46 — Ahead of the Curve
Impact — 47
Yeo Su Lin were involved in the World PR Forum
in Toronto which took place from 29 to 31 May
2016. The Forum is organised by the Global
Alliance for PR and Communication Manage-
ment and is one of the largest gatherings of
communication professionals, industry experts
and academics.
Professor Halff was a co-chair of the forum
while Assistant Professor Yeo received the New
Researcher Award for her paper “Asian multi-
culturalism in communication: Impact of culture
in the practice of public relations in Singapore.”
NATIONAL DAY AWARDS
Three members of the Lee Kong Chian School
of Business were given National Day Awards in
2016. They were Annie Koh, Vice President,
Office of Business Development and Professor
of Finance; Michelle Lee, Associate Professor
of Marketing and Associate Dean (Undergradu-
ate Programmes); and Ang Ser Keng, Director,
UOB-SMU Asian Enterprise Institute and Senior
Lecturer of Finance.
Professor Koh was awarded the Public
Administration Medal (Silver) while Associate
Professor Lee was given the Public Adminis-
tration Medal (Bronze). Senior Lecturer Ang
received the Commendation Medal.
RETAIL CENTRE OF
EXCELLENCE
A Retail Centre of Excellence (RCoE) has
been formed with Professor Kapil Tuli of the
Marketing group as the director. The Centre
aims to strengthen Singapore’s standing as Asia
Pacific’s premier retail hub through talent devel-
opment and applied research.
The Lee Kong Chian School of Business
received $1,960,744 from the Standards,
Productivity, and Innovation Board (SPRING)
Singapore to establish the SMU Retail Centre
of Excellence. In addition, RCoE received
$625,000 in funding from industry, which has
triggered another $625,000 in matching funds
from the Ministry of Education by year-end
2016. RCoE is in advanced discussions with
the Singapore Economic Development Board on
funding for the centre.
INAUGURAL
SYMPOSIUM ON
APPLIED RESEARCH
IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
In October 2016, the Lee Kong Chian School
of Business Corporate Communication group
and the Institute for Public Relations hosted
the inaugural Symposium on Applied Research
in Public Relations. The half-day programme
featured leading industry speakers and faculty
members Sungjong Roh, Soojin Kim, Yeo Su Lin
and Gregor Halff.
Assistant Professor Sungjong Roh’s talk
was about how the timing of corporate social
responsibility disclosures influence consumer
evaluation while Assistant Professor Soojin Kim
looked at how the communications strategies
used by the South Korean government affected
public engagement, cynicism and word-of-
mouth behaviour in the country.
The role of cultural values in influencing
public relations practice in Singapore was the
topic of Assistant Professor Yeo Su Lin’s study.
Professor Gregor Halff, on the other hand,
co-presented a paper on what competencies the
public relations industry will need in the future.
IMPACT/ RESEARCH FRATERNITY
GROUP PHOTO FOLLOWING
MR. YEOH’S PLENARY
PRESENTATION ON
SINGAPORE’S ECONOMY,
EDUCATION SYSTEM
AND STRUCTURE.
2017 CONFERENCE
ON IMPROVING
BUSINESS
EDUCATION
On April 6 and 7, the Lee Kong Chian School of
Business (LKCSB) hosted the 2017 European
Foundation for Management Development
(EFMD) Conference for International and
External Relations, Public Relations, Marketing,
Communication and Alumni Professionals.
The theme for the conference was “Combining
Tradition and Innovation in Business Education”.
There were seven plenary sessions. They
looked at Singapore and higher education,
how the digital transformation was changing
business education, how business schools
can stay relevant with social media users,
alumni relations, non-traditional partnerships,
pan-Asian cross-cultural management issues,
and how to connect with consumers in the
Asia Pacific.
Professor Gerard George, Dean of LKCSB
gave the welcome address. The plenary speakers
included Yeoh Keat Chuan, Managing Director
of the Economic Development Board; Ivan
Bofarull, Director of Global Strategic Initiatives
PROFESSOR ERIC CORNUEL,
CEO AND DIRECTOR GENERAL
EFMD, BELGIUM; PROFESSOR
GERARD GEORGE, DEAN,
LEE KONG CHIAN SCHOOL OF
BUSINESS; MR. YEOH KEAT
CHUAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR,
SINGAPORE’S ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT BOARD,
SINGAPORE; DR. KEVYN
YONG, DEAN, ESSEC ASIA
PACIFIC, SINGAPORE; MRS.
NADINE BURQUEL, DIRECTOR,
BUSINESS SCHOOL SERVICES,
EFMD, BELGIUM.
at Escola Superior d’Administració i Direcció
d’Empreses (ESADE) Business School; Gap
Kim, Head of Small Business (SMB) Marketing
Asia Pacific at Facebook; Sean Brown, Global
Director of Alumni Relations at McKinsey &
Company; and Magesvaran Suranjan, President,
Asia Pacific of Procter & Gamble.
EFMD is an international, not-for-profit,
membership organisation of business schools
and corporations, based in Brussels. It has nearly
900 member organisations from academia,
business, public service and consultancy in 86
countries. Its aim is to enhance management
education and development globally.
NEXT GENERATION
RETAIL OPERATIONS
Associate Professor Lim Yun Fong and Assistant
Professor Fang Xin organised the Conference on
Next Generation Retail Operations 2016. The
conference brought together researchers and
practitioners to share ideas on next generation
retailing. Topics included e-commerce and its
fulfilment, omni-channel business models, as
well as the integration of brick-and-mortar and
online businesses.
