You light up my life
These NTU alumni and students have lit the city’s landmarks with captivating experiences that celebrate heritage and community.
Text: Derek Rodriguez
Lanterns with a local twist at Gardens by the Bay
Photo: Ivan Yap
Wang Shijia, creator of the beloved Ang Ku Kueh Girl and Friends, saw her charming characters light up Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay as whimsical lantern displays for the Mid-Autumn Festival 2025.
“I felt an incredible sense of pride and happiness to be part of the SG60 celebrations. To see a local character featured in such an iconic venue is a massive milestone,” says the 1998 accountancy graduate.
This latest accomplishment comes 12 years after leaving her role as Vice President of Investment and Head of Data Analytics at CapitaLand to grow Ang Ku Kueh Girl into a full-fledged brand.
Her years at NTU continue to shape how she builds and steers her company.
“While the creative side is all heart, my coursework taught me to think with a structured, strategic business mindset. It helped me master the principles of brand positioning, and I identified a clear gap for a local, joyful character that celebrates Singaporean heritage,” she explains.
“Crucially, courses I took at NTU like marketing, law and accounting, and even Chinese painting, showed me how to plan for scalability. I learnt to look beyond the initial product and structure the brand for long-term growth through licensing, merchandise and collaborations,” she says.
Photo: Ivan Yap
Bright nights at Marina Bay
The inflatable structure lights up when touched, and when more people touch it, the glowing patterns become more intricate and interconnected – a visual metaphor for how individual actions can merge to create shared harmony.
What began as a class assignment went on to become an immersive public experience at one of the island’s biggest public art festivals, i Light Singapore, at Marina Bay.
Created by Class of 2025 alumna Heidi Lee, third-year NTU student Rae Koh and Canadian exchange student Leela Rao, who met through an interactive media course, In Tandem responded beautifully to visitors’ touch.
The team’s multidisciplinary backgrounds – Rae and Leela from design, and Heidi from engineering – proved to be a great strength.
“Rae and Leela focused on the experiential and visual aspects, while Heidi lent her technical expertise to bring the interaction to life,” they explain.
They also credit their lecturer, Jake Tan, an NTU interactive media graduate from the Class of 2020, for playing a pivotal role in the project.
“Jake was instrumental in guiding us through both the conceptual and technical aspects. He encouraged us to refine our ideas, think critically about user interaction, and push the boundaries of what was possible,” say the trio.
Chijmes of the past
Photo: HeritageSG
In her light projection debut at the Singapore Night Festival, visual communication alumna Hafizah Jainal brought her grandparents’ migration story to life on the façade of CHIJMES.
“It felt surreal seeing my work, Dari Pulau Ke Pulau (From One Island to Another), on such a large scale and at a national level. Watching scenes I animated on an iconic, historical building was a great feeling,” shares Hafizah, who graduated in 2015.
“My parents and relatives were very moved to see illustrations of my late grandparents, whom we dearly miss,” she adds.
NTU was where Hafizah honed her illustration skills and developed her love for art history, which continues to shape her creative practice, the projects she undertakes, and the organisations she collaborates with.
This article first appeared in issue 7 of U, the NTU alumni magazine.
