To explore what the role of public sector should play in a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) word, this course introduces students to public governance paradigms. This course’s scope ranges from the rise of New Public Management, which argued supremacy over traditional public administration, to other contemporary alternatives, including Digital-era Governance and New Public Governance. Drawing on classic and contemporary scholarship in public administration, students will examine how each public governance paradigm approaches key public values, such as accountability, transparency, legitimacy, effectiveness, and efficiency. Furthermore, students will explore how to design public governance structures to navigate the challenges of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and escalating climate risks. The course emphasises critical reflection on institutional design, policy delivery and administrative reform, equipping students to situate emerging governance challenges within a coherent conceptual and historical framework. ​

This course equips students with contemporary analytical and managerial tools for governing in dynamic, cross-sectoral, technology-intensive and transboundary environments. Moving beyond traditional command-and-control and utilitarian/cost-benefit approaches, the course introduces frameworks in strategy and futures thinking, systems thinking and complexity science, human-centred design, organisational leadership and change management, polarity management, collaborative governance, introductory data analytics, and how private and people sector tools like capital market innovations and asset-based community development can be applied in governance settings. Students will examine how these approaches are applied in digital transformation initiatives, AI adoption, sustainability transitions and cross-border policy challenges. Through applied exercises and case discussions of global cases (with an Asia Pacific focus), they will learn to diagnose complex problems, map stakeholder ecosystems, design adaptive interventions and lead change across institutional boundaries. Particular attention will be paid to public-private-people partnerships and the orchestration role of the state in enabling innovation while safeguarding accountability and equity.

This course examines the ethical foundations of public governance and the dilemmas that arise in contexts marked by technological disruption and acute resource constraints. Students will engage with major traditions in moral and political philosophy alongside contemporary debates including: public integrity and conflicts of interest; digital access; algorithmic bias; privacy; valuing the environment in situations of imperfect, incomplete and dynamic information; distributive justice; and intergenerational equity in sustainability policy. Through case studies from Singapore, ASEAN and beyond, the course explores how ethical tensions-between transparency and security, efficiency and fairness, innovation and precaution-can be identified, structured and managed, even where they cannot be fully resolved. Emphasis is placed on cultivating the structures and vocabulary for moral reasoning, institutional safeguards and professional judgement, enabling students to deliver on organisational missions while simultaneously exercising leadership that is principled, context-sensitive and publicly accountable.

The Governance Leadership Lab provides an applied, practice-oriented platform for students to integrate and operationalise concepts acquired in Cores 1-3. Working in multidisciplinary teams, students will engage in problem-based learning with "case clients" drawn from government agencies, statutory boards, or government-facing industry and community partners. Projects may address challenges in digital service delivery, AI governance, climate transition planning or cross-sector collaboration. The Lab combines structured case analysis, stakeholder engagement, site visits and iterative feedback from faculty and practitioners. Students will develop skills in framing policy problems, commissioning and evaluating evidence, managing team dynamics and communicating recommendations to senior decision-makers. The course emphasises reflective practice, adaptive leadership, and application to real-world governance contexts.

The Governance Leadership Challenge serves as the cohort capstone, synthesising learning across the programme through an extended simulation and field-based experience. Students will prepare through thematic briefings, expert consultations and team-based research before participating in a multi-day immersive simulation addressing a complex, technology- and sustainability-inflected governance crisis with both acute and chronic elements. Assigned roles will require negotiation, strategic communication, trade-off management and ethical judgement under time pressure. A structured debrief and reflective essay will consolidate individual and collective learning. The course includes an overseas field trip to a leading governance jurisdiction, enabling comparative analysis of institutional design and policy innovation. Through this integrative experience, students will deepen resilience, intercultural competence and systems-level leadership capabilities.

The Policy Capstone Project is the individual practice-based culmination of the MPGL programme, serving as the professional equivalent of an academic thesis. Students will undertake a substantial, independent project addressing a real-world governance challenge aligned with the programme's themes of digital transformation and/or sustainability. Projects may be conducted in partnership with a hosting government agency or private/people sector organisation, developed in collaboration with SMU-X, or pursued as a self-initiated desk-based study for highly self-directed students. All topics must demonstrate analytical depth, practical relevance and methodological rigour. Each student will be guided by both a Faculty Advisor and a Practitioner Mentor, ensuring a balance between conceptual clarity and operational feasibility. The final deliverable will integrate research, stakeholder analysis and implementable recommendations, accompanied by critical reflection on leadership, ethics and impact.

This course examines how ethical issues arising from emerging technologies, including generative AI, can be identified, assessed, and managed in the public sector. Students will examine technical foundations at a conceptual level before analysing applications in public service delivery, communications, procurement and policymaking. Students will engage with core ethical challenges-including bias, fairness, transparency, and responsibility - and how they manifest in real-world decisions, taking into account how different governance approaches shape ethical outcomes. Comparative international perspectives will be used to highlight how values may be translated into practice across different jurisdictions. The course balances innovation and risk management, equipping students to commission technologies responsibly while addressing ethical concerns, safeguarding accountability, and bolstering transparency and public trust.

This course analyses how digital transformation reshapes bureaucratic institutions, management practices and public sector capabilities. Students will examine agile governance models, digital service design, platform government strategies and the integration of data analytics into policy formulation, project governance and performance management systems. The course explores organisational change challenges, including talent acquisition, legacy system reform, inter-agency coordination and culture shifts toward experimentation and user-centricity. Case studies from Singapore, ASEAN and other jurisdictions will illustrate both successful and stalled digital reforms. Students will evaluate governance models for central digital agencies and whole-of-government coordination, while also assessing the relative merits of individual agency autonomy. Emphasis is placed on policy acumen and leadership competencies to steer digital transformation and manage private sector providers effectively, while preserving accountability, institutional memory and public value.

This course provides a governance-oriented overview of cybersecurity, cyber resilience and digital risk management. Students will examine threat landscapes affecting critical information infrastructure, government systems and private enterprises, including ransomware, supply chain vulnerabilities and state-sponsored cyber operations. The course explores national cybersecurity strategies, public-private coordination mechanisms, incident response frameworks and cyber insurance markets. Ethical and strategic dilemmas-such as encryption backdoors, offensive cyber capabilities and surveillance-are analysed within domestic and international legal contexts. Case studies highlight lessons from major breaches and system failures. Emphasis is placed on leadership decision-making under uncertainty, board-level oversight responsibilities and building organisational cultures of security. The course equips students to integrate technical risk assessments into broader governance, resilience and national security strategies.

This course investigates how digital technologies - such as social media, algorithmic amplification and misinformation ecosystems - transform socio-political communication, civic engagement and democratic participation. Using case studies, students will first consider ways in which the growth of digital technologies has changed the methods of information production and dissemination, as well as the modes of political participation. Further, using theoretical frameworks such as network analysis, models of belief formation, contagion transmission and opinion dynamics, and models of social identity, students will explore the implications of these changes on attitudes towards expertise, processes of social knowledge formation and social identity maintenance. Finally, they will assess the ramifications of knowledge and identity related issues on long term democratic resilience by engaging with foundational debates including, about free expression versus content moderation/platform governance, and about the extent to which these technologies marginalise, rather than empower. At the end of the course students will be prepared to evaluate digital public spheres and craft governance responses against the erosion of trust and polarisation in order to sustain inclusive and constructive civic participation.

This course examines the transformation of social service support, inequality management and different forms of welfare provision through digital technologies. Students will analyse digital identity systems, integrated case management platforms, algorithmic eligibility assessments and data-driven targeting mechanisms in healthcare, education and income support. The course considers issues of digital inclusion, accessibility, literacy and skills, data privacy and algorithmic bias, particularly for vulnerable populations. Comparative examples will explore how governments leverage digital tools to enhance efficiency and personalise services while mitigating risks of exclusion. Students will assess governance frameworks for safeguarding fairness, transparency and due process in automated decision-making. The course emphasises the interplay between administrative capacity, technological infrastructure and social equity in shaping outcomes of digitalised social policy.

This course introduces frameworks for integrating data analytics into public sector decision-making and programme evaluation. Students will explore data governance architectures, interoperability standards, open data initiatives and evidence-based policymaking as well as project monitoring and evaluation processes. The course covers predictive analytics, performance dashboards and programme evaluation methodologies, examines limitations of quantitative metrics in complex social systems, and explores how developments in technology make qualitative analysis more tractable. Ethical considerations-including privacy protection, algorithmic bias and transparency-are central to the curriculum. Through applied case studies, students will design data strategies aligned with organisational objectives and public accountability requirements. The course equips leaders to commission analytics responsibly, interpret findings critically and foster data cultures that enhance-not distort-policy deliberation and democratic oversight.

This course introduces global governance arrangements in contemporary international relations. Students will gain substantive empirical and theoretical knowledge of the institutions, authority structures, and processes of global public governance. Topics include the United Nations, international law and principles, and other shared institutional mechanisms established to address problems that, by their nature, are borderless and transnational. The course explores strategic normative competition among major powers, as well as coalition-building efforts by emerging middle powers, small states, and regional bodies like ASEAN. Special emphasis is placed on internet governance, cybersecurity, and the digital sovereignty debate. Through simulations and case analysis, students will analyse cyber norm development, cross-border data and AI governance, digital trade agreements, technology supply chain geopolitics, and the role (and limitations) of multilateral institutions in shaping digital standards. This course develops competencies for navigating resurgent geopolitics while advancing a shared and cooperative global order.

This course explores how digital platforms transform government communications and citizen engagement. Students will examine crisis communication strategies, social media management, combating misinformation and disinformation, and the use of data visualisation for policy transparency. The course analyses how algorithmic curation can shape public discourse and how governments can respond to balance between free expression, online safety and good governance. Case studies from health emergencies, climate policy and national security contexts will illustrate reputational risks and opportunities. Students will develop communication strategies integrating behavioural insights, digital analytics and stakeholder mapping. Emphasis is placed on sustaining trust, credibility and responsiveness in digital environments where information flows in large volumes, at high velocity, and with varying degrees of veracity.

This course addresses governance challenges in procuring and managing complex, high-cost digital projects. Students will explore vendor selection models, outcome-based procurement and risk-sharing arrangements. The course analyses common pitfalls in large-scale IT projects, including cost and schedule overruns, scope creep and vendor lock-in. Legal and regulatory frameworks governing public procurement will be examined alongside innovative mechanisms such as relational and agile contracting, regulatory sandboxes and public-private partnerships. Case studies highlight lessons from digital identity systems, health IT deployments and smart city initiatives. Students will develop skills in drafting procurement strategies, overseeing implementation and aligning contractual arrangements with public value objectives and accountability standards.

This course examines how digital transformation reshapes governance responsibilities in corporations and non-profit organisations. Students will analyse board oversight of cybersecurity, data governance, AI ethics and digital strategy. The course considers fiduciary duties, stakeholder activism, ESG disclosure requirements and crisis management in technology-driven contexts. Comparative case studies will explore platform accountability, reputational risk and regulatory scrutiny. Particular attention is given to hybrid organisations delivering public services through digital channels. Students will evaluate governance frameworks that integrate technological literacy at board level and ensure alignment between digital innovation, ethical safeguards and long-term organisational resilience.

This course explores how legal systems adapt to pervasive digitalisation across economic and social domains. Students will assess the evolution of administrative procedures, evidentiary standards and judicial oversight in contexts involving discerning use of algorithmic systems and automated decision-making. The course examines regulatory coherence across data protection, cybersecurity, consumer protection and sector-specific digital rules. Comparative analysis highlights differing legal traditions and institutional capacities in responding to digital disruption. Students will consider how courts, regulators and legislatures manage uncertainty when technological developments outpace statutory reform. The course develops the ability to interpret and shape legal frameworks that are technologically informed, rights-respecting and institutionally sustainable even as they contribute to good governance.

This course explores the connection between the agri-food system, environment and sustainability. We use empirical materials from the agri-food system-agricultural production, food manufacturing and processing, food distribution and retail, food consumption, and global food trade - to learn about theories in environmental sociology and political ecology and discuss the possibility of sustainable food systems and agriculture and debate the future of environmental sustainability. We explore how society and environment interact throughout the agri-food system, how the current agri-food system faces challenges in sustainability, and how sustainable alternatives can be developed.

This course provides a graduate-level understanding of the conversion principles and technologies behind various renewable energy sources, as well as surrounding energy access issues faced by different populations around the world (and especially in Asia). It also examines the issues involved in the integration of various renewable energy sources and their economics for heat, power, and transportation needs to meet grid-based and off-grid energy availability and affordability challenges. Based on the technical and sustainability trajectories identified by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the UNFCCC, the future outlook for each of the sources and systems would be discussed. Instructors and guest lecturers will examine various renewable and conventional energy production technologies, energy end-use practices and alternatives, and consumption practices in different countries of Asia and students will engage with a comprehensive energy sustainability framework to discuss weighing different engineering, political, social, economic, and environmental goals related to energy generation, transmission and distribution in both urban and rural contexts in Asia. This course would resonate with SDG goals #7 (affordable and clean energy) and goal #13 (climate action).

This course develops analytical skills for evaluating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks in policy and practice. Using a systems thinking approach, students will identify and assess sustainability challenges facing governments, firms, and civil society organizations. The course emphasizes real-world trade-offs, impact analysis, and case studies drawn from diverse industries and regulatory environments.

Students will engage with the intellectual foundations of sustainability, including competing definitions, problem characteristics, and the political economy of environmental action. The course examines analytical lenses for evaluating ESG standards and disclosure frameworks, with attention to their design logic, economic rationale, strengths, and limitations. Students will also explore how sustainability commitments are implemented, monitored, and contested across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Students will learn to critically assess ESG claims, evaluate the impact of voluntary and mandatory standards, and communicate sustainability analysis to diverse professional audiences.

This course explores the intersection of business and climate change, focusing on how industries can adopt practices to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while mitigating operational and capital risks via climate adaptation. Students will analyse strategies for decarbonisation, resilience-building, and sustainable resource management, and also examine innovations and policy frameworks enabling sustainable business models that promote climate action. Through in-class discussion with the instructor and invited practitioners, as well as through evaluation of case studies, students will identify opportunities for industries to maximize climate resilience and sustainability while maintaining competitiveness.

In a world grappling with urgent sustainability challenges, digital technologies offer a transformative pathway to bridge the gap between current progress and ambitious global targets. This course equips students from all backgrounds with the technical knowledge, practical skills, and critical thinking necessary to address these challenges through innovation.

This cross-disciplinary SMU-X course takes a hands-on, practical approach to leveraging digital technologies-especially Generative Artificial Intelligence-as powerful tools for addressing sustainability challenges across environmental, social, and economic sectors. Designed for students from all backgrounds, including those without technical experience, the course equips you with concrete, transferable skills to implement real-world solutions. At the same time, the rise of digital technologies brings with it environmental and social impacts, and this course emphasizes not only the potential of technology to advance sustainability but also the ethical responsibility to innovate equitably. Study cases will be chosen based on their relevance to the diversity of student experiences represented in the class.

Bridging the gap between traditional capitalism and a new context of shared economic, environmental and social values, sustainable finance is quickly becoming a core part of the mission of companies, financial institutions and the investment community. This course couples established and emerging theory on how finance can be used to address sustainability challenges. The initial sessions will introduce key concepts of finance for students less familiar with these concepts: capital and corporate structures, risk and return, financial markets, etc. The course then outlines the theoretical foundation and integration of sustainability in the corporate and investment purpose, notably stakeholder interests and stewardship. The course then moves on to the practice of sustainable finance. We will explore how integrated reporting and disclosures, ESG measurement and ratings provide information to investors and stakeholders on ESG performance of economic actors. The course covers diverse aspects of sustainable finance, including integration of ESG issues in the supply chain, financing incentives for ESG performance, financing of mitigation and adaptation investments, socially responsible and impact investing. The course aims to provide sophisticated and rigorous training at the nexus of sustainability and financial management. The course will also explore the meaning and importance of sustainable business practices that respect and adhere to ethical and social responsibility standards through several case studies. By the end of this course, students will gain a foundation in the understanding of how regulation and financial market forces provide incentives for desired corporate and investor behaviours.

This course will interrogate the theoretical and conceptual frameworks related to understanding the circular economy, and draw on empirical examples to distil the practical implications and challenges involved in this approach. Through an investigation into various urban waste streams, including food waste, electronic waste, and packaging waste, this course will provide an empirically-grounded analysis of the circular economy approach, with an emphasis on the operational and application-oriented challenges related to adopting the circular economy approach in industry (SDG 12).

Urban Sustainability addresses the complex interplay of environmental, social, economic and institutional dimensions in cities. This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to equip students with the understanding necessary to navigate these complexities effectively. The course is divided into three sections. The first section introduces students to an interdisciplinary framework and the concept of wicked problems. The second section focuses on different dimensions of the city: economic growth, transportation, culture, green space, and resource management. The third section reflects on the concept of a 'resilient' city.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are crucial in the world's progress towards sustainable development through new solutions to ongoing and future sustainability challenges. This course seeks to understand the role and impact of sustainability startups in the sustainability realm, as well as the successes and challenges that sustainability startups and innovators commonly encounter, with a stronger focus on environmental sustainability. It will be taught from a sustainability innovation practitioner's perspective and provide students an opportunity to appreciate and engage with practical components of embarking on sustainability startup innovation.

[Pending course description]

The solution concept of "social entrepreneurship" and inclusive finance (including microfinance) enable individuals to overcome barriers or market failures often based on part of their identity (e.g. gender, ethnicity, age, immigration status etc.) to set up and operate sustainable businesses. What sets social enterprises and inclusive finance aside and makes it unique in the sustainability sector, is that unlike more commercial enterprises where the singular focus is on profit, these alternate models focus on primarily generating greater societal good. To explore the key contributions of inclusive finance to sustainability in this course, we will look at various case studies, academic articles and book chapters (in particular, from the region, ASEAN and South Asia) to evaluate the confluence of social entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, often with the aid of financial technology (FinTech).

We live in a hyperconnected world - ecosystems and societies are linked like never before. This occurs through the movement of people, goods and products and the transfer of capital and information. At the same time, there is mounting appreciation of the need to address issues of equity and sustainability concurrently. To adequately understand, and ultimately to govern and regulate, for equitable sustainability there is the need to identify and appreciate the complex feedbacks across activities of multiple individual, government and corporate actors across scales from the global to the local. This interdisciplinary course equips students with a grounding in concepts from the biophysical sciences, social sciences, law and governance. It focuses on key social, ecological and economic concerns in the context of biodiversity and climate change. By introducing students to systems and futures approaches it enables students to engage in sustainable and equitable governance for more desirable tomorrows.

The objective of this course is to study how a company can use its operations to improve environmental performance and contribute to business success at the same time. Companies such as Nike, Unilever, Coca-Cola and DHL have started doing so by building sustainability into their operations. A focus on reducing environmental impact not only allows these companies to comply with increased regulations but also to reduce their costs, to improve the quality of their products and to enhance the reputation of their brands. In this course, students will learn how citizens, governments, customers and employees are creating pressures for more sustainable development and how operations managers are responding to these pressures with waste reduction, pollution prevention, and product stewardship. Students will also study specific tools and methods such as environmental management systems, life cycle analysis, green buildings, green purchasing, design-for-environment, recycling, remanufacturing, servicization and industrial symbiosis. Through the course students will also learn how to craft a successful strategy for sustainable operations by incorporating it into a company's business strategy, improvement planning, product and process design, supply management, risk management and both internal and external reporting systems.

This course develops the practical leadership capabilities required to operate across teams, agencies and sectors in complex governance environments. Moving beyond abstract leadership theory, it equips students with concrete models, practical tools and actionable heuristics for navigating trade-offs, aligning diverse stakeholders and sustaining collaborative performance. Themes covered will include deep dives into polarity and trade-off management, personality and team-dynamics instruments for individual and group mastery, organisational development diagnostics, structured stakeholder mapping and engagement strategies. Students will examine challenges such as leading without formal authority, managing inter-agency tensions, and coordinating public-private-people partnerships. Through microsimulations, peer feedback and applied reflection, participants will deepen self-awareness and relational competence while strengthening their capacity to steward collective outcomes. The course aims to build adaptive leadership grounded in integrity, psychological safety and systems-level awareness.

Corporate governance: This course examines governance structures, accountability mechanisms and leadership challenges in corporate organisations operating in complex policy environments. Students will explore board dynamics, fiduciary duties, shareholder and stakeholder management, risk oversight, and performance evaluation, with particular attention to organisations operating under public scrutiny. Through comparative case studies - including government-linked companies and multinational corporations - students will analyse how governance models influence organisational resilience, ethical conduct and long-term value creation. The course also examines emerging expectations related to ESG, digital transparency and cross-sector partnerships, as well as emerging tools in managing capital markets. Emphasis is placed on the interface between organisational governance and public governance.

Non-profit governance: This course examines nonprofit organizations as governance actors embedded in political and institutional environments. Students develop practical competencies for managing mission-driven organizations while building the analytical tools to understand why those organizations behave as they do and how government failure creates demand for nonprofit services, how funding relationships with state and international donors affect autonomy and mission, and how public trust and legitimacy shape organizational survival. Core management topics include board governance, resource mobilization, financial oversight, impact evaluation and program evaluation. The second half of the course turns to ESG as an accountability framework, examining how standards developed for corporate contexts are being adapted and contested across the nonprofit sector and where they fall short when mission defines organizational purpose. Case material draws from Southeast Asia and beyond, including international NGOs, faith-based organizations, social enterprises, and organizations navigating government partnership arrangements. The course prepares students to manage nonprofit organizations competently and to engage ESG governance debates as informed practitioners.

This course examines how behavioural insights can inform the design and implementation of public policies in complex, uncertain environments. Students will engage with the conceptual foundations of behavioural policy, including key assumptions about decision-making, the rationale for intervention, and the ethical considerations surrounding behaviourally informed policies. Drawing on behavioural economics and behavioural public policy, we will examine how cognitive biases, heterogenous motivations, social norms, and choice architecture shape decision-making by citizens, organisations, and policymakers, and how these patterns can be shaped through policy design. The course emphasises the translation of behavioural concepts into practical interventions across domains such as environmental sustainability, digital transformation, public health, and social policy. Through case studies and applied exercises, the course develops skills in diagnosing behavioural barriers, designing interventions, and critically evaluating evidence on their effectiveness.

This integrative course provides an in-depth examination of selected economic, social and security policy challenges in domains shaped by geopolitical shifts, technological disruption and climate risks. Each segment will focus on a small number of pressing policy challenges-such as supply chain resilience, demographic change, social protection reform or national cybersecurity-and analyse them through multidisciplinary lenses. Students will engage with contemporary scholarship, policy documents and practitioner perspectives to understand institutional trade-offs and cross-domain interactions in events of current significance. Particular attention will be paid to ASEAN and Asia-Pacific contexts within a Global Asia perspective. The course develops the capacity to synthesise complex evidence, anticipate second-order effects and formulate coherent policy strategies under conditions of uncertainty, focused on policy domains of persistent salience.

Governance is fundamentally about determining the choice sets available to individuals and institutions; leadership is about - where necessary - reshaping individual choice and guiding the aggregation of individual choices into collective ones. This course trains students in the analytical frameworks required to model and evaluate both individual and collective choice under the assumption that leaders and decision-makers operate under uncertainty, with incomplete information, and in strategic environments. In the first half, students examine models of individual decision-making - including expected utility, prospect and game theory - and their implications for policy design. In the second half, students explore models of social choice and collective decision making, understanding how individual preferences aggregate into collective decisions, and the conditions under which that aggregation is coherent, fair, or manipulable. Throughout, theoretical models are grounded in real-world case studies drawn from public policy, mechanism design, and institutional governance. At the end of the course, students will be equipped to diagnose decision-making failures, anticipate collective action problems, and design choice environments that produce better individual and social outcomes.