Nanyang Technological University's Alumni Affairs Office (AAO) became a separate entity from the then Alumni and Endowment Office in 2004. It is currently headed by Nanyang University (Nantah) alumnus Mr Soon Min Yam (Class of 1975), who has actively spearheaded a whole host of new ideas and activities as NTU's Director of Alumni Affairs. Under his leadership, the AAO's full-time staff grew from 6 to 20, and the office organises activities almost fortnightly. Mr Soon was formerly with the Singapore Sports Council, but as a result of the recommendations and encouragement of several of his university seniors, he returned to the Yunnan Garden campus after 30 years to play the role of a connector between Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and its alumni.

The NTU alumni family comprises graduates of the old Nantah, graduates of Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI) and graduates of NTU from 1991. These alumni from different institutions and eras either had few opportunities for interaction, or they had lost touch with one another altogether. Thanks to Mr Soon's efforts, however, they have finally been brought together under one organisation, with their names in place as part of the NTU alumni database. To date, 30 Alumni Associations have been set up locally in Singapore; and overseas the NTU alumni network covers 40 cities, stretching from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, India and China in Asia, all the way to Europe and the United States. The AAO also organises many activities and offers services for alumni; one of the more unusual ones is its marriage solemnisation service. Mr Soon has solemnised more than 200 alumni marriages over the last seven years.

In an interview with EduNation, Mr Soon shared with us his experience in promoting alumni relations.

88% of over 168,000 Alumni are Contactable

There are currently more than 168,000 NTU alumni, and AAO has made contact with 88 per cent of them. This is a remarkable achievement.

"In 2004, when we began to build up the alumni network, we discovered that our alumni database was messy and incomplete. Over the years, AAO was able to gradually update the alumni database through 'Class Agents', many different kinds of alumni activities, alumni reunions, regular alumni publications, and all sorts of correspondence including email," said Mr Soon.

Based on the information in the alumni database, AAO is able to stay in contact with NTU alumni through various platforms such as NTULINK, a quarterly alumni magazine, and ClassAct, a monthly electronic newsletter - and inform them of the University's latest developments and achievements in education and research.

Putting in Place the "Class Agents" System

The task of updating and tracing the contact details of old and new alumni can be a massive one. NTU has managed to do so through the "Class Agents" system led and implemented by Mr Soon.

Translated by: Lee Xiao Wen >> More

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南洋理工大学（南大）校友事务在2004年从当时的校友及基金发展处分出来，成为一个独立的校友事务处，并由南洋大学1975年毕业生孙敏炎校友担任主任，积极拓展校友事务。在他努力下，校友事务处的职员从6人增至20人，几乎每两星期都举办活动。孙敏炎原在新加坡体育理事会任职，在学长的引荐和鼓励下，他回到离开了30年的云南园（南大校址），担任大学和校友之间的牵线者和推动者。

南大校友群包括了南洋大0学（NU）的"老南大人"、1981年起的南洋理工学院（NTI）以及1991年以后的南洋理工大学（NTU）毕业生。不同年代的校友因为历史发展的纵横交错，过去难有机会交流，或失去联系。在孙敏炎的努力下，毕业年份相隔半世纪的校友，终于都在同一屋檐下，成为南大校友事务处校友档案库里的一分子。至今，南大在新加坡本地成立了30个校友会组织；联络网还覆盖了海外40个城市，从亚洲的印尼、越南、泰国、印度及中国，延伸到欧洲和美国。南大校友事务处每年举办许多活动，为校友服务；其中一项最特别的服务是为南大学生、校友和教职员在南大校园或其他地方举行婚姻宣誓服务, 过去七年已为200多对校友新人主持婚誓仪式。

孙敏炎接受《新学》新加坡教育双语双月刊专访，分享他对推广校友事务的经验。

超过16万8000名校友，88%能联系上

南大目前有超过16万8000名校友，校友事务处联系上了其中88%。这真是了不起的成绩！ >> 更多

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