The Duke-NUS's Student Council, Student Affairs and Alumni Relations co-organised the Chinese New Year College Reunion Talks 2018 on 21 February 2018.

Recent graduates, Drs. Ruan Xu Cong, Class of 2017; Francine Tan, Class of 2017; Wu Hong King, Class of 2017 and Sumitro Harjanto, Class of 2015, graciously volunteered their time to give a talk on tips for CPX4. Attendance was enormous!

Drs Tina Tan, Class of 2011 and Galih Kunarso, Class of 2013 alumni who each has young families, spoke about challenges of managing work-life balance.

Drs Vincent Tay, Class of 2011 and Vera Goh, Class of 2017, budding clinician scientists shared how they managed to remain active in research while in residency training.

A large number of MD-PhD students attended the talk and were encouraged to learn about programs and opportunities.

We are always keen on hosting alumni talks for students (and alumni). If you have an idea for a talk, please contact us at alumni@duke-nus.edu.sg.

On 20 March 2018, the Alumni Relations and the Student Council jointly-organised a bowling challenge for our alumni and students at the Mount Faber Safra Superbowl.

The event which saw strong participation from our alumni in SingHealth, was to create opportunities for students and alumni alike to interact not only through academic and formal gatherings but also through fun and interactive sports, like bowling.

After a simple dinner buffet, our bowlers began to settle down and took turns to show their bowling prowess as the balls rolled towards their targets and deafening echoes sounded throughout the lanes when the pins were struck down.

Though we did not get to witness the elusive "turkey" (3 consecutive strikes) nor "4-bagger" (four consecutive strikes), it was nevertheless a strike fiesta for all as everyone looked forward to another enjoyable bowling session in the near future.

To better prepare final year students for the start of their tenure as house officers, the SingHealth Internal Medicine Residency organised Project Inspire on 12 and 19 May 2018.

Project Inspire is a resident--run, in-house simulation of the common emergencies faced by house officers in the course of their work in the wards.

Our final year students were put through a wide breadth of scenarios including the management of hyperkalemia with acute kidney injury, acute hemolytic transfusions reaction, bleeding gastric ulcers and nosocomial fevers among many others.

Our alumni members played essential roles in making Project Inspire a continuous success. Special thanks to the Project Inspire team which consisted of IM residents from both Duke-NUS and YLL for bringing everyone together to help our graduating students!

Project Inspire team: Drs Ruan XuCong, Wu Hong King, Francine Tan and Angela Yap (all from the Class of 2017) and Drs Wilbert Ho, Cherie Gan, Germaine Loo and Samuel Soh from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

Participating Mentors:

Drs Maverick Uy, Class of 2013; Anuradha Pandey, Class of 2015; Kenneth Goh, Class of 2017; Vicki Tan, Class of 2017; Lawrence Law, Class of 2015; Tan Hong Yu, Class of 2017; Ang Chieh Hwee, Class of 2016 and Drs Lim Fang Yi, Tan Wei Chong, Richard Lu, Daryl Lo, Chua Jia Hui, Albert Teng.

We are grateful to our alumni members who came back on both Saturdays to lead the stations and shared their experiences with the attendees which comprised of more than 90% of our final year students.

The Duke-NUS Geriatrics Student Interest Group along with the NTU Welfare Service program organised a health screening for geriatric patients at AWWA Senior Activity Centre in Ang Mo Kio on 26 May 2018.

The health screening targeted senior citizens and was aimed at identifying undiagnosed chronic conditions, providing counselling on modifiable risk factors, lifestyle changes and relevant cancer screening, and promoting sustainable wellness.

To get an in-depth knowledge of how our elderly cope with their day to day lives in the community, the students spent time chatting and fostering bonds with the beneficiaries.

Special thanks to Internal Medicine residents, Drs Trina Arifin (Class of 2014), Maverick Uy (Class of 2013) and Ron Ng (YLLSOM) for teaching students and volunteering useful techniques to screen geriatric syndromes, identifying common reversible problems, and counselling elderly on how to manage changes in their lifestyle.

Congratulation to the Class of 2018 (our 8th batch of MDs) who graduated in June.

To welcome the newly minted doctors, the Class of 2018 and Alumni Relations co-organised a graduation welcome party for the alumni and the graduating class at the Owl Bar on 26 May 2018.

Besides being treated to a spread of freshly barbequed and mouth-watering food by the staff of Owl Bar, both alumni and the graduating class also enjoyed a warm get-together by the pool side.

To spice up the event, some of the graduates even sportingly took to the pool to play a game of water polo, with many spectators cheering at the top of their lungs whenever either side score a goal.

Alumni Relations is keen to sponsor yearly class get togethers. All a class needs to do is ask! Drop us an email at: alumni@duke-nus.edu.sg to start planning your next class event.

On 24 August 2018, Duke-NUS Medical Alumni (DNMA) society held their sixth Annual General Meeting (AGM) and alumni reunion at Duke-NUS. It was wonderful to see the strong presence of the Class of 2018 as they transitioned well to PGY1.

After welcoming everyone, Dr Maverick UY, Class of 2013 and President of DNMA, thanked previous committee members for their service to DNMA and encouraged the Committee to further build on the strong foundation, He proceeded to discuss the objectives of DNMA which were as follows:

• To promote the interest of DNMA membership
• To faciliate interaction and networking amongst alumni members
• To promote advancement of medical education and medical research
• To strengthen ties between medical alumni and Duke-NUS Medical School
• To foster goodwill among local regional communities through service activities

Dr Maverick and the committee then proceeded to share the positives and challenges faced by DMNA. Going forward, DNMA will be organising more social events so that alumni, current students and staff will have more opportunities to interact and network. Dr Maverick also encouraged class representatives to invite their classmates to DNMA events. He added that he would like to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in organising community service events in the coming months.

Last but not least, the AGM ended with the committee presenting last year's activities and highlighting a series of upcoming events for example, the Duke-NUS 5th Dialogue on Nov 30 and MSF's Film Screening in the coming months. Dr Goh Kian Leong and Dr Gwen Hwarng, Class Ambassadors for the Class of 2018 were nominated to be part of the DNMA Management Committee.

Special thanks for Charles Tiu (MD-PhD) and Nella Chua (MS2) for helping to record the minutes.

Alumni Relations organised a carolling event as part of the university wide annual NUS Day of Service (DOS) on 1 September 2018.

The event which was into its third year, was a day of great significance for the University as the entire NUS community came together across various projects to give back to society.

Eight students gamely volunteered to sing with an acoustic guitar. They were six first years (Johannes Liew, Alfred Chia, Yu Yuan Huang, Ng Yuen Fann, Lee Wenli, Toh Ting Samantha) and two upper class (Benjamin Huang and Goh Zhaohan).

The students sang English and Mandarin classics in Singapore General Hospital, Wards 63 and 48 for nearly 3 hours. Some of the students took turns to strum the guitar while the rest sang soulfully along.

While the singing resonated through the wards, a couple of patients were seen breaking into friendly smiles, which was a welcoming sight as the warm gesture served as a great encouragement for our team of "singers" who were performing in a hospital ward for the first time.

Going forward, we hope that in the coming years, the students and alumni can continue to contribute to the NUS Day of Service and in the process, use their talents beyond medical care to bring joy to the community at large.

On 14 September 2018, students and the Alumni Relations jointly organised a gathering for alumni and students, especially the Class of 2022.

The event was held at the all familiar Owl Bar on a relaxing Friday's evening. TGIF!

Eagerly anticipated by many students and alumni alike, the turnout was a huge success with as many as 60 students and alumni enjoying barbeque. Surrounded by the lush greenery and the evening breeze as well as the inviting pool view, the mood was jovial and laughter was contagious as everyone heartily tucked into the free flow of sumptuous food that was prepared for them.

Everyone was also treated to a series of songs and music belted out by our talented students who had sportingly performed for the event - Can you believe the talent of our own students and alumni?

Before the sky grew dark, everyone came together to take a group photo before they continued to catch up with each other under the watchful eyes of the starry night.