INSEAD Singapore campus marks 25 years with expansion push

The school expands programmes and regional ties as leadership demand shifts.

INSEAD is expanding its degree offerings and regional partnerships as its Asia campus in Singapore marks its 25th anniversary, aiming to strengthen leadership training across a fast-changing business environment.

“If I were to put down our priority in the most important bucket, it would be to play the role of a connector, to be a hub, to create an ecosystem of people that come together and create impact,” Sameer Hasija, dean of INSEAD’s Asia Campus, told Singapore Business Review.

The Asia campus, located at 1 Ayer Rajah Avenue, opened in 2000 with 53 MBA (Master of Business Administration) students. It now serves nearly 20,000 learners across programmes in the 2025/2026 academic year.

Singapore was chosen as the Asia base of INSEAD, a business school originally known as the European Institute of Business Administration, due to its regional economic importance, Hasija said.

The campus operates on par with INSEAD’s Fontainebleau site in France, allowing the school to combine global teaching standards with local market understanding.

Hasija said the Asia campus has built partnerships across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, delivering corporate executive programmes.

“By doing so, we develop a deep and very talented set of executives who are going to be the stewards, who are going to be the captains of the ship that is going to take these organisations into the future,” he said in an interview.

He said INSEAD plans to deepen engagement with companies, governments, investors, entrepreneurs, and non-profit groups to build leadership capability across sectors. The school is also expanding its degree portfolio.

A Global Executive MBA Flex programme for senior executives began its first cohort on 4 May, offering a flexible route to executive education.

A Master in Finance programme for recent graduates and early-career professionals will launch its first cohort in August 2027, combining financial training with artificial intelligence-related learning and exposure across campuses.

Hasija said shorter skill cycles are reshaping education needs.

“The shelf life of skills is going to shrink, which means people constantly need to rethink: ‘How can I reinvent myself? How can I reinvent my team and how can I reinvent my organisation?’” he said.