On 29 September 2025, SMU’s Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE) announced the launch of the Urban SustaInnovator (USI), an accelerator programme dedicated to scaling and anchoring breakthrough solutions in the urban solutions and sustainability (USS) space. USI was conceived as the flagship initiative of the 12th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, which will serve as a key talent pipeline for the USI.
Professor Lim Sun Sun, SMU's Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement and Chair of the USI Programme Management Council, said that USI would establish a circle of high-potential deep-tech startups with solutions at the intersection of urban sustainability, technology, and business from universities around the world.
