SINGAPORE - More than 2,100 students will graduate from the Singapore Management University (SMU) on Tuesday.

This is the university's 11th and largest batch of graduates since its inception in 2000.

This is also the first time all 2,149 graduates, including more than 500 master's students, were gathered in one location - Suntec Singapore Convention Centre - for the main commencement ceremony.

Addressing the graduands, SMU chairman Ho Kwon Ping said that the university's interactive pedagogy and seminar-style teaching has led to the success of its graduates, who are more "world-ready and career-ready" than their peers.

The institution is now moving beyond that model to "set the bar higher", he said, adding that it will evolve into a more comprehensive university rooted in the social sciences, with an "integrated curriculum that includes components linking academic and personal development, and community engagement".

All SMU students will get to also spend some time in a facility known as SMU-X, which will serve as a flexible 24/7 space for them to spend a few weeks or months living together, incubating ideas and bringing them to fruition. This space will be ready in the next five years.

Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing, who was guest of honour at the ceremony, told graduands in his speech that success in life is a combination of various elements, from opportunity and the right attitude to chance and effort.

"If this is a video computer game, I'd like to congratulate you for completing level SMU. But let me also welcome you to the next level... the university of life, where you will begin a new and long journey."