Professor Sun Sun Lim, Professor of Communication and Technology at SMU College of Integrative Studies and Vice President, Partnerships and Engagement at Singapore Management University (SMU) was conferred a prestigious Honorary Doctorate by the University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet) on 14 November 2025. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia and Denmark’s top university.
Prof Lim is the very first Singaporean to receive the Honorary Doctorate. Awarded since 1927, the honour forms part of an august and longstanding tradition in which distinguished scholars are appointed as honorary doctors across the University’s academic disciplines. It represents the University’s highest academic recognition for individuals who have made extensive and internationally significant research contributions.
Prof Lim says, “I’m deeply grateful for this recognition from University of Copenhagen and thank Dean of Humanities Kirsten Busch Nielsen, Head of Communication Esben Nedenskov Petersen, and last but not least, my nominators Stine Lomborg and Klaus Jensen.”
Sun Sun Lim: Grounding global technologies in cultural context
Nominated for her outstanding contributions to both academic research and public engagement in the field of digital communication, Prof Lim’s work bridges scholarly excellence and societal impact, particularly in understanding how digital technologies affect everyday life, families and youth.
Stine Lomborg describes her as ‘an internationally leading expert and exceptional broker between science and society regarding human communication under shifting technological circumstances’.
Prof Lim has made foundational contributions to both research and public outreach regarding the social implications of digital communication systems. Her work has carefully examined the cultural specificity of how global technologies are embedded locally and articulated with long-standing cultural traditions, she says.
Notably, her research on the impact of media on marginalised youths such as juvenile delinquents and juvenile offenders employed the Asian concept of face to understand how they are especially vulnerable to the power dynamics of gangs and secret societies. Her research has enabled social workers and community organizations to more effectively prepare youths-at-risk for such challenges.
Separately, her research on digital parenting highlighted the growing complexities around parents’ ability to transcend the physical distance between them and their children, their children’s online and offline environments and unrelenting ceaselessness of parenting duties. While her research focused on parents in Asia, the concept of transcendent parenting has found resonance with research on parents around the world and even been extended to adults caring for elderly parents.
Stine Lomborg further highlighted Prof Lim's deep commitment to bridging academic research with real-world impact, especially in areas of ethical technology use and social equity, where she has consistently maintained engagement with the communities she studies, as well as with national and international institutions influencing research and development in the field of digital communication.
Besides advocating for children’s digital rights and responsible uses of artificial intelligence (AI) as Nominated Member of Parliament, she has served actively on the Media Literacy Council, Singapore Computer Society, Singapore Environment Council and Social Science Research Council to advance critical causes such as digital inclusion, gender diversity in tech and the environmental impact of technology.
In connection with her appointment as Honorary Doctor, Prof Lim delivered an honorary lecture on 14 November 2025 based on her latest book “Humanising Technology: Reflections on Design, Ethics and Inclusion”. Launching the book in Copenhagen to a lively audience, Prof Lim signed and gifted a copy to the university library.
“There were many lovely touches at the degree ceremony, including the students’ moving rendition of the University’s new official song. What made this experience profoundly complete were the many thought-provoking conversations with colleagues at the University’s Faculty of Humanities, its Department of Communication and Centre for Tracking & Society. Their work is transformative for our understanding of human connection and the dilemmas of technologisation,” said Prof Lim.
“I was also glad for the opportunity to share findings from my previous book, “Digital Parenting Burdens in China”, and to conduct masterclasses on translating research into practice and effective research communication to an energetic bunch of emerging young academics,” shared Prof Lim. “They fill me with optimism for the future of academia.”
Congratulations, Prof Lim!
Photo credits: University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet)
