Bridging academic and practice: Benefits, challenges and lessons learnt from establishing a university wide experiential learning initiative

• Main Authors: PAN, Gary, SEOW, Poh Sun, KOH, Grace
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2018
• Subjects: innovative teaching; learning metodologies; innovative and effective teaching; experiential learning; SMU-X; Accounting; Asian Studies; Education Policy; Higher Education
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soa_research/1691; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soa_research/article/2718/viewcontent/3216_ICL2063_FP_FOE7.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The scale and complexity of challenges facing the world today are unprecedented. It is paramount that universities identify and equip students with relevant skills to meet the needs of the changing economy. Recognizing this need, Singapore Management University launched a new initiative, SMUX. In this paper we will describe SMU-X which is a paradigm shift focusing on experiential learning as opposed to teaching, characterized by 4 principles: (i) inter-disciplinary content and activities, (ii) project-based learning via an actual problem/issue faced by an organization, (iii) active student mentoring by faculty and industry, and (iv) creating a tripartite learning loop between faculty, student and industry partner. Every SMU-X course lets students collaborate to tackle multi-disciplinary issues faced by partner organizations that even faculty may not have a solution to. This paper will also discuss the challenges, benefits and lessons learned of establishing such an innovative learning initiative within a traditional University.