78 — Ahead of the Curve
Interconnections — 79
HELPING
SMALL MEDIUM
ENTERPRISES
MANAGE HUMAN
CAPITAL
Professor Don Ferrin has been working on a
research project with The Standards, Productiv-
ity and Innovation Board (SPRING) Singapore,
UOB-SMU Asian Entrepreneurship Institute, and
the Hay Group on human capital management in
the Small and Medium Enterprises sector.
In addition, he has also done work on trust
in organisations and has delivered various
keynote speeches and presentations.
ADVISING
THE SINGAPORE
HOSPICE COUNCIL
In March 2017, Assistant Professor Yeo Su
Lin from the Corporate Communication group
of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business
was appointed to the Steering Committee of
the Singapore Hospice Council (SHC). A crisis
and health communication scholar, Assistant
Professor Yeo will advise and provide recom-
mendations on the council’s national efforts
on community engagement and strategic com-
munication needed to address challenges to
end-of-life and palliative care in Singapore.
STRONG
PARTNERSHIPS
MAKE CLASSES
REALISTIC
The Quantitative Finance curriculum at Singapore
Management University places a strong
emphasis on bridging theory and practice. The
Simulated Trading Lab is equipped with indus-
try-grade trading software to facilitate learning
of quantitative trading algorithms and market
microstructure. This is made possible because
of a partnership with Trading Technologies.
On top of this, collaboration with major
exchanges such as the Chicago Mercan-
tile Exchange, the Eurex Exchange and the
Singapore Exchange allows students to gain live
data access to futures and other instruments
traded on these exchanges in real time.
The Quantitative Finance group also
partners with professional traders to bring
reality to the classroom. This allows students
to better appreciate the concepts of derivative
valuation, hedging, and other advanced quan-
titative trading strategies and risk management
techniques. Both Quantitative Finance post-
graduate and undergraduate students benefit
from this partnership.
UBS-SMU TRADING
CHALLENGE 2016
Singapore Management University (SMU)
partnered with Union Bank of Switzerland
(UBS) to hold a trading competition in the fall of
2016. Organised by the Lee Kong Chian School
of Business’ Quantitative Finance division with
the help of QED, the Quantitative Finance
student-run society, invitations were sent out
to SMU, the National University of Singapore,
Nanyang Technological University, and
Singapore Institute of Management University.
More than 75 undergraduates from local
universities took part in the first round and
simulated trading was conducted based on
real time Chicago Mercantile Exchange Forex’s
futures data.
Eventually, this was winnowed down to 30
competitors for the grand finals on September
14. The final round comprised of two intensive
trading sessions, and three winners emerged
with the highest risk-adjusted Profit and Loss.
The three winners were awarded Apple Watches
sponsored by UBS. The first prize went to
Alexander Meshkov, an SMU student majoring
in Quantitative Finance.
All 30 finalists received certificates of
participation to acknowledge their outstand-
ing performance. In addition, they were given
fast-track interviews for internships at UBS in
Securities Sales and Trading, across a wide
range of asset classes.
WORKING WITH
WHARTON ON
HUMAN CAPITAL
LEADERSHIP
In the fall of 2016, a pioneering cohort of 24
students joined the Master in Human Capital
Leadership (MHCL) programme which was
developed in collaboration with Wharton’s
Center for Human Resources, the Human Capital
Leadership Institute (HCLI) and the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Singapore Management University is
the first university in Asia to offer a master’s
degree accredited by CIPD. Other universities
that offer CIPD-accredited programmes include
the London School of Economics and Political
Science and Kings College London. The Master
in Human Capital Leadership programme is
the brainchild of Professor Richard Smith and
Professor Raj Srivastava of LKCSB.
The tie-up with the Wharton Center for
Human Resources (HR) has led to an arrange-
ment where the Center will host visits from
student groups and faculty members. Students
in the programme have described the visit to
Wharton as being valuable and eye-opening.
“The week spent at the Wharton Business
School was a highlight of the programme where
we had the opportunity to spend the mornings
in class to deepen our knowledge of the subject
with HR subject experts and the afternoons
out in the fields to interact with HR Leaders of
large multi-national corporations like DuPont,
GlaxoSmithKline and Comcast,” said student
Carol Lim.
Valentin Lorenzo Jr appreciated the oppor-
tunity to interact with distinguished professors
in the area of human capital and leadership. “It
also allowed me to get practical tips on imple-
menting HR initiatives from technology startup
entrepreneurs who only have 50 employees to
senior HR leaders who oversee the development
of over 150,000 employees. I saw how similar
human capital challenges can be addressed by
similar HR frameworks but implemented differ-
ently based on the industries, size of companies
and country they operate in.”
Apart from the visit to Wharton, the
students enrolled in the pioneer programme
also appreciated how the programme took
them out of their comfort zones. Ang Geng Yin
compared the structure of the programme to
that of an Master of Business Administration
for HR practitioners as “we are required to
acquire a grounding in Financial Accounting,
Marketing, Strategic Management amongst
others in addition to HR modules.”
She said she appreciated that the
programme is designed to equip HR leaders to
talk business and not HR. “We are required to
think big picture and connect the dots. Common
topics include how the organisation’s strategy
has implications for human capital strategy and
how technological disruptions will change the
game for talent.”
Another student, Kenneth Chong, described
the programme as tough and rigorous, yet
rewarding. “It has delivered above and beyond
its objectives and it has definitely made me a
more competent leader and contributor in my
field,” he said.
LOUIS VUITTON AND
MOËT HENNESSY
The Paris-based luxury good conglomerate Louis
Vuitton and Moët Hennessy (LVMH) entered
into a five-year strategic partnership in 2014
with Singapore Management University (SMU)
to establish the LVMH-SMU Asia Luxury Brand
Research Initiative which aims to produce and
deliver independent and high quality academic
research dedicated to the luxury brand sector
and the Asian market.
Operated through SMU’s Centre for
Marketing Excellence (CME), the Initiative
INTERCONNECTIONS/ INDUSTRY
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
YEO SU LIN
PROFESSOR DON FERRIN
VISIT TO WHARTON SCHOOL
BY LEE KONG CHIAN SCHOOL
OF BUSINESS POSTGRADUATE
STUDENTS
