Across the world, back to NTU

By Vivien Yap

Dr Anand J. Kulkarni travelled all the way from India to attend NTU Alumni Homecoming 2025.

“Once I read about Homecoming happening in October, I made plans to come for the event and catch up with my former course mates,” he shared.

A PhD graduate from NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Dr Kulkarni is now a Professor and Associate Director at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence, MIT World Peace University in India.

Dr Anand J. Kulkarni (left) and his course mate Dr Fan Zhi Hua (right) catching up at Homecoming 2025. 

During the event, he met up with his former PhD course mate, Dr Fan Zhi Hua. “Dr Fan and I spent countless hours in the MAE labs working on our research, discussing our projects and chatting about everything else under the sun. Those were some of my fondest memories. I’m truly grateful for all that I learnt at NTU. My time here has shaped me into who I am today,” said Dr Anand.

About 1,500 NTU Singapore alumni and their guests returned to campus on 11 October for this year’s Alumni Homecoming. Held across the North Spine area, this year’s Homecoming invited alumni from different countries, generations and faculties to come together for a day of celebration and community bonding. Alumni flew in from Malaysia, India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam for the event. 

The OneNTU Community celebrating their return to campus with a group photo at Homecoming 2025.

Festivities kicked off at North Hill and The Wave with the Alumni Sports Challenge. This year, the challenge featured three sports – Badminton, Basketball and Table Tennis, and over 100 participants took the friendly matches seriously.

Alumni taking part in Badminton and Table Tennis matches as part of the Alumni Sports Challenge.

For Alfred Setiadi, alumnus of Nanyang Business School, it was his first time revisiting the NTU campus in nine years. He said, “I decided to take part in the Alumni Sports Challenge with my brother this year. NTU has changed so much, but it was great to be back to reconnect with other alumni.”

Alfred went on to win the top prize in the Badminton tournament, contributing to Nanyang Business School winning the Alumni Sports Challenge Shield.

Nanyang Business School with the coveted Sports Challenge Shield, together with NTU’s Deputy President and Provost Professor Christian Wolfrum (second from right) and Vice President for Lifelong Learning and Alumni Engagement Professor Boh Wai Fong (fourth from left).

Alumni also hopped on open-top bus tours to revisit NTU’s scenic landmarks with their families and friends. Aboard the bus, riders enjoyed a 360 view of the Hive, Wee Cho Yaw Plaza and more of NTU’s changing landscape.

The open-top tour buses took visitors to see various NTU iconic buildings.

Back at the North Spine, attendees were entertained with stage performances at the AIA Canopy Stage. Amongst the line-up of acts was a magic show by alumnus Kai Emmanuel Kuah who impressed guests of all ages with his magic tricks.

NTU alumnus Kai Emmanuel Kuah bringing in the laughs at his popular magic show at the AIA Canopy Stage.

NTU’s Jazz N Blues band performing at Homecoming and delighting audiences with groovy music.

At the heart of the festivities, NTU’s Deputy President and Provost Professor Christian Wolfrum and Vice President for Lifelong Learning and Alumni Engagement Professor Boh Wai Fong mingled with alumni, sharing in the warmth and excitement of the day.

In her address to event attendees, Prof Boh provided some words of encouragement: "NTU is the youngest university to be placed at number 12 globally and your professional achievements are key to our success. As you continue to grow in your careers, I encourage you to keep upskilling and learning through our lifelong learning and continuing education courses." 

While Homecoming celebrates the unity of alumni, it also presents opportunities to recognise outstanding alumni from different schools. NTU School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Alumni Awards was held at the Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theatre. Professor Boh Wai Fong presented the awardees of the Young Alumni Award and Outstanding Alumni Award to alumni who have made significant contributions to the school and community.

The School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Alumni Awards, held during Homecoming, presented the Outstanding Alumni Award, Young Alumni Award and Alumni Service Award to Er Chan Ewe Jin, Er Jee Yi Yng, Mr Seah Kim Huah, Mr Victor Ma Kam Weng, Ms Shen Wanling, Ms Chok Man Ming (not pictured) and Dr Yuan Weifeng (not pictured).

A special digital mural was also included in this year’s Homecoming activities – attendees were encouraged to pen down their well-wishes for NTU, and their illustrations were eventually added to a collaborative artwork to commemorate this special event.

The digital mural that was made up of well wishes and illustrations by event participants.

This year’s Homecoming also saw many alumni reconnect with their faculty at sharing sessions in The Arc. Generations of NTU students came together to discuss about the future of their industries and lifelong learning opportunities available at NTU.

Alumni of NTU’s College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS) gather at The Arc.

	Among the overseas visitors was Foong Kok Shen, an alumnus of NTU School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Foong is working in the data centre industry and currently serves as the Secretary-General of the NTU Alumni Association in Malaysia. He attended with fellow Malaysian alumni. Foong returned to NTU for the first time in 18 years for Homecoming 2025 and said, “I’m amazed at how much [it] NTU has developed over the years. It’s been wonderful reconnecting with fellow classmates here. It’s been a pleasure working with the Alumni Association in Malaysia to engage our alumni community there.”
	NBS MBA alumnus Rio Hartanto, who works for a non-profit  organisation in Indonesia, revisited the campus after 20 years to show his teenage daughter around. He also made a donation to support the Alumni Advancement Fund and received a customised T-shirt as a token of appreciation. He shared, “The campus looks completely different compared to two decades ago and I could hardly recognise the landmarks. I’m pleased to see so many new buildings and how NTU has progressed over time. Hopefully, my daughter will have the chance to study here.”
(Photo: Irwan Jamil)	Irwan Jamil, a graduate of RSIS’s Master of Science in Asian Studies programme, joined in Homecoming event for the second consecutive year, sporting NTU T-shirts he had bought for himself and his children. For Irwan, who is an associate faculty at Singapore University of Social Sciences, the visit was a chance to introduce his children to interesting campus spots while reminiscing about his own postgraduate days. He said, “Their favourite activity is the open-top bus tour. I also showed them places I used to frequent, and the Hive where I would grab a quick bite, my favourite carpark spot, and even explained the difference between South and North Spine.”

Check out the photo albums on NTU’s Facebook and Alumni Homecoming website.