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Location
Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium (NAKA)
Start Date
3-6-2026 2:30 PM
End Date
3-6-2026 3:30 PM
Description
Universities hold a unique position as the brain trusts of society — creating knowledge, countering misinformation, and catalysing innovation that drives societal progress. Yet the cultures of "publish or perish" and competitive rankings have led academia to focus on certain metrics, and in so doing, chase misplaced goals. This has resulted in some misdirections: misconduct, data manipulation, mistreatment of early-career researchers, and a troubling misalignment between what scholars pursue and what society needs. How can we begin to rethink research impact beyond standard metrics to embrace both academic excellence and societal contribution? In the spirit of FORCE 2026's theme, Prof Kong argues that reforming research assessment is not something universities, funders, publishers, or librarians can achieve alone — it requires going together across boundaries and the courage to disrupt status quo and build research cultures that serve both purpose and people.
About the Speaker:
Professor Lily Kong has been President of Singapore Management University since 2019, the first Singaporean to lead the institution and the first Singaporean woman to head any university in Singapore. She is an interdisciplinary scholar, with disciplinary roots in Geography. She is widely known for her research on urban transformations, and social and cultural change in Asian cities. In particular, she has published a large body of work on inter-communal relations (including religious and racial relations), social cohesion, national identity, cultural policy and cultural industries, creative cities and creative economy, urban heritage and conservation, smart cities, migration and education. She has sat on multiple editorial boards of major international journals and is well-sought after as keynote speaker.
Included in
Opening Keynote: From 'Publish or Perish' to Purpose and People: Going Together on Research Assessment Reform
Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium (NAKA)
Universities hold a unique position as the brain trusts of society — creating knowledge, countering misinformation, and catalysing innovation that drives societal progress. Yet the cultures of "publish or perish" and competitive rankings have led academia to focus on certain metrics, and in so doing, chase misplaced goals. This has resulted in some misdirections: misconduct, data manipulation, mistreatment of early-career researchers, and a troubling misalignment between what scholars pursue and what society needs. How can we begin to rethink research impact beyond standard metrics to embrace both academic excellence and societal contribution? In the spirit of FORCE 2026's theme, Prof Kong argues that reforming research assessment is not something universities, funders, publishers, or librarians can achieve alone — it requires going together across boundaries and the courage to disrupt status quo and build research cultures that serve both purpose and people.
About the Speaker:
Professor Lily Kong has been President of Singapore Management University since 2019, the first Singaporean to lead the institution and the first Singaporean woman to head any university in Singapore. She is an interdisciplinary scholar, with disciplinary roots in Geography. She is widely known for her research on urban transformations, and social and cultural change in Asian cities. In particular, she has published a large body of work on inter-communal relations (including religious and racial relations), social cohesion, national identity, cultural policy and cultural industries, creative cities and creative economy, urban heritage and conservation, smart cities, migration and education. She has sat on multiple editorial boards of major international journals and is well-sought after as keynote speaker.