SMU Dean of Postgraduate Programmes and Associate Professor of Accounting (Practice) Themin Suwardy was interviewed for a special feature on postgraduate programmes offered by local universities. He shared that SMU had almost 700 students graduating with a master's degree last year, compared with about 300 in 2011. It currently has 21 master's programmes, up from 12 in 2010.
Associate Prof Suwardy noted that MBA type courses with a real-world emphasis continue to be a popular course of study, adding that SMU’s postgraduate programmes have over the years become increasingly practice-oriented. He also pointed out that the key to postgraduate education is to go beyond the simple concepts of exposure and comprehension, and move toward integration, synthesis and the ability to create new knowledge.
SMU helps its postgraduate students develop important skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership through a platform known as Professional Development Series (PDS) workshops, where master's students learn interdisciplinary skills beyond their specific disciplines. At the workshops, students can choose from a range of topics including conflict management, negotiation, the art of giving feedback, design thinking, sustainability, leadership, and innovation. Students are also exposed to the latest research from SMU.
SMU's Master of Science in Innovation was highlighted as being the only Asia-focused programme designed to teach about how to think and act like an innovator and entrepreneur. "It is designed to engage, challenge and grow Asia's next generation of innovation leaders who are ready to think big, disrupt and differentiate. The innovative pedagogy supports Asia's need for new business creation and innovation," said Associate Prof Suwardy
Another programme that is geared towards plugging today's talent gap is SMU's Master of IT in Business (MITB), which looks to fill growing demand for analytics and technology professionals who are industry ready. And to cater to the growing field of financial technology (fintech), the university will be launching its new MITB - Financial Technology (FinTech) Track in August 2017. Associate Prof Suwardy added that it is the first of its kind in Singapore and the world that blends traditional and emerging disruptive financial technology together with business knowledge and innovation.