From Singapore to Glasgow then onward to London. In 72 hours, Singapore Management University (SMU) engaged partners in discussions on higher education and research – exchanging insights, strengthening relationships, and exploring new avenues for collaboration and impact.
Delivering the welcome address at the SMU-LSE Global Forum on 8 September 2026, SMU Provost Professor Alan Chan noted that partnerships with universities that shared values, sense of purpose and commitment to impact were key to SMU’s ambition to create societal impact as a global city university in Asia.
This was exemplified with the launch of three jointly funded research collaborations between SMU and the London School of Economics and Political Science under the ambit of a strategic partnership and research fund, in addition to a thought leader dialogue between Presidents Lily Kong and Larry Kramer on the role of universities in a fractured world.
At the 2026 European Association for International Education (EAIE) Conference in Glasgow, Professor Chan hosted a lunch reception on 10 September 2026 for leaders and representatives of 40 SMU partner universities across 19 countries, sharing SMU’s strategic priorities towards 2030. He reiterated SMU’s commitment to working with its global network of 303 partner universities to co-create meaningful opportunities for mobility, education and research across borders and sectors.
This engagement followed an earlier one in February 2026 during the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) Conference in Hong Kong, where SMU leaders shared the blueprint to reinvent universities for relevance and impact in today’s world defined by global risk.
In London the following day, Professor Chan reconnected with leaders at Imperial College London, University College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London, advancing collaborative pathways for research in green finance, longevity societies and economies, and AI and the future of work, as well as new academic and mobility joint initiatives.
These conversations reflect SMU’s ambition to build stronger ties with leading universities and establish new pathways between Asia and the wider world. From Europe, the journey continues closer to home.