{"id":5875,"date":"2023-10-01T07:04:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T07:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-alumn-nus.pantheonsite.io\/alumnus\/?p=5875"},"modified":"2025-07-15T16:07:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T08:07:57","slug":"a-renewed-sense-of-belonging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2023\/10\/01\/a-renewed-sense-of-belonging\/","title":{"rendered":"A Renewed Sense of Belonging"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Ms Lim Swee Kim (Computing \u201988), a Raffles Hall alumna, graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) more than 30 years ago. But her connection to the University remains strong. The 59-year-old was among the more than 800 alumni who attended NUS Homecoming<\/em> on 1 July 2023. \u201cOne of my reasons for attending was to reconnect with old friends, and experience the balik kampung (\u2018returning home\u2019 in Malay) spirit once again,\u201d Ms Lim said.\u00a0<\/p>

Organised by the NUS Office of Alumni Relations and co-hosted by NUS Law and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), the event at Bukit Timah campus reconnected multiple generations of NUS alumni for a day of celebration. It marked the first combined Homecoming<\/em> for graduates from the Bukit Timah, Kent Ridge and Outram campuses.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Members of the Class of 1973, who celebrate their 50th anniversary this year.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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NUS Alumni Overseas Chapter Manila members.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In her welcome speech, Ms Ovidia Lim-Rajaram (Arts and Social Sciences \u201989), Chief Alumni Officer, NUS, said that Homecoming<\/em> provided an opportunity to make new memories and friendships. \u201cThis is the spirit of #OneNUS. While there are a multitude of communities within the University, our affiliation to NUS surpasses geographic or campus bounds,\u201d she said. The attendees reflected the diversity of the alumni community, with alumni from Hong Kong, the Philippines and New Zealand flying in specially for the event.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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LEARNING, CELEBRATING, CONNECTING<\/strong><\/p>

Pre-lunch activities featured seminars, workshops and entertainment by NUS staff and alumni. Highlights included a conversation between Professor Wang Gungwu (Arts \u201953) and Professor Chan Heng Chee (Arts \u201964) on \u201cLiving and Leading with Purpose\u201d; a talk on \u201cAn Adventure in the Pursuit of Happiness\u201d by Mr Jonathan Sim (Arts and Social Sciences \u201913); a cocktail-mixing session by Associate Professor Kevin SW Tan (Science \u201994); and a line-dancing lesson led by Mr Lim Chee Kiang (Engineering \u201983).\u00a0<\/p>

Mr Stanley Woo (Law \u201922) enjoyed the illuminating dialogue between Prof Wang and Prof Chan. \u201cThe highlight was seeing the generations of distinguished alumni and marvelling at how NUS had made such a crucial impact at the key inflexion point of one\u2019s life \u2014 and the resulting diversity and outstanding achievements,\u201d the 25-year-old said. \u201cHomecoming<\/em> has made me alive to the fact that being a university student is much more than just being part of a school \u2014 you are part of a community so much larger than yourself or your own cohort.\u201d During lunch, attendees bonded over food, stimulating conversations and performances from NUS musical groups Red Dot Baroque, Resonance and The Jazzlings.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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This remarkable growth story of our University would not have been possible without the participation and support of our alumni community.<\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Prof Tan Eng Chye<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In his speech, Guest-of-Honour NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye (Science \u201985) brought up the recent news that NUS had climbed from 11th to 8th place in the QS World University Rankings<\/em>. This marked the first time the University had placed amongst the world\u2019s Top 10. Besides thanking the faculty and staff who contributed to this global recognition, Prof Tan also extended his appreciation to alumni for their contributions to the University\u2019s reputation and influence. \u201cThis remarkable growth story would not have been possible without the participation and support of our alumni community,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>

The news was a hot conversation topic among the attendees, many of whom expressed their pride at the University being ranked amongst the world’s best. Dr Souhail Meftah (Design and Engineering \u201923), 27, said, \u201cIt is a testament to the quality of education that we have received, and that makes me most proud.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Alumni with NUS President Prof Tan Eng Chye and NUS Alumni Advisory Board member Mr Soh Yi Da (Arts and Social Science + USP \u201914) (left front).<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Former Eusoff Hall residents celebrated the hall\u2019s 65th anniversary at the Homecoming event.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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A VISION FOR THE FUTURE<\/strong><\/p>

Prof Tan pointed out that the University\u2019s transformation is \u201cnot yet over\u201d. \u201cWe are not standing still. In our next stage of growth, NUS is working towards our vision to be a leading global university, shaping the future,\u201d he said, while encouraging alumni to remain involved in NUS\u2019 next phase of growth.\u00a0<\/p>

Homecoming<\/em> ended on a sweet note, with attendees celebrating four milestones with a dessert buffet and cake: The 20th anniversary of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, the 65th anniversary of Raffles Hall, the 65th anniversary of Eusoff Hall and the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1973.\u00a0<\/p>

For Ms Lim, Chairperson of the Raffles Hall Association, the reunion sparked a renewed sense of belonging. While she had enjoyed meeting some of her peers and lecturers from Computing, reconnecting with alumni from Raffles Hall held a special place in her heart. \u201cAlthough several of us Raffles Hall alumni did not know each other previously, when we began singing the Raffles Hall anthem, it immediately connected us regardless of age and background. That familiarity really warmed our hearts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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NUS ALUMNI: A LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE<\/strong><\/p>

Global reach<\/strong>
350,000+ members<\/em> connecting across 100+<\/em> countries.<\/p>

Rising excellence<\/strong>
NUS has soared from 11th to 8th place<\/em> in the\u00a0QS World University Rankings.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NUS Homecoming 2023 marked the first combined reunion for generations of alumni from the Bukit Timah, Kent Ridge and Outram campuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5875"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6258,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5875\/revisions\/6258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}