NTU Alumni Club gets makeover

Posted On 10 Feb 2016

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The club is expected to reopen next year

By Dawn Puah

An artist’s impression of the revamped clubhouse. PHOTO: NTU

A larger gym, new lecture theatres and upgraded recreational facilities will soon be open at the NTU Alumni Club to attract more members.

Located at one-north in Buona Vista, the clubhouse has been closed since 1 Dec last year for renovations. The club is expected to reopen in 2017.

Facilities on the eighth storey, including the restaurant, bar, karaoke and jackpot room, will be moved to the third storey where the club’s main reception will be located.

Escalators and staircases will also be installed to improve access from the ground floor to the third storey.

Previously, access to the club was only possible via the lift in the carpark on the first storey.

“These upgrades will provide better connectivity and ease of movement within the Club,” said alumni club manager Mr Dexter Ho.

Hostels are also planned for foreign students taking courses at NTU@one-north Executive Centre, located next door.

However, alumni and final-year students said they were unenticed to sign up as a club member.

Common reasons for the lack of interest include membership cost.

Fresh graduates who sign up within their year of graduation have to pay a one-time fee of $139, while alumni who join the club after their graduation year will have to pay an entrance fee of $950. Monthly membership for alumni costs from $21.40 to $42.80 a month.

Mr Alvin Chia, 28, who graduated from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information in 2013, felt the membership was “not worth it”.

“There’s not much of a discount when you make purchases or buy food using the card,” said Mr Chia, who is a journalist.

See Yao Song, 25, a final-year student from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, said while upgrading the facilities is a good move, the club is too far from his Hougang residence.

“There is no point in me using the facilities there when I can do the same somewhere near my home,” said See, who lives near a gym, public swimming pool and running track.

Another impediment to the club’s efforts to bolster their membership rate may be the perceived lack of community among NTU graduates.

Lisa Tan, 23, a final-year student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, said, “It’d be boring to use the facilities alone, but I don’t know of any friends joining the alumni club.”

But some undergraduates are enthusiastic about becoming members.

“I went to the KTV before, so I think the upgraded one will be more exciting. It will also be nice to get updates from NTU even after I graduate,” said Lee Hui Ting, 22, a third-year student from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

During the renovation period, the club’s 2,000 members can use the gym and swimming pool at Club Insignia along Science Park Drive, and the pool at National University of Singapore Society’s Kent Ridge Guild House.