SMU's journey began in 1997, when the Singapore government first mooted the idea of a third university for the country. The government wanted SMU to be an experiment in diversity. The experiment began with the choice of the Chairman of the new institution, Mr Ho Kwon Ping, a renowned and successful business entrepreneur. SMU has an emphasis on generating rigorous, high-impact, and relevant multi-disciplinary research that addresses Asian issues of global relevance, SMU faculty collaborate with leading international researchers and universities from USA, Europe, China and India as well as with partners in the business community and public sector, through its research institutes, centres and labs. SMU’s city campus is a state-of-the-art facility located in the heart of downtown Singapore, fostering strategic linkages with business, government and the wider community.