SMU–SMC Leadership Symposium 2025 Inspires Global-Ready Changemakers
Singapore, October 7, 2025
E-book Launch Becoming Global Ready — from left to right: Professor Lily Kong, Ms. Low Yen Ling, Dr. David Ong, and Mr. Scott Beaumont.
The inaugural SMU–SMC Leadership Symposium 2025: Fostering Global-Ready Changemakers co-hosted by Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Singapore Mentorship Committee (SMC), brought together ambassadors, business leaders, policymakers, mentors, and students to explore what it truly means to be global-ready in an era of rapid transformation.
The event was graced by Ms. Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The event was graced by Ms. Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Trade and Industry, who emphasized the urgent need to nurture globally competent changemakers equipped with three vital traits — awareness of diverse operating environments, adaptability to change, and an action-oriented mindset. She commended SMU–SMC for fostering these qualities through global exposure, cross-cultural learning, and mentorship initiatives.
SMU: A Gateway Between Asia and the World
Opening the symposium by Professor Lily Kong, President and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University (SMU).
In her opening address, Professor Lily Kong, President and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University, noted that milestones such as Singapore’s 60th anniversary and SMU’s Silver Jubilee invite reflection on how to cultivate global readiness in a turbulent era.
“At SMU, global readiness goes beyond traversing geographies — it is about transcending boundaries of discipline, culture, and perspective,” said Professor Kong. “Through our refreshed Vision and Mission, we aspire to serve as a gateway between Asia and the world, empowering students with essential 21st-century skills — critical thinking, ethical awareness, and cross-cultural sensitivity, through an intentional curriculum and pedagogy.”
She highlighted SMU’s innovative programmes — SMU-X, SMU-XO, and lifelong learning through SMU-XL — which combine interdisciplinarity and experiential learning to help students move from transactional knowledge acquisition to deep, lived understanding.
SMC: A Global Integrated Talent Ecosystem
Singapore Mentorship Committee (SMC) was introduced by its Chairman and Co-Founder, Dr. David Ong.
The symposium’s co-host, the Singapore Mentorship Committee (SMC), was introduced by its Chairman and Co-Founder, Dr. David Ong, who shared SMC’s evolution from a legacy family education initiative into a Global Integrated Talent Ecosystem.
“We began with families, and now we connect generations,” said Dr. Ong. “In an AI-driven world, competitiveness is a continuously evolving capacity. The edge belongs to those who anticipate the future and innovate for value — what SMC calls being ‘AI-wt’: adaptive and innovative with the times — because global readiness is not a destination, but an ongoing journey of becoming.”
Founded in 2020, SMC’s three-tier mentorship model connects current, emerging, and future leaders through intergenerational learning. Its hallmark Youth Hiking Library replaces traditional seminars with outdoor, reflective dialogue — fostering authentic mentorship, empathy, and lifelong growth.
Today, SMC unites more than 5,000 alumni across 35 countries, partnering with universities and industry leaders to advance youth entrepreneurship, sustainability, and cross-cultural leadership.
Becoming Global Ready: Launch of the Book
The launch of Becoming Global Ready, a collection of stories by ten leaders from eight cultures and countries.
The symposium also marked the launch of Becoming Global Ready, a collection of stories by ten leaders from eight cultures and countries, offering diverse perspectives on leadership, mentorship, and lifelong learning.
Contributors include André Andonian; Chairman Emeritus North Asia and McKinsey & Company; Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group; Lee Yi Shyan, former Member of Parliament and Chairman of Business China; Scott Beaumont, former President of Google Asia Pacific; and other distinguished voices across diplomacy, finance, education, and sustainability.
Each chapter explores a facet of global readiness — resilience through adversity, empathy in leadership, and the building of mentorship ecosystems that transcend borders. The e-book and Chinese edition will be released by the end of 2025, to reach 100 million audiences worldwide.
The e-book and Chinese edition will be released by the end of 2025, to reach 100 million audiences worldwide.
About SMC
Founded in 2020 by a handful of individuals from Singaporean and international business families, the Singapore Mentorship Committee (SMC) was originally formed to promote legacy family education. Its founding mission has expanded to encompass three interconnected objectives – to cultivate global-ready youth; to foster interaction between western and eastern talents; and to promote family values and legacy education.
Launched in June 2021, SMC’s mentorship programme has evolved into a thriving ecosystem of events and initiatives. The Hiking Library, for example, hosts regular Saturday morning walks during which aspiring young global leaders get to borrow living ‘books’, ranging from CEOs to entrepreneurs and ambassadors, for one-on-one conversations. The latest addition to SMC’s ecosystem, *Becoming Global Ready*, is the first book to be co-authored by multiple global leaders and offered free to the world.
Notwithstanding its name, the scope of SMC’s ambitions extends beyond Singapore and embraces all of the world. Its vision is to 'Build a Global-Integrated Talents Ecosystem, for a better future rooted in humanity’s core values'. It is akin to the Chinese credo:
培养 “修身齐家治国平天下” 人才圈。
Loosely translated, it is a call to 'Cultivate self, manage family, build career, bring peace to the world.'
Media Contact:
Singapore Mentorship Committee (SMC)
Email: singaporementorshipcommittee@gmail.com
Website: https://www.smcmentorship.org/
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