Near or far still part of the circle
Wherever in the world they’ve landed, NTU graduates are building communities of their own, one WhatsApp group, mentorship call, and mixer at a time.
Text: Sadia Roohi
NTU’s alumni network spans 331,000 graduates in 174 countries. For many overseas, the connection to their alma mater does not end at graduation. Some take it further, leading alumni associations and circles that turn distance into community, creating something closer to a second campus.
Find your NTU community here.
Stacey (centre) catching up with other members of the NTU community.
Stacey Chia
President, NTU Alumni Association (USA-East)
As a publicist, Stacey was already building communities for a living before taking on the role among NTU alumni. When the USA-East alumni association was going through a committee change, the journalism graduate stepped up.
Missing Singapore, her family, friends and even the relative calm of it, she saw the association as a way to keep a piece of home close in New York.
Being part of this group makes Singapore feel a little less far away from NYC.
Its events are deliberately social rather than transactional. This year’s welcome for NTU students interning in the city paired them with alumni willing to mentor, creating relationships beyond networking.
“You can’t assume that someone you’ve only met once in a professional setting would necessarily want to spend their personal time giving you advice,” she says. “It’s different when there’s already a friendship or genuine relationship there.”
The connections have since moved beyond official events, with alumni organising their own drinks, tennis games, and movie outings. Next up is a salon series pairing creatives from NTU and New York City for conversation.
Abhi (far left) is connecting NTU alumni across Australia.
Abhimanyu "Abhi" Bhola
President, NTU Alumni Association (Australia)
When NTU Alumni Association (Australia) was established, Abhi saw a chance to keep giving back to a community he was already part of.
The association uses a city-led model, with organisers in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth driving local gatherings around milestones, celebrations, and festivals. It also partners with other local universities through the Singapore Global Network for joint mixers, while an active WhatsApp group lets members organise meetups.
People ask for more, and that's good to see.
For the NTU MBA graduate, the clearest sign that it is working is seeing members bring other members along, and receiving messages asking when the next gathering will be.
His ambition is simple: more interest-based groups, larger events with industry speakers, and “an alumni association that members can be proud of.”
Marine Dejoux
President, NTU Alumni Association (France)
Marine spent six years in Singapore, earning a master’s in Technopreneurship and Innovation at NTU, before returning to Paris.
“When I graduated from NTU, it was one fourth of my life. Singapore is my second home.”
That connection drew her into supporting the French NTU alumni community. During the pandemic, she helped keep it going through interactive online events. In 2023, it became NTU Alumni Association (France), which Marine now leads, bringing together more than 550 alumni across the country.
If I were moving to a new country, my reflex would be to contact the alumni from my community.
The association’s International AI Business Conference showed what that network can do. The event brought together alumni from seven countries and five industries. One alumna building an AI startup in Vietnam mentioned that she needed a particular collaborator and found one through the conversation.
Marine still personally messages every new NTU graduate who arrives in France, offering a call before anything else.
“It’s up to the alumni to shape this alumni association.”
Oh Chyi Haur
Founding Coordinator for NTU Alumni Circle (Sweden)
When Chyi Haur moved to Sweden in 2017, he approached NTU’s Office of Alumni Engagement and offered to build a community from scratch, becoming the country’s first Alumni Circle Coordinator.
With no existing network, the accountancy graduate reached alumni through channels they already used, including WhatsApp and Facebook. The community has since grown to about 40 members, with connections extending into Germany.
When I meet someone from NTU, there is an instant bond, regardless of when we graduated. That feeling is even more amplified when you're based in Europe.
He also mentors current NTU students considering a move abroad.
“Being overseas, there is a genuine need for me to connect with others who share similar experiences,” he says.
Johnny Widodo
President, NTU Alumni Association (Indonesia)
Since taking the reins in 2020, Johnny has built a mentorship programme, quarterly networking events, and support for NTU’s Overseas Entrepreneurship Programme interns. In August 2026, the materials engineering graduate, who also has an NTU MBA, launched a bursary fund for Indonesian students.
I hope to share my experience and make a positive impact on the alumni community.
The chapter has also become a reference point for others in the region, as a founding member of the Alumni Association Alliance, which links NTU with 20 other universities.
The network’s reach can also be seen in alumni like chemistry graduate Egi Septiadi. His early career in Indonesia was shaped by Singapore-founded companies like SIRCLO and Qiscus, both started by fellow alumni.
Egi (third from left) with other NTU alumni from Indonesia.
“The alumni network becomes more visible once you start participating in one event and meeting other alumni,” he says.
“Sometimes the value is not in a particular event, but in having people who understand a part of your journey and are willing to stay connected long after graduation.”
This article first appeared in issue 8 of U, the NTU alumni magazine.
