Podcast: In conversation with Lily Kong

In this episode of Not Alone: Leaders in Conversation, host Professor Rafael Bras sits down with Dr Lily Kong — President of Singapore Management University, Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences, distinguished social scientist, and one of Asia’s most influential voices in higher education leadership.

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Drawing on her personal journey alongside Singapore’s transformation since independence, Dr Kong reflects on the power of education as a national strategy, the challenges of leadership as a woman in academia, and the evolving role of universities in a rapidly changing society. From multiculturalism and institutional neutrality to rankings, lifelong learning, and artificial intelligence, she offers a deeply thoughtful perspective on what universities must become in order to remain trusted and relevant.

The conversation explores how universities can balance openness with social responsibility, why higher education systems must resist becoming overly standardized, and how institutions can prepare students not only for work, but for meaningful lives in a world shaped by technological disruption and demographic change.

Main topics covered in the episode include:

• Singapore’s education model and the role of planning in national development

• Gender, leadership, and navigating expectations in academia

• Causes of trust erosion and ROI pressures

• Institutional neutrality and the challenge of ideological polarization

• The dangers of rankings-driven university culture, bad metrics and perverse incentives

• AI, the humanities, and preserving humanity in learning

• Designing universities for lifelong learning and the “100-year life”

Dr Kong also shares why she believes universities must embrace multiple identities and missions — rather than “degenerating to a single mean” shaped by rankings and prestige models. She argues that the future of higher education depends on diversity of purpose, adaptability, and a renewed commitment to human development.

With clarity, nuance, and global insight, this episode offers a compelling vision for how universities can navigate political tension, technological disruption, and shifting societal expectations without losing their soul.

Whether you’re an academic leader, policymaker, educator, researcher, or lifelong learner, this conversation provides valuable insight into the future of universities in an increasingly complex world.

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Coming up next

In the next, August episode host Rafael Bras interviews chemist and university leader Andrew Hamilton, whose career moved from Exeter and Cambridge to UBC, a postdoc in Strasbourg, and faculty roles at Princeton, Pittsburgh, and Yale, before senior leadership as Yale provost, Oxford vice chancellor, and NYU president (2016–2023). Hamilton describes how setbacks and “sliding door” moments shaped his path, and why he maintained an organic chemistry lab during leadership roles for personal grounding and faculty credibility.

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