News

The Lien Centre for Social Innovation recently completed the fourth run on a course that focuses on “sustainable living”, with close to 40 graduates receiving their certification in the Societal Impact and Global Management Alliance (SIGMA) Global Virtual Course. This is a unique inter-university online course focused on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sustainable management. The course is co-taught by faculty from the SIGMA alliance, a consortium of universities from around the world, and is attended by students from these universities. Singapore Management University (SMU) is a member of the SIGMA alliance and collaborates with other participating universities to develop the course content and sends its own students to participate in this global virtual course.

The modules developed by our programme managers in this course include fundamentals of social innovation as students were given an introduction to what social innovation is and how system thinking and innovation can bring about change to the circular economy. Other modules include the role of multi-sector collaborations with a deep focus on each of the public, private and people groups that can bring about a transformation to address specific SDGs.

A graduation ceremony was held on 16 December 2021 and it was the first time the students and trainers met physically. It was a quiet yet very reflective ceremony as graduates shared how taking this course created a shift in their mindset towards addressing social needs and systems within their community. 

The course aligns with the strategic imperatives of SMU’s Vision 2025, which emphasises “sustainable living” as one of three strategic priorities. The course is also in alignment with the university’s graduate learning outcomes of (1) disciplinary and multi-disciplinary knowledge, (2) intellectual & creative skills, (3) interpersonal skills, (4) global citizenship, (5) and personal mastery. 

Congratulations to the SIGMA class of 2021!