To meet the needs of Industry 4.0, the EngD degree trains professionals to perform deep technical industrial research and translate the outputs into innovative products and services.
Our school has various industry-oriented applied research labs where our experienced faculty is able to guide high-calibre candidates in carrying out innovative practice research. Areas of research include artificial intelligence and data science, cyber-physical systems and information systems, as well as multi-disciplinary research involving other SMU schools. The dissertation project, sponsored by the candidate‘s company, will be rich in both technical and business domain complexities, so as to generate meaningful and high quality research outputs.
We warmly invite aspiring candidates to join the EngD programme to create a significant impact in businesses and societies.
Programme Director
Michelle Cheong
Director, Doctor of Engineering; Professor of Information Systems (Education); Associate Dean, SCIS Post-Graduate Professional Education
I have spent the past 10 years conducting research on Operations Research and Artificial Intelligence, more broadly to include algorithms and complexity, data mining and analytics, planning and scheduling, and optimization. My research objective is to create novel algorithms, mechanisms, and frameworks to support decision-making processes in real-life business applications. I have been working on projects in various domains including logistics, transportation, healthcare and supply chain management.
The EngD Programme provides new opportunities to the research process, and complement theory and experimentation, which are aligned with my research goals to conduct research that can be translated into technologies and solutions. This provides EngD students the opportunity to translate their research into tangible outputs, and to implement their ideas at scale with real-life constraints beyond paper publications.
I have over 25 years of experience in the IT industry in various capacities as a researcher, academic faculty member, IT professional and industry consultant. This breadth of experience has provided me with the necessary skills and knowledge to supervise students to carry out industry focused research and development work. My current areas of specialization include digital transformation, enterprise systems architecture and integration, and education pedagogy. Most of my research has been directed towards real world applications that have direct relevance to industry or teaching professionals.
I believe that my active involvement in practice research at SMU will enable EngD students to embark on industry relevant research projects that can be translated into innovative products and services. EngD students working under my supervision will get the opportunity to address problems of relevance to industry sponsors and propose relevant solutions that could include deep digital technology (e.g. analytics, artificial intelligence, cloud and internet of things), decision frameworks, methodologies and architecture patterns for enabling digital transformation and building smart business processes.
Programme Faculty
Venky SHANKARARAMAN
Vice Provost (Education); Professor of Information Systems (Education)
Programme Objectives
In order to engage industry in digital transformation and practice scholarship, the EngD’s objectives are:
- To train Information and Communications Technology manpower with deeper technical skills to conduct industry-focused research & development.
- To attract high-calibre professionals to conduct practice research with our faculty.
- To build practice research into the identity and branding of our school.
Participant Profile
Participants with at least three years of relevant work experience in the selected business domains, and are committed to applying deep knowledge and technical skills in practice research to solve complex company-sponsored projects are welcome to apply for the EngD programme.
Graduate Learning Outcomes
Research Topics
Research and Project Areas
Our school has three core research pillars in the areas of:
- Artificial intelligence & Data Science
- Human-Machine Collaborative Systems
- Information Systems & Technology
We also have research expertise in Integrative Research Areas:
- Computing Practice & Education
- Urban Systems & Operations
- Active Citizenry & Communities
- Safety & Security
Centres, Labs & Initiatives
Our school has a number of Centres, Labs & Initiatives (CLIs) that support translational research in our core research areas, together with various aspects of societal challenges.
These CLIs are well funded by government agencies and private organizations.
Career Prospects
Potential Employer Sectors
- Government agencies
- Financial services companies with technology departments
- Retail, Transport/Logistics businesses with technology departments
- Manufacturing sector (inclusive of Energy/Oil & Gas/ Pharmaceuticals/FMCG/Electronics, etc.)
- Media, Telecommunications sectors with technology departments
- Healthcare sector with technology departments
- Technology, Consultancy firms
- Startups
- Academic Institutes
Potential Career Options
- IT Business and Technology Consultant
- IT System Architecture Manager
- IT Research Manager
- IT System Advisor
- IT Strategist
- CIO
- CTO
- CDO/CDS (Chief Data Officer or Chief Data Scientist)
- Entrepreneur
- Higher Education faculty or administrator
- Technical Manager/Director