In August 2022, SMU launched the College of Graduate Research Studies (CGRS), its eighth School and second College to place interdisciplinarity at its core. Here, postgraduate research students are provided with a cross-school experience through interdisciplinary programmes, courses and events that are designed to facilitate the cross-fertilisation of knowledge and ideas by students of diverse backgrounds and disciplines. A major shift from the traditional school-based experience, this approach involves the nurturing of a community of learners who can tap on a wide network of experts with disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge, so as to develop cutting-edge research that can impact businesses, societies and public institutions worldwide. 

Professor Wang Heli, Dean of CGRS, shares that “postgraduate research programmes have always played an important role in uncovering the underlying causes of societal and industry challenges, and this has become especially so in today’s world where the problems are more complex than ever. A more systematic, fundamental and integrative approach to research is therefore necessary in forming the solutions”. 

Uncovering new realms of knowledge  

According to Prof Wang, interdisciplinary research involves having research output from two or more disciplines across schools, or within the same school. She shares that “researchers have to be able to integrate knowledge and methods from two or more research areas or disciplines, in order to advance fundamental understandings or find solutions which are beyond the scope of a single discipline”. 

In line with this, CGRS offers a PhD in Law, Commerce and Technology which integrates the knowledge and perspectives from three different but inter-related disciplines. Associate Professor Zhang Wei, Programme Director of the course, explains the importance of this particular grouping by sharing that “without the knowledge and perspectives from commerce and technology, legal studies and policy making may lose sight of the context. Similarly, when commerce and technology developments are not guided by sensible legal and regulatory frameworks, these developments may not be able to exert constructive impacts on the social welfare.”  

In conjunction with the College of Integrative Studies (CIS), the college will also offer a Master of Philosophy in Asian Urbanisms programme and a Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Urbanisms programme that will combine courses and supervision from various SMU Schools with expertise in the topic. Here, research students take a novel approach to the study of cities by combining urban studies with other disciplinary fields such as sustainability, culture and technology. Associate Professor Orlando Woods, Programme Director of the programmes, shares that “problems like how platform technologies reproduce economic inequalities, or how the expectations of infrastructure development are evolving in response to green finance, are just some of the many complex challenges Asian cities face today. Tackling them requires a holistic skillset that spans disciplinary perspectives in the pursuit of a more integrative understanding of the evolving urban form.” 

Fresh insights with real-world value 

Fresh insights derived from interdisciplinary research can be used to shape government policies and improve business practices for the benefit of society. Here are two examples of interdisciplinary research from within the SMU research community that seek to answer important questions in a technology-driven age: 

1. Corporate reporting and social media

Disciplines: ‘Accounting and Finance’, ‘Applied Machine Learning’ and ‘Sociology’ 
As featured on a Theory of Curiosity podcast episode featuring Assistant Professor Richard M. Crowley and PhD student, Zhao Yue  

The problem of false or misleading information online can lead to serious consequences, but anti-fake news laws are still not commonplace around the world and vary in their approach. Together with his team, Richard Crowley, Assistant Professor of Accounting, is currently researching the efficacy of anti-fake news laws by studying companies’ reactions to these laws through their online behaviour, and determining the varying impacts of the different types of laws. The study involved gathering Twitter posts by public companies across 26 countries, accumulating to 100 million posts. Since processing this colossal amount of data would have been beyond human capabilities, they collaborated with the faculty from the School of Computing and Information Systems at SMU to develop an algorithm that can ‘read’ the Tweets and report back on the general distribution of information across them. By deploying machine learning in the research process, Asst Prof Crowley and his team are well-positioned to uncover new insights that could play a critical role in the formation of anti-fake news laws all over the world. 

2. AI and Management Practices

Disciplines: ‘Computer Science’ and ‘Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources’ 
As featured on a Theory of Curiosity podcast episode featuring Associate Professor Michael Bashshur and Dr Laurel Teo 

The use of AI for decision-making has become prevalent in many industries due to its potential for making bias-free decisions. Despite this, research shows that human-beings remain sceptical of the technology, especially in relation to high-stake contexts such as a job salary or promotion. Dr Laurel Teo, a PhD graduate in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource (OBHR) introduces the concept of ‘uniqueness neglect’ to the conversation and through her empirical study demonstrates its impact on employees’ psychological and subjective well-being. By looking at the use of AI technology through an OBHR lens, Dr Laurel Teo offers objective and empirical evidence that can guide and improve management practices in the era of AI.

Collaborating with practitioners for relevancy 

While institutions of higher learning can equip postgraduate students with the knowledge, skills and tools needed to conduct interdisciplinary research, the question of relevance remains, and is best answered by practitioners and others on the ground. Prof Wang states that “collaboration with government, businesses and other organisations is critical for academics to generate scientific knowledge that is socially impactful and practically relevant. At the same time, CGRS and other SMU research units play an important role in helping these same organisations develop systematic solutions for increasingly complex business and social problems”. 

To foster this mutually-beneficial relationship, CGRS will conduct interdisciplinary workshops and seminars that involve government and industry participants where relevant. Postgraduate research students are also encouraged to invite members from these public and private organisations to be part of their dissertation committees. By establishing close working relationships between academic researchers and practitioners, Prof Wang is confident that graduates of CGRS will be well-positioned to provide applied contributions to Singapore’s development needs.