Commenting on the rise of experience centres and their differences with traditional showrooms, SMU Assistant Professor of Marketing Shilpa Madan said the real difference is what the space lets people do. A showroom says, “Here is the product. Have a look”, while an experience centre says, “Come and try living with it for a while”. She noted that this helps consumers reduce uncertainty, personalise products to their needs and understand technical features without turning the visit into a lecture.
SMU Professor Emeritus of Finance (Practice) Annie Koh moderated the International Cocoa Conference and Gala Dinner by Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA), bringing industry leaders together to examine developments affecting cocoa supply, demand, sustainability, regulation and technology. The initiative focuses on ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture and forestry, and sustainable livelihoods in ASEAN.
Commenting on Marina Square’s future redevelopment, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) Seshan Ramaswami called the redevelopment “another little chipping off of the traditional bricks-and-mortar shopping model”, which was based on large malls, department stores as anchor tenants and a huge array of specialty stores. Assoc Prof Ramaswami likened modern retailing to a real estate business where a developer would build what would generate the greatest value in returns over the long term.
In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Thomas Allard opined that the Surprise and Shine event on 9 September 2026 is a test of how Apple’s new CEO John Ternus meets the dual challenge of artificial intelligence and the rise of Asian smartphone brands. Assoc Prof Allard noted that the more Apple’s products are compared, feature by feature, with cheaper rivals, the more consumers may notice they are paying a lot more for something closer to the same phone in a nicer box.
SMU is piloting a dance choreography course that links movement to Singapore culture and identity. SMU Dean of Students and Professor of Communication Management (Practice) Mark Chong said pairing dance with intellectual inquiry is meant to build creativity and empathy that AI cannot yet copy.
In a commentary, SMU Professor of Marketing (Practice) and Associate Dean (Impact) of SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business Sabine Benoit opined that the convenience economy is rising because it saves one's effort, and this changes what neighbourhood stores should be built to provide. Prof Benoit highlighted that convenience also does not remove effort; it transfers it, as someone still shops, packs, rides and stands behind the counter, usually paid by the order.
Commenting on Shenzhen’s innovation ecosystem, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Fu Fangjian said that it was not formed overnight, but is the result of decades of continuous accumulation since China's reform and opening up. Assoc Prof Fu said that successful enterprises continuously attract talent, which in turn creates new businesses, attracting even more resources, forming a continuously reinforcing innovation cycle.
SMU Professor Emeritus of Finance (Practice) Annie Koh moderated a panel session titled "The Global Acceleration Economy: De-risking the Decade for ASEAN", held during The Bangkok Business Summit: Reinvent Thailand, Resilient ASEAN. The panellists set out why Thailand's next phase of growth cannot simply repeat the last one, arguing that Thailand’s ability to convert reform pledges into jobs — not the pledges themselves — will determine whether it meets its long-term ambitions.
CNA featured SMU in a segment on how universities are redesigning course offerings. Inspired by last year's SMU Arts Festival, SMU is piloting a dance choreography course to explore Singapore’s culture and identity while building empathy and creativity, skills that cannot be replicated by AI, yet.
- 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.
