Dear SOE Students,
A very warm welcome to SMU’s School of Economics! I am delighted that you are joining us to do your undergraduate studies. It is at the University that you will formulate a life-long approach to making sense of the world and developing your value system.
Our faculty are committed to helping you in the process of gathering information (the “what”), acquiring knowledge (the “how”), and developing wisdom (the “why”). Because ideas are important to them, they are constantly engaged in inquiry and reasoning in their own areas of specialisation. Our faculty bring this excitement of intellectual discovery into the classroom as they help you blend theory with the real world.
While being intellectually stimulated by new challenges thrown up by the present, they are able to draw upon conceptualisations of the past to offer informed judgements about the future. Across the full set of courses offered by SOE and the other Schools, you will also have an exposure to local, regional, and international issues.
The workforce that you enter when you graduate is likely to face the disruptions caused by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Many tasks routinely performed by graduates in the past are likely to be automated. However, new tasks are also likely to be created that require adaptability. By studying real-world problems using the economic framework and toolkit that you learn in class, you will be trained to analyse novel situations and acquire this adaptability. In effect, you will learn how to learn.
I hope that in your time here, you will take advantage of the exceptional opportunities that SMU offers to develop a life-long habit of mind to navigate the world you will face.
Professor HOON Hian Teck
Dean
School of Economics