Singapore Management University launches its first overseas centre in Jakarta

Published on 6 December 2022

JAKARTA, 6 December 2022: Singapore Management University (SMU) today opened its first overseas centre in Jakarta, Indonesia, bolstering the university’s goal to positively impact local communities as it advances its "Growth in Asia" strategic priority as part of its Vision 2025.

SMU, which made its millennium debut as a new university in Singapore, has since established itself as a premium global-city university in Asia. The university has made great strides in leveraging its cross-disciplinary strengths to successfully execute its strategic thrusts of delivering transformative education, cutting edge research, and meaningful engagements, to meet Singapore and the region's future needs as Asia's Knowledge Gateway.

Professor Lily Kong, the President of SMU said, "We are committed to contributing to the betterment of local communities and economies in Asia through education, research and innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, particularly in digital transformation, sustainable living and growth in Asia. SMU will develop a network of overseas centres in Asia’s key cities to collectively build a regional eco-system of knowledge-sharing, research and enablement for local businesses, communities and people. Indonesia has been SMU’s close partner for several decades now. Throughout the years, our university has played host to exceptional and talented students and faculty members from Indonesia. With the establishment of SMU Overseas Centre Jakarta, we will be able to further intertwine our academic circles and strengthen cooperation for higher education learning and skills development in both Indonesia and Singapore.”

Shoeb Z Kagda has been named Centre Director of the Overseas Centre Jakarta, and will lead the centre to develop deeper engagement between the University's Schools, Offices, Centres, and Institutes and Indonesia Institutes of Higher Learning, business leaders, and key policy makers. Mr Kagda has spent more than two decades living and working in Indonesia, where he is currently the Chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia and founder of the Indonesia Economic Forum.

“Being a member of a world class academic institution is both a privilege and a blessing”, said Shoeb Z Kagda, Centre Director of SMU Overseas Centre Jakarta.

“Indonesia is a rising regional economic powerhouse with a growing influence in shaping the future of both Asia and the region. Collaboration with Indonesian corporations, higher education institutions, government agencies, and the wider society will be critical to improving talent development, thought leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship in both countries. It is an honour for me to represent SMU in Indonesia, and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to actively foster a knowledge climate in which intellectual and cultural diversity is respected and embraced as we drive the economic development of communities and sectors growth in Indonesia."

Indonesia's status as the largest economy in Southeast Asia with their rising rates of tertiary educated workforce puts them in an ideal position to capitalise on Asia's growth. SMU aims to provide the avenue by which Indonesia’s corporate, government and industry workforce can take advantage of SMU’s world class education through its professional continuing education and postgraduate programmes. Additionally, SMU will work to strengthen bilateral efforts so as to develop and carry out strategic collaborative initiatives and programmes to build intellectual capital ground up and positively impact local communities.

SMU has laid the groundwork for closer collaborations over the last decade. The International Advisory Council was established in Indonesia by the University in 2018 to establish, strengthen and deepen SMU’s collaboration and engagement with the government, academic and business communities. SMU also has ongoing MOUs with Indonesia's top three universities, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universitas Indonesia (UI), and Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), covering both academic and research cooperation.

You can read more information on SMU Overseas Centre Jakarta here.