Every year on the first Friday of October, the Alumni Talks takes place—an annual event where three prominent alumni return to campus to share their personal stories, reflecting on the surprising, progressive, or eventful paths they’ve taken during and after their UT days. It is an inspiring moment for alumni, staff, and students alike.
But how does such an experience come together?
For the alumni speakers, the day starts long before they step on stage. They dedicate a full day to reconnecting with the UT community—meeting students over lunch, visiting study associations and programme staff, and taking time to share their journeys and lessons learned. For them, it’s not just about presenting their story, but about giving back and engaging directly with the next generation of engineers, scientists, and thinkers.
From the student perspective, it’s an equally dynamic experience. Each lunch lecture is co-organised by a study association, whose members work closely with the Alumni Office and Career Services to make it happen. Between classes, exams, and packed agendas, student boards take on the challenge of preparing rooms, promoting the talk, arranging meetings with staff, organising sandwiches, and welcoming alumni—all to create a meaningful and inspiring moment of exchange.
As the host of the study association for Chemical Science Engineering, Alembic shared about hosting Pavlina Nanou (CSE alumna, PhD, and co-founder of TORWASH BV):
These lectures attract students from many study programmes, so keeping a broad communication scope is key. This sometimes means two associations collaborate to host a session—like the lecture by Johnny Hartz Søraker (PhD, AI Ethics Lead at Google), co-organised by Ideefiks, the study association for the master’s in Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society, and Inter-Actief, representing students from Computer Science and Business Information Technology.
Finally, the lunch lecture hosted by the study association for studies of the programs Industrial Engineering Management and Business Administration, Stress hosting alumnus Siete Hamminga (founder of Robin Radar Systems) brought together students from a wide range of study programmes, all eager to discuss entrepreneurship, innovation, and drones — proving once again how diverse the UT community’s curiosity can be.
The Alumni Talks serve as a practical example of how the UT community—comprising students, alumni, and staff—can engage in meaningful knowledge exchange. While the format of the student lunch lectures remains largely speaker-centered, they provide a platform for alumni to share their experiences and insights, and for students to ask questions and express doubts—all in a less formal setting, thereby contributing to the communal learning process.
Some steps remain to be taken to encourage more informal and dynamic interaction, which could lead to deeper engagement and more impactful exchanges among participants. We invite you to share your thoughts and ideas on how these sessions could be redesigned. Reach out to the Alumni Office to continue the conversation.
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