Alumni and friends of the NUS College of Design and Engineering (CDE) were treated to an appreciation dinner organised for the first time by the CDE Alumni Relations Team.
Acting CDE Dean Professor Teo Kie Leong welcomed home over 130 alumni and friends of CDE at the dinner held on Friday 12 May 2023, at the NUSS Kent Ridge Guild House.
In his welcome address, Prof Teo thanked alumni and supporters who have positively impacted CDE. He says: “We are deeply grateful for your contributions made in different ways, whether through your involvement as mentors, your kind gifts, or by simply engaging with our students and staff to share expertise and insights.”
Why serve
The dinner celebrates the theme of alumni giving back to their alma mater and the community. To drive home the important message of purposeful service, a panel discussion, tackling the theme, was held in tandem with the appreciation dinner.
Four panellists, comprising a diverse representation of alumni, students, and friends who have all contributed to CDE, came together on a common stage to talk about community service, moderated by Vice Dean Alumni Relations Associate Prof Kua Harn Wei.
Panellist and CDE alumna Ms Kelley Cheng shared: “Community service is always about giving your time for a cause that you believe in, or one that touches your heart. For me, it is about being able to give back and serve the design community as this is where my heart is. Design, being a relatively new profession, will certainly need the veterans to help steer the evolution and build a healthy eco-system so that future generations of designers can thrive. From serving as a guest critic and external examiner in the Department of Architecture to creating self-initiated projects like studiosml.net which documents the journeys and stories of local creatives, I hope to do my part in bringing awareness to the design industry and play a part in its evolution.”
Ms Cheng who runs her own creative company The Press Room graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts (Architecture).
Another panellist, serving as a member of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department Consultation Committee for several years, Mr Satendra Singh touched on an appreciation for students to start early in doing community service. He also stressed that organisations getting involved as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility can go a long way. Mr Satendra is Founder and CEO of BrightAgami.
Environmental Engineering student Crystalrain Lin Yu Yan offered her perspective on how she leverages her discipline to do her part, accentuating the diversity of views in the panel discussion. As the project director of Project OceaNUS, she contributes to its cause of improving the living environment of the world with sustainable plans.
A member of the NUS Alumni Committee for Student Advancement and Managing Partner of Global Biotech Singapore, Mr Yeo Keng Joon has played a key role in organising fund-raising activities, including the 1982 CDE Charity Golf Game. Mr Yeo, in his sharing, summed up convincingly when he said: “From my experience as an alumnus of NUS, the more I give, the more I get to give.”
A full list of those awarded certificates of appreciation can be found: https://cde.nus.edu.sg/alumni/alumni-happenings-2/appreciation-certificate-awardees/.
