Grooming the future disruptive accounting professionals

In this chapter, we will discuss how SMU brought about innovation changes in the university’s learning environment. In 2011, a steering committee was set up by SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer to develop strategies that focused on innovation in learning pedagogy at the university. Subsequent brainstorming sessions led to the evolution of the SMU-X programme, which aimed to broaden the scope of university education by encompassing real life problems and problem-solving skills in the curriculum. The concept encompassed three key elements: mindset, pedagogy, and physical space. The challenge was to offer more applied learning with close coordination between classroom learning and practical industry application to students.