Dear colleagues,

Since SMU’s inception, interactive seminars have been a hallmark of its distinctive pedagogy. They provide a supportive environment for faculty-student interaction, and foster open discussions and the exchange of ideas among peers. From 2015, SMU has also strengthened the development of experiential learning, particularly through its innovative SMU-X pedagogy, which is characterised by inter-disciplinary content; project-based learning; tackling of actual problems faced by organisations; and active student-mentoring by faculty members and industry partners.

Moving forward, SMU will continue to hold fast to its distinctive interactive pedagogy, while further developing experiential learning through expanded SMU-X offerings, including SMU-X Overseas courses. SMU will also place emphasis on personalised learning, which will enable faculty members to be more responsive to students’ individual needs. Underpinning the three key pedagogical approaches of personalised, collaborative and interactive, and experiential learning is technology enhanced learning, where technology will enhance personalisation, interaction and collaboration, and experience of the real world.

For teaching to be effective, faculty will continually expand their knowledge and skills to implement the best educational practices. To that end, the Centre for Teaching Excellence offers a suite of faculty development and teaching innovation programmes, as well as consultation and funding support for educational initiatives to enable SMU faculty to teach with assurance and quality. Their offerings include the Faculty Teaching Forum, the Peer~CARE programme, the annual Teaching Innovation Week, Emergency Preparedness for Teaching and Learning workshop series, and the SMU Experiential Education Day, to name but a few.

We have always prided ourselves in being “A Different U”. However, we do not strive to be different for its own sake, but to make meaningful impact. I strongly encourage Schools and faculty to get involved in the programmes that CTE offers, and to collaborate actively with them in educational research and in the use of educational technology. CTE’s door is always open to those keen to augment their teaching and innovate their lesson design and delivery. Imagine an education that nurtures future leaders for the better.

Warmest regards

Professor Lily Kong
President and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences
Singapore Management University