SCIS INDUSTRY DAY 2025 : Schedule & Photo Highlights
SMU School of Computing and Information Systems held our 2nd Industry Day on 4 September 2025, aimed at promoting bilateral dialogue between Industry/Public and SCIS exploring opportunities and challenges at technology frontiers of mutual interest.
This was achieved with a program by which both sides would hear the state-of-the-art and problems of priority from each other via talks, panels discussion, networking and break-out sessions.
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
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Guest Registration & Breakfast Networking (Coffee/Tea)
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
Opening Remark by Prof. LIM Sun Sun
LIM Sun Sun
Vice President (Partnerships and Engagement); Lee Kong Chian Professor of Communication & Technology at SMU
9:10 a.m. - 9:35 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
Building Our Digital Future: Innovation, Protection & Trust
Adeline TUNG
Director, Policy and Technology at Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)
Data powers the digital economy and society today. As part of IMDA’s role in leading Singapore’s digitalisation journey to build a vibrant digital economy and an inclusive society, this keynote shared our approach towards data innovation and protection. We shared how we strive to foster an environment of trust among businesses and consumers, and how we leverage innovative approaches to encourage greater experimentation by industry with emerging technologies while enhancing overall trust in our data ecosystems.
9:35 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
From research to reality: AI’s impact on society
Ben KING
Managing Director at Google Singapore
We are at an inflection point -- AI is not just advancing technology, but transforming how we tackle some of humanity’s greatest challenges. In this keynote, we explored how AI is making a real-world impact across some of the most pressing challenges in the region – from climate change, health and education. The session will also examined how we ensure this progress serves everyone, and why inclusive, responsible innovation is essential to unlocking AI’s full societal potential.
10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
Shaping AI Innovation in Singapore: Introducing Microsoft Research Asia
XU Xinxing
Principal Research Manager at Microsoft Research Asia Singapore
Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) has been at the forefront of advancing computer science and artificial intelligence for over two decades, fostering innovation through fundamental research and collaboration with academia and industry. With the launch of MSRA Singapore, we aim to extend this legacy by contributing to the local AI ecosystem, advancing cutting-edge research directions, and nurturing the next generation of talent. In this talk, we shared MSRA’s vision for Singapore, outline our key research priorities, and discussed how we plan to work hand-in-hand with local universities and R&D ecosystem to build impactful collaborations.
10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
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Tea Break
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
Master of IT in Business (MITB) Programme New Cybersecurity Track Introduction by Prof. Shar Lwin Khin
SHAR Lwin Khin
Associate Professor of Computer Science (Practice) at SMU SCIS
10:45 a.m. - 11:35 a.m.
MORNING SESSION
Panel I : AI, Digital Governance, and Sustainable Societies
ZHU Feida
Assoc. Prof. & Assoc. Dean at SMU SCIS
Elisa PANG
Director, Brand & New Market Growth at AvePoint
NG Binghao
Director, Scientific Data Strategy Office (SDSO) at Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
XU Jun
Executive Director of Machine Learning Engineering at Standard Chartered Bank
11:35 a.m. - 12:25 p.m.
MORNING SESSION
Panel II : How to Land a Tech Related Job in the Age of AI
Patrick THNG
Director, MITB (Financial Technology & Analytics) Programme at SMU
Brindha Priyadarshini JEYARAMAN
Head of AI Governance at UOB
Richard GOH
Head of Strategic Initiatives at Amazon Web Services
Gerry CHNG
Chair, AI Ethics & Governance SIG at Singapore Computer Society
12:25 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
AFTERNOON SESSION
Concluding Remark for Morning session by Prof. Zhu Feida
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
AFTERNOON SESSION
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Lunch: Networking with advisors, experts, alumni and booth/poster/demo interactions
1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
AFTERNOON SESSION
Workshop: AI and Web3 for the Future Financial Industry
ZHANG Hong
Director, Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI)
Professor of Finance, Lee Kong Chian School of Business
This workshop featured presentations from both academia and industry, including speakers from SMU’s School of Computing and Information Systems (SCIS), the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI), and leading financial institutions. The session was designed for industry professionals, partner organisations, and faculty researchers, providing a platform to share insights and discuss the evolving role of AI and Web3 in shaping the financial sector.
The workshop venue was at Yung Pung How School of Law (YHPSL) Seminar Room 3-10.
“This year, SKBI took part in the SMU School of Computing and Information Systems Industry Day “Workshop: AI and Web3 for the Future Financial Industry”. The workshop served as a platform for exchanging ideas between different academic domains as well as with industry partners.
As part of our research pillar on Market Innovations and FinTech, our team presented two papers showcasing how computing and information systems, such as #machinelearning, #blockchain, and #AI, can be applied in the realm of finance.
The first working paper, “Price Discovery on Decentralized Exchanges”, was presented by Prof Shihao Yu (SMU Assistant Professor of Finance). He discussed various on-chain crypto trading mechanisms, such as pricing and priority rules, and how these benefit different segments of traders. For instance, the study finds that informed traders bid higher fees to secure earlier execution on Uniswap v2 on #Ethereum. For further reading, download the working paper on our website >> https://skbi.smu.edu.sg/sites/skbi.smu.edu.sg/files/Research/price-discovery-on-decentralized-exchange.pdf
Next, Prof Hong Zhang (SKBI Director, SMU Professor of Finance) presented “Distant Investments: Decoding Mutual Fund Skill with Large Language Models”. This study leverages AI specifically Large Language Models (LLMs), to measure the “semantic distance” between a fund’s strategy and a company’s 10-K filings to identify complex, hard-to-interpret investment opportunities embedded in these disclosures. The findings shed light on how skilled fund managers identify and act on these nuanced opportunities, a capability that plays a critical role in both fund performance and broader market dynamics.
We are thankful for the opportunity to have been part of SCIS Industry Day, exploring how the intersection of computing and finance drives innovation and underscores the value of cross-disciplinary collaboration in shaping the future of the world.”
- via SMU SKBI's LinkedIn post and photos at https://www.linkedin.com/posts/skbi-smu_machinelearning-blockchain-ai-activity-7373553118103433216-hXQ7
VENUES
School of Social Science (SOSS)/College of Integrative Studies(CIS) B1 Event Lobby
10 Canning Rise, Singapore 179873
| 4th September 2025
| 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Yung Pung How School of Law (YHPSL) Seminar Room 3-10
55 Armenian St, Singapore 179943
| 4th September 2025
| 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
CONTACT
For further enquiries, please contact,
Mandy LEW
Senior Manager
Email: mandylew@smu.edu.sg
ZHU Feida
Associate Professor of Computer Science; Associate Dean, Partnerships and Engagement; Recipient, Aptos Move Professorship
Email: fdzhu@smu.edu.sg
PREVIOUS SCIS INDUSTRY DAYS
on 30th September 2024
