On 17 January 2018, the SMU Shenzhen Alumni Chapter - our 12th Overseas Alumni Chapter and 5th in China - was officially launched. Held at the beautiful and glitzy Langham Hotel in Shenzhen, more than 80 people attended the launch party, including over 60 alumni from Shenzhen & Guangzhou (including a few who flew in from Singapore!), and invited VIPs such as the Presidents of the NTU Shenzhen Alumni Association, NTU Guangzhou Alumni Association, and the NUS Shenzhen Alumni Chapter.
The evening started with dinner and drinks, which allowed the alumni to network and reconnect with each other. After a lively meal and banter, Director of Office of Alumni Relations, Dr. Bervyn Lee, provided the event's Welcome Address. Apart from welcoming everyone, Dr. Lee remarked that the Chinese alumni are strong and was proud to see the establishment of a fifth chapter in China.
Our very own SMU alumnus donor, Mr. Jeff Tung, CEO and Executive Director of Sheng Ye Capital Ltd, then delivered the keynote speech, focussing on his journey creating Sheng Ye Capital Ltd in Hong Kong, and doing business in China, thereby providing invaluable words of inspiration for alumni who might be keen to venture down the same entrepreneurial path.
The newly minted President of the SMU Shenzhen Alumni Chapter, Mr. Wang Dan (MAF, 2014), then took to the stage to introduce his Executive Committee members, as well as to speak about the Chapter's aims, goals and future plans. The Chapter's motto is to deepen SMU's engagement in China and provide services and support to SMU alumni based in Shenzhen. A meaningful video featuring the various Presidents and Representatives of other Overseas Chapters (e.g. Myanmar, Belgium etc.) giving their well wishes was played.
With that, SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer officially launched the SMU Shenzhen Alumni Chapter by unveiling the Shenzhen Chapter plague and logo. Thereafter, Prof De Meyer provided the event's Closing Speech, calling upon the Shenzhen alumni to be vibrant, to stay connected with each other, and to grow in size.
With that, the event came to a close, and alumni grabbed the opportunity to take photos with our beloved SMU President, Prof De Meyer! Many stayed on to continue catching up and feasting on the seafood buffet. It was a night to remember indeed.