On a crisp autumn day, 15 October 2023, with the fragrance of the orange osmanthus still lingering, it was a pleasure to meet our NUS alumni at Hangzhou, the city that just held the 19th Asian Games.

We met with old friends and new friends, classmates, roommates, seniors and mentors. One thing is common to all: we have all studied or worked in NUS to some extent, and have been influenced by NUS, sharing common memories and growth. It is lucky that we were able to gather to share coffee and good food, and more importantly, listen to talks and discussions with alumni.

Sharing 1: Alumni Society Helps Our Career and Entrepreneurs. Dr. Mingliang You (PhD, Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Class of '11), Founder/Chairman of Aiming Medicine, talked about the value of alumni, especially the understanding of the word "support". Some key words are as follows: Support, help, a mutual willingness to assist. Gratitude, reverence, humility, altruism. Strength, the power of positive energy. Being close to people with positive energy, which is a form of empowerment itself.

Sharing 2: Deciphering the code of life and health with bioinformatics A/Prof. Henry Yang, Experts of Bioinformatics, Cancer Science Institute, Singapore, NUS, shared his recent progress on bioinformatic analysis for biological issues.

Sharing 3: Understanding and Choosing China's Multi-Level Capital Markets Mr. Jesse Chen (LLM 09), Partner of Jingtian & Gongcheng Law Firm, Beijing, China shared experience and common pitfalls for Capital Markets in China. It gave advice for alumni who are starting a business. We also discussed future alumni activities and we will meet again at the next alumni reunion.

Special thanks to Hangzhou Aiming Medical Technology Co., Ltd. for providing the Venue, Dr Xu Luang (Medicine ‘11), Dr. You Mingliang (Medicine ‘11), Dr Zhu Yang (Science ‘11), Mr Wang Ding (Risk Management ‘18), Mr Chen Jiexi (Law ‘09), Dr Zhou Yi (Medicine ‘11), Dr Jiao Huipeng (Medicine ‘10), Dr Shi Yin (Medicine ‘10), Mr Yan Zhiren (Law ‘21), Dr Ge Jingyan (Science ‘07), Dr Xing Huayang (Medicine ‘13 Jan), Dr Yu Ke (Engineering ‘08), Dr Li Bin (Medicine ‘12), Ms Qian Shiyi (Business ‘17), Dr Lv Jia (Engineering ‘12), Dr Zhang Jianbin (Physiology ‘11), Dr Na Zhenkun (Science ‘09), Dr Ye Zu (Medicine ‘11), Dr Lufei Chencheng (Science '98), Dr Dai Xiaoyun (Medicine ‘11), Dr Na Zhenkun (Science ‘09), Dr Yang Shan (Engineering ‘12), Ms Guan Siqi (Business ‘17), Ms Jiang Wenyi (Business ‘17), Dr Soh Boon Seng (Science '98), and Mr Shang Jingfu (ISS '08) and Dr. Liu Yilin(Medicine, ‘09). 

Submitted by Luang Xu (Medicine '16)

We are a profession where the event title immediately tickles those who are in the service. Held on 7 September at NUS College, Teacher Talk brought together alumni teachers and undergraduate teachers-to-be on a cosy evening, where they were also joined by undergraduates who were interested in the teaching profession.

The evening started off with chats over dinner and moved into a more structured conversation time. There were pre-submitted questions from participants before the session. A quick poll was also conducted at the start to gauge interest in the various topics related to teaching. While what and how to teach floated around the participants’ mind space, the top three topics of interest were Life as a Teacher, Career Considerations, and School Culture and Environment. Insights on the Ministry of Education ecosystem; experiences on striving for work-life harmony; questions on career progression and exiting the service – the session was enveloped with honesty and sincerity.

Teaching is a job that almost anyone intuitively knows, but few outside the profession intuitively understand. The teaching fraternity holds a very special bond built over shared joys, pains, and concerns – sessions like this build connections and consolidate support for the unique journeys that each teacher and teacher-to-be is on.

For us alumni, it was an opportunity to take stock of how far we have come from holding our breaths; for current students, it was a glimpse at varied versions of their future. The communal resonance was perhaps attested by how post-session exchanges morphed into a life of their own, extending to almost 2 hours after the session had ended.

In my time as an undergraduate in the then-University Scholars Programme, I had participated in a few teacher-networking sessions, as both an uninitiated bright-eyed freshman and also a mentor in my senior year. It is extremely heartening to know that the college continues to bring together distinct communities of interest, like teachers! For a profession that works hard at supporting the various stakeholders of education, may we always hold space for our peers and support those who come after us.

Submitted by Mr Lee De Yi