18 July, 2025 | SMU celebrates a new milestone in its history, as its community service programme reaches its 25th anniversary. The university made headlines in 2000 as the first local institution to mandate both community service and internship as graduation requirements, embedding social responsibility into every graduate.
Celebrating its silver jubilee this year, SMU has consistently championed community engagement as a cornerstone of its educational mission. “Community service is integral to SMU’s identity and our commitment to providing students with a holistic education that fosters a culture of giving back. As we celebrate 25 years of transformative impact, we are proud to see our newest students embrace the values that have defined SMU since our founding,” said Professor Paulin Straughan, SMU’s Dean of Students. “SMU has always been at the forefront of integrating co-curricular activities into the higher education experience. We believe that education goes beyond the classroom – experiential learning through community service, internships, and global experiences enables students to apply academic knowledge in real-world settings while fostering both personal and professional growth.”
All SMU undergraduates are required to complete a minimum of 80 hours of community service. Last year’s Class of 2024 graduates completed an average of 103 hours by the end of their degrees, with 81 percent exceeding the minimum 80-hour requirement. Over the past 25 years, SMU students have collectively contributed more than 4.2 million hours of community service with over 14,500 individual and group projects done both in Singapore and overseas1.
Empowering Diverse Communities
This year also marked a new record for the university’s largest-ever community service programme, with over 2,000 freshmen partaking in half-day community service activities during the SMU Freshmen Orientation Programme 2025. Themed “SMU is our Playground,” the programme will span three orientation runs in July.
"This orientation programme gives our incoming freshmen a meaningful head start in their community service journey," said Devi, Head of SMU’s Centre for Social Responsibility. "It’s heartening to see how our undergraduates are actively engaged with community members and demonstrate genuine care for the causes they support. All these years of impact have been made possible through strong partnerships with our partners – relationships that have empowered generations of SMU students to contribute meaningfully to society.”
Senior students guided freshmen and facilitated the volunteering activities, reflections, and learning experiences through more than 120 volunteering opportunities across Singapore. Over 60 partner organisations participated, representing the broad spectrum of non-profits and community organisations that SMU has collaborated with over its 25-year history, including causes related to migrant workers, person with disabilities and senior citizens.
“It was an incredible full-circle moment to guide the freshmen through their first ever volunteering opportunity in SMU, and a wonderful way to continue the cycle of giving back to society. I appreciated that the freshmen were engaged, receptive, and had valuable reflections about their experience,” said Arielle Goh Qi Ern, a third-year student from SMU’s Lee Kong Chian Business school and the current project leader for Project Espressivo. “Espressivo has been a core part of my SMU journey and means a lot to me, so it was rewarding to share it with the freshmen to help them start their own journey on the right foot.”
Key highlights include Project Espressivo, an initiative by SMU’s SoundFoundry in partnership with Aphasia SG to tap the healing power of music to support persons with aphasia (PWAs). Project Candela helmed by SMU Rotaract, was also another notable project that raises awareness about the migrant workers community and their contributions to Singapore, in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower.
The value of these student-led initiatives has been deeply felt by SMU’s community partners. As Evelyn Khoo, founder of Aphasia SG, shared: “Our collaboration with SMU’s SoundFoundry has shown how music can break through communication barriers for persons with aphasia. The passion and dedication of the student volunteers have brought much joy and support to our members. Their patience, empathy, and willingness to learn has made a lasting impact to our community. You can learn more about their project in this introductory video.
To further commemorate this year’s SMU 25th anniversary and its commitment to 25 years of community service, the annual Community Service Fair hosted by the SMU Centre for Social Responsibility will specially feature a gallery highlighting key milestones of the University’s civic engagement. The Fair, taking place on 26 and 27 August 2025, aims to introduce students to diverse volunteering opportunities through partner organisations, while raising awareness of the challenges faced by vulnerable groups and fostering empathy and inclusivity across the SMU community.
More details on SMU’s community service efforts can be found on its dedicated microsite.
1Data from 2001 to 2024 is accurate as of 6 January 2025.
