The Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Australian National University (ANU) have elevated their long-standing relationship to a strategic partnership, signaling a new era of collaboration between these two leading city universities in the Asia-Pacific. The agreement, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by SMU President Professor Lily Kong and ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Genevieve Bell, aims to deepen cooperation in the key areas of digital transformation, sustainable living, and Asia-focused growth.
The strategic elevation comes after a decade of successful collaboration between the universities, which began in 2014. With this new framework, SMU and ANU will harness complementary strengths to jointly address pressing societal issues over the next five years. The focus of cooperation will include law, governance, sustainability, urban transformation, and technology, and their intersections.
The partnership reflects a shared vision between the two universities, which are active proponents of an interdisciplinary and systems approach to tackling societal challenges. Furthermore, both universities are aligned in seeking to bridge regions and transcend boundaries – borders, cultures and disciplines – in education and research, for impact.
First Steps: A Global Forum on the Digital Economy
A major initiative under the new partnership will be the ANU-SMU Global Digital Economy Forum, co-hosted by SMU's Yong Pung How School of Law and ANU’s College of Law on 26-27 November 2024 in Singapore. The event will bring together global experts to address the regulatory and legal challenges of the digital economy, aiming to shape a research agenda that is both forward-looking and responsive to industry needs. The two law schools have also committed to seed-funding joint research projects emerging from this forum, reinforcing their commitment to practical, actionable scholarship.
Strengthening a Global Network
This agreement marks SMU’s fourth strategic partnership with a global city university, after HEC Paris in 2021, the University of Toronto in 2022, and Chulalongkorn University in 2023. Through thematic collaborations aligned with SMU’s Vision 2025, SMU works with strategic partners to enhance collective reach, knowledge and impact on business, government and society by addressing societal challenges in Asia and beyond.
As SMU and ANU look to the future, their collaboration promises to contribute significantly to shaping the digital and sustainable transformations of the region—creating new pathways for knowledge exchange and societal progress.
