Netwerk’s bar lectures spice up your night out with a side of academic discourse

You might have seen this on your TikTok feed — a packed bar, a professional speaking with a mic, and a room of twenty- and thirty-somethings rapt with attention.

This is Netwerk’s bar-lectures series, a unique concept that turns a night out into something a little more intellectually stimulating. It’s a fun after-work (or weekend) activity for adults — especially if you’ve missed the feeling of “using your brain” after you’ve left your days at school behind.

The series has been running roughly once or twice a month since it started last August. 

There’s no fixed schedule, but it does have a fixed home at Here Kitty Kitty cocktail bar at Clarke Quay.

Topics run the gamut from “The Science and Art of Sound”, featuring a guest speaker on the history of beatboxing, to “The Drive Behind Self-made Art”, with a filmmaker sharing insights on storytelling — and there are no repeats. You’ll want to keep an eye on its Instagram page or Telegram channel for updates on upcoming speakers and topics.

Tickets tend to move quickly — the venue can only hold so many people — so it’s worth booking early. These go for S$39 per person, and nets you one complimentary housepour drink, as well as entry to Zouk later in the evening.

Netwerk: The team behind the bar lectures series

Netwerk itself began quite simply, as a group of friends who met in their university days, and the group came together for their first meeting in April last year.

We spoke to two of the co-founders, Iyan Danial, 25, and Nathaniel Yeo, 23.

Iyan explains: “We realised we enjoyed each other’s company and shared similar interests, and somehow it just burgeoned into this whole Netwerk idea.”

“I was living in New York for a year, and the nightlife there was amazing — a lot of different ideas and formats,” he adds. “We thought it would be nice to import something like that into Singapore and spice up the post-grad nightlife scene.”

Finding speakers, at least at the beginning, was fairly organic. The team first reached out to people within their own networks — including professors they had studied under at university — before expanding to other professionals who were keen to share their ideas in a more casual setting.

Over time, the community also began contributing to the process. Attendees often suggest topics or speakers they’d like to see. 

They also hope guests will come forward with their own connections to potential speakers — turning it into a real community effort. One topic the team hopes to explore is a theatre-centric lecture, which they think would be especially engaging for the crowd.

Today, the team behind Netwerk comprises a mix of backgrounds — from tech and marketing, to theatre — each bringing different ideas to the events they organise. Iyan and Nathaniel, for instance, help manage partnerships, working with venues and collaborators to bring the events to life.

It’s much closer to a passion project, with everyone taking time out of their careers and schedules to plan and host these sessions.

Some of the co-founders say that it takes a certain level of passion to keep it going, especially on days when it gets tiring. The workload is shared, with everyone managing what they do best — an all-hands-on-deck effort.

While the bar-lectures series is its most well-known event, Netwerk goes beyond that. The collective describes itself as a “social playground” — a platform for unconventional social events designed to encourage genuine connections.

These range from casual run clubs with hawker-centre breaks along the route, to wellness-style gatherings such as cold plunges. There was even a beer run, where participants chugged beer at intervals along the route — a reminder that Netwerk’s events are more about having fun, rather than activity- or goal-focused, like a traditional run club.

The idea is to create different entry points for people with varied interests, while keeping the same social, fun, and community-focused core.

“Traditional networking events can feel very formal — suits, collared shirts,” says Nathaniel. “We wanted to create a space where people can meet others more naturally.”

Across these events, the core idea remains — to build a casual space where people can meet others organically, whether that’s over a post-fun-run meal at a hawker centre, or while listening to a lecture with a drink in hand.

After all, food and drinks have always had a way of bringing people together and getting conversations flowing.

How the bar lectures work

Unlike most social mixers, there are no forced ice-breaker games or socialisation at a Netwerk bar lecture.

When you arrive, the first half of the evening is intentionally unstructured. Put your name tag on, get your free drink at the bar, find a seat (or move around), and start a conversation with your “classmates” for the night.

Conversation starter cards are available at each table, if you need a little nudge — but no pressure to use them. This isn’t a corporate networking session, after all.

Everyone seemed to be there for the same reason: Unwind, socialise, and ready to listen to something thought-provoking.

Some tables were quieter, with occasional chatter, while others clicked instantly — voices rising over shared jokes. Whether you’re the type to warm up slowly or release pent-up weekday energy, it helps to show up open to meeting someone new.

Friendly hosts wander from table to table, keeping the vibe convivial and the atmosphere friendly. At the session we attended, a bingo slide was flashed on screen — a light-touch activity for anyone who wanted to participate.

This section lasts for about an hour and a half — ample time for you to settle in, or for your fashionably late friends to finally turn up — after which, the lectures begin.

There are usually two guest speakers a night — each taking the floor with a thoughtfully prepared presentation, followed by a Q&A. The format is fast — about an hour in total, including discussion — and it goes by surprisingly quickly.

At the session we attended, we heard from Jenny Dorsey, an Asian-American chef, writer and researcher, who spoke on “The Politics of Food & More”. 

We also heard from Dr Jerome Kok, a lecturer at National University of Singapore who specialises in urban food and farming systems, who spoke on “The Rise of Fermentation”.

The engaged crowd — largely post-graduates, early 30-somethings, and university students, listened intently. Some asking questions, some taking notes — it was a lovely sight; people were present because they wanted to, and not because they had to.

The presentations were carefully curated for the audience — thoughtful and accessible, while challenging enough to spark conversations over your second drink.

Even during the short break between the speakers, many were discussing what had been shared. Some also stayed afterward to chat with the lecturers directly — a classroom setting indeed.

Food and food-for-thought at Here Kitty Kitty

While you listen and learn, ease into the evening with some good drinks and nibbles.

Once you’re done with your complimentary drink, keep the party going with Here Kitty Kitty’s regular menu of sips and bar bites.

If you’re looking to try the bar’s signature cocktails, then look for the popular Snow Angel (S$25) — whisky, lychee liquor, rose syrup and egg white. It’s a pretty one, lightly frothy and a sweetness that carries through.

We also had the Heisenberg Special (S$25) — mezcal, blue curacao, citrus and Calpis. The cocktail stands out for its unique spirit base, giving it a slightly different character from your usual bar mixes. It leans bright and tangy, with a lively citrus profile that balances nicely against the sweetness of the Calpis.

Spicy midwings (S$18) and truffle fries (S$20) made great table snacks. The chicken was crispy and juicy, and cleared in no time. The truffle fries came fresh with an indulgent truffle sauce.

Have a drink to sip on, get a few bites for the table, and you’ll find the conversations flowing a little easier.

What we took away from the session

In her lecture on the politics of food, our first speaker Jenny Dorsey began with this: Food goes beyond just what you put in your mouth.

Reflecting on her experience as an Asian-American chef, she spoke on how Chinese food is often labeled “simple” or “greasy,” pushing her to explore identity through cuisine. 

Food, she argued, shapes both personal and social identity. It can also be used as a tool of exclusion. What we grow, distribute and consume has greater implications on how we function as a society, shaping who has power and who is sidelined.

She also turned the lens homewards, drawing from her research on Singapore’s hawker centres — and questioned what it really means to preserve hawker culture — something she’ll be speaking more about at the upcoming bar lecture later today (March 7), where food politics in the hawker context takes centrestage.

By the end of her talk, it was clear that no plate of food is apolitical. The talk kept everyone hooked, and the Q&A that followed was lively — with the room bouncing ideas and insightful perspectives.

If Jenny’s lecture explored identity and power, Dr Jerome zoomed in on something far more microscopic: Fermentation. 

What seemed like a niche field turned out to be an insightful, thought-provoking talk that engaged the room.

He began by discussing Singapore’s 30 by 30 food security goal, a well-intentioned policy to boost food awareness that was ultimately dropped. Dr Jerome then illustrated how fermentation goes beyond kombucha and kimchi — it’s a way to reuse and recycle waste, unlock nutrients, and create value in unexpected places such as pharmaceuticals.

In land-scarce Singapore, where large-scale crops aren’t an option, this approach — which he called nutrient efficiency — is crucial. He also highlighted the strong backing for food-tech, with companies such as TurtleTree driving biotech innovation.

He then posted a question: If countries such as Korea have successfully branded their cuisine globally, what might Singapore choose to amplify? He suggested fermentation as a space to lead — not necessarily through industrial-level production, but through accessible, consumer-facing innovation.

By the end of the evening, I found Netwerk’s bar lectures a refreshing addition to Singapore’s nightlife. By spotting the gap in the sorts of evening activities available, and having the courage to experiment with something new, the team has managed to create a format that is quite meaningful.

Netwerk is, at its core, a group of friends who share the same passion, and this harmony alone keeps the evening fun and light-hearted.

If you’re anything like me, and have missed the stimulation of lectures and academic learning, or simply the classroom setting, then this is likely an event you’ll enjoy — and who knows, you might just make a few great friends along the way.

At an upcoming session later today (March 7), the conversation turns to food politics once again, but through a hawker-centric lens. If this has sparked your curiosity so far, snag your tickets before they run out..

This was a hosted tasting.

For more ideas on what to eat, read on second-gen owners of Tanjong Rhu Pau at the the dying art of handmade baos and the new Steak Gatz at Orchard Plaza with free-flow rice.