SMU will be offering arts and culture management as a second major from January next year. Course coordinator Associate Professor Kirpal Singh said: “As global economies grow, the arts are going to be key drivers of economic engines. Cities, especially those like Singapore with aspirations to be global hubs, must offer a lot in the arts or culture arenas to attract top talent, and these offerings have to be matched by people trained to respond to new demands in arts and culture. Hence the importance of training graduates in this respect.” He also said that what makes SMU’s programme different from most other programmes is its cultural context. “The arts don’t exist in a vacuum. The arts are conditioned or shaped by deep values and sensibilities which are embedded in the cultures of nations and peoples. Hence the focus of our programme is on both Arts and Culture because of the connection between the two,” he added..