use, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, analytics, mobile networks, social media, and the Internet of Things. At the same time, the graduates will know how to apply these digital technologies to various business functions in order to create value.

Professor Venky Shankararaman, SMU’s Vice Provost (Undergraduate Matters), said, “In an increasingly complex world, a multi-disciplinary education is immensely valuable.  The Digital Business second major offers a rare opportunity for students with an aptitude in business and technology to be trained and well-prepared for a fast-changing world.”

“As the industry moves along the broader plan promulgated by the government, we are starting to see strong marketplace demand for graduates familiar with a grounding in the business disciplines, an affinity for technology, some coding and software development skills, and data analytic skills.  We are confident that the ability to use and apply digital technologies in the business context is going to be an advantage that can give our graduates an edge when seeking employment,” he added.

Students from AY2019-2020 intake onwards will be eligible for this second major. The major, which is offered to students from all SMU Schools, will be launched in August 2021, at which point students from AY2019-2020 intake will be entering the third year of their programme. We expect approximately 40 students to declare the new second major in its first year of launch.

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Enclosures:

• Annex 1: About the Digital Business second major – Curriculum
• Annex 2: Digital Business second major - Course Descriptions