#AlumniStories: Sparking Conversations and Engineering Change

Engineering Change, Beyond Engineering

Lead Curator at TEDx Singapore. Community builder. Co-founder of Women in Asia. Vivian Lim has taken great strides in making a difference in society. This passionate changemaker has made significant advances in influencing social change in Singapore and the region – from sparking conversations about important issues that sometimes don’t get enough of a voice, from homelessness in Singapore to the hidden struggles and triumphs of women in the region, and even the saving of mangrove swamps. Vivian’s journey with TEDx Singapore began at NTU, even before she graduated.

A student immersed deeply in the dynamic world of technologies such as solar cars and robotic arms, Vivian’s possibilities in life opened up even further when her Professor-mentor introduced her to TEDxNTU, a partnership with TEDx, an international platform that aimed to share ideas and spark insightful conversations across the world. She would later be part of the pioneer team to organise the first series of TEDxNTU talks. Some years on, this extracurricular endeavour blossomed into a full-fledged career at TEDx Singapore. Today, Vivian is lead curator as well as a member of the TEDx Advisory Board, where she mentors the next generation of NTU curators. On the world stage, this winner of the NTU Outstanding Young Alumni Award has represented Singapore as one of the Obama Foundation Asia Pacific Leaders. In 2020, she was recognised as a Gen.T honoree – one of 400 specially selected young leaders in the Asia who are set to shape the region’s future.  

Vivian looks back fondly on her university days – specifically, the people she interacted with, whom she calls “people with the most creative and imaginative minds.”  She is also grateful for her mentors and peers such as Professor David Butler, Professor Sridhar and her senior, Vivek Manoharan, whom she says played crucial roles in the work she does today. “In all my conversations with them, they sparked new thoughts about the world, new perspectives about the community. That drives me to want to do more for this community I live in,” Vivian shares. Vivian also attributes her achievements to her time at NTU, where she developed soft skills such as resourcefulness, problem-solving, inventive solutioning, and the courage to experiment. She says, “For me, the training I received at NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering was not just about engineering applications and triple integrals; it was also about building curiosities of the mind and problem-solving skills. After my four years, it wasn’t all the tough mathematics that I remember, but the systems-thinking mindset that I carried over to my work today.”