- Read more about Three days, two workshops, one question: Who runs the next phase of Vietnam’s growth
SMU Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources Burak Oc will run the Beyond KPIs: Performance, Motivating and Collective Leadership in the AI-Era Organisation workshop at the CHRO Series Vietnam on 9 September 2026. The workshop focuses on treating organisational structure as a hypothesis to be tested and separating behavioural performance from numerical outcomes.
Commenting on gratitude coexisting with sadness, SMU Lee Kong Chian Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources Jochen Reb, who is also the Director of the Mindfulness Initiative at SMU said one can feel multiple emotions and mixed emotions, adding that one can feel relieved that something bad did not happen, grateful for this, happy that one escaped it – and still worried that something similar might happen in future. Prof Reb highlighted that experiencing a ‘positive’ emotion does not preclude also experiencing a ‘negative’ emotion.
Commenting on Shenzhen’s surge in artificial intelligence (AI) and technological innovation, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Fu Fangjian said that Hangzhou has excelled in the field of AI by leveraging the data, algorithms, and talent advantages accumulated by its internet companies; Shenzhen, on the other hand, leans more towards hard technology innovation driven by manufacturing and supply chains. Assoc Prof Fu stressed the two are not in zero-sum competition, but rather have formed their own advantages based on different industries.
SMU Associate Professor of Operations Management Gao Yini is spearheading a three-year project, Enhancing Preventive Healthcare in Singapore: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Healthier SG Initiative in Cancer Screening, to explore the short- and long-term effects of cancer screenings and improve preventive healthcare under Healthier SG. This project has been awarded a distinguished Population Health Research Grant, under the auspices of the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council.
SMU Professor of Finance (Education) Benedict Koh said the tension between marketing insurance products and acting in clients’ best interests is not new. He pointed to a speech made by then Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in 2010 urging insurers to confront Singapore’s under-insurance problem. Part of the problem, Prof Goh argued, lay in the industry’s preference for pushing whole life plans, whose premiums could run three to five times that of a term insurance plan for the same coverage, pricing adequate protection out of reach for young families.
Commenting on local electric motorcycle firms’ pivot abroad, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan said low ridership is a related problem, adding that for innovations like battery-swapping to work, it needs to have a sufficient number of users to begin with, and Singapore do not seem to quite have that for motorcycles. He also noted that affordability remains a hurdle.
Students at SMU are assessed through live pitches, Q&A sessions, weekly reflections and essays – these evaluate their understanding of concepts and ability to spontaneously respond to questions.
NUS, SUTD and SIT do not use automated AI detectors, while SMU says such tools are only one input when investigating possible misconduct. The University said that it continues to use AI detection tools, but "never as the sole basis" for finding misconduct. SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) & Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) Michelle Lee said that the tools are strictly "one input among several".
In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) & Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) Michelle Lee said children’s anxiety is a wake-up call for parents to ensure affection does not rise and fall with exam marks.
Commenting on skilled trades’ attempts to entice more youth into joining their workforce, SMU Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship David Gomulya said well-designed apprenticeships allow individuals to earn while they learn, gain recognised industry qualifications and build confidence through hands-on experience. He cited Germany as an example, where apprenticeship systems are well-established and closely integrated with industry needs.
