At the annual Open House on 3 and 4 March 2018, SMU Campus Green was transformed into a carnival with “glamping” elements – tepee tents, fairy lights and colourful streamers -- giving prospective SMU students a chance to immerse themselves in life at SMU and experience its vibrancy in the heart of the city.
(Left to right) ‘Glamping’ in a tepee SMU President Prof Arnoud De Meyer; Dean of Students Prof Paulin Straughan; Director, Admissions Strategy & Outreach, Linette Lim; and SMU Provost Prof Lily Kong.
Some 8,500 prospective students came with their friends and family members to sample the SMU experience. The showcase event was held across many different venues in the city campus, and many visitors chose to hop onto the open-top bus tour or joined in an interactive walking tour of the campus conducted by SMU Ambassadors. There were also comprehensive information sessions and talks to explore various academic interests, school booths and sports and games try-outs.
SMU professors, current students and alumni were on hand to help prospective students explore their academic interests and chart their own educational journey in SMU through the flexible and interdisciplinary curriculum. They learned how SMU undergraduates get to choose from more than 300 combinations of second majors, or 15 double degree combinations. Comprehensive information sessions provided an overview of our academic programmes, student life, scholarships and financial aid, the application process and more.
Visitors learned everything they needed to know to make an informed choice of university degree by chatting with professors, current students and alumni at the six Schools’ booths and attending over 30 talks and presentations.
“SMU piqued my interest because of what I heard about the engagement and interaction in and out of the classroom. I found the talks very informative and helped me to understand the pedagogy better!” said visitor Justin Thio.
SMU President Prof Arnoud De Meyer (far left) sampled one of the hourly bus tours with SMU Ambassador President Terence Yeo.
SMU Ambassadors led the hourly walking tours of the SMU campus.
One of the highlights was the SMU City Games, a sports festival involving SMU students and corporate teams. The competition was open to prospective students with the inclusion of a pre-tertiary category. The first day featured a series of sports competitions such as captain’s ball, handball, floorball and street soccer. Attracting a lot of attention, even from passers-by, was the SMU Dragon Battle (a dragon tug-of-war) held in a mobile swimming pool. Other non-competitive games included Bungee Basketball, Gladiator, Meltdown and Zorb Ball. On the second day of Games there was a CrossFit trail with six stations and prizes awarded to the winners.
Two teams compete head to head in the SMU Dragon Battle – a highlight of the SMU City Games.
Taking a break between as the action and talks, visitors relished the SMU Food Fiesta which featured an alfresco food street with more than 12 stalls run by students and alumni.
As the sun went down, SMU Sunset Spectacle at the Campus Green Amphitheatre featured performances by SMU’s own percussion, dance and music groups, as well as “a very special choir” from The Heart Enterprise, which helps impact the lives of children and youth with special needs. The Heart Enterprise also had a booth selling items like home-baked cookies, pillow covers, plush toys (sewn by members) to raise funds for their organisation. It was an experience shared by friends and families, ‘glamping’ with alfresco picnics as they took in the sensational performances, eye-catching light installation and buzz of SMU’s city campus.
Members of The Heart Enterprise choir performing on stage in the SMU Sunset Spectacle.
Prospective student Erika Lim summed up her day, "I love how happening it is here in SMU. The people are so friendly. I'm really glad I came because nothing beats first-hand experience with a school culture."
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Relive the SMU Open House experience in our video highlights and hear what visitors had to say:
