Professor Lily Kong — President of Singapore Management University — is one of Singapore’s most distinguished geographers. Trained as an academic, she built her career studying the intersections of culture, religion, and urban space, producing work that bridges rigorous scholarship and real-world policy impact.

In recent years, her focus has shifted toward the future of higher education. Through public lectures and her latest book, she argues for a reimagining of the university in an era shaped by rapid technological change and demographic shifts.

At SMU, she leads a community of 13,000–14,000 students and has helped shape the university’s identity around entrepreneurship, interdisciplinarity, and applied learning. She is also a leading advocate of the “60-year university” — the idea that universities must evolve beyond four-year degrees into lifelong partners supporting individuals throughout their careers.

In this conversation, she brings a geographer’s lens to some of Singapore’s most pressing questions:

How geography and constraints have shaped Singapore’s education system
What universities must do as AI reshapes the labour market
Why whole-person development — mind, body, and relationships — must take center stage

⏱ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Introduction00:26 – The Geographer’s Lens03:21 – Prisoners of Geography: Singapore’s Hard Truths07:29 – Smallness as Strength and Constraint08:52 – Eastern vs Western Universities: Singapore’s 50-Year Journey12:49 – Why Research and Innovation Are Under-Valued15:48 – Research That Changes Lives18:15 – Demographics Is Destiny: The Ageing Society19:41 – The 60-Year University23:17 – Rethinking How Universities Deliver28:08 – AI and the Accelerating Half-Life of Knowledge29:21 – What Universities Must Do in the Age of AI
35:51 – Integrating Mind, Body, and Soul36:37 – Why Campus Life Matters More Than We Think39:53 – Reimagining the Humanities43:35 – Is the University a Scam?48:31 – SkillsFuture and the Lifelong Learning Challenge51:46 – What Lily Kong Is Telling Policymakers53:46 – Advice for Fresh Graduates

This is the 80th episode of The Front Row Podcast.

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#80- SMU President, Lily Kong: Why Singapore Must Reinvent Universities Now -

The Front Row Podcast