FBF Industry Advisor Day

Industry Advisor for Bachelor of Marketing (Hons) Corina Tan Yoke Ching and Industry Advisor for Master of Business Administration (Corporate Management) Dato’ Heng Huck Lee visited the Kampar Campus on 8 November 2016 for the Industry Advisor Day, organised by the Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF). Both the industry advisors were also invited to be speakers at the two-hour forum.

Besides participants, FBF staff were also present at the forum, namely Dean Dr Au Yong Hui Nee, Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Peter Tan Sin Howe, Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Yew King Tak, Postgraduate Degree Programmes Head Dr Chen I-Chi, Head of Marketing Department Choy Johnn Yee, Head of MBA (Corporate Management) Programme Dr Ng Lee Peng, and Forum Moderator and Lecturer Kuek Thiam Yong.   

The Industry Advisor Day was part of FBF’s initiative, together with the university’s commitment to providing excellent education, in ensuring its programmes stay relevant to the latest industry needs. Feedback and advice provided by the industry advisors were equally vital for FBF to continuously design programmes that will nurture students with the right industrial requirements.

Participants benefitted from Corina, who is the General Manager for Dell Penang and APJ Sales Ops Director of Dell Global Business Centre, Penang, when she shared on “Entering the Workforce” at the forum.

She advised participants to always maintain a positive attitude and emphasised the importance of a good attitude as being key to attaining successful careers. Corina also mentioned other key attributes that were expected from graduates; they include having a good personality, good communication skills, competency, flexibility, ability to multitask, having the latest knowledge on technology and industries, and even mastery of foreign languages.

“Build your brand by knowing yourself, building yourself and developing a professional resume. Step out of your comfort zone so you can develop key competencies. Speak your point of view, and be ready to lead and participate as you learn from others. Take hold of the opportunity to expand your horizon and skills through networking, and allow yourself to explore,” Corina further advised.

Dato’ Heng, who is the CEO of Globetronics Technology Bhd, expressed similar sentiments on having a positive attitude as he spoke in “Opportunities and Success in the Technology Industry”. Highlighting some of the common goals among graduates such as earning good money with a good career, owning cars and houses, and eventually building a happy family, he mentioned that participants nevertheless will still need to go through a process of transition from study life to the working life.

Hence, he underscored the need for participants to be fast, adaptable learners, effective problem solvers, and good team players to have a successful transition from student to working adult. Being a dynamic contributor was also emphasised at his talk.

“The only constraint is your own willingness, abilities and commitments. Remember that past successes do not guarantee your future survival, therefore you need to continuously be innovative, creative and quick thinking,” said Dato’ Heng. Seeing great opportunities in the technology sector, he also encouraged participants to explore that industry.

With the experiences and advice shared which provided important insights to attaining a successful career, FBF hoped that the forum stimulated the participants to realise the importance of continuous learning and self-development which will contribute to their attitude, commitment and passion at work in the future. The talk then ended with an interactive Q&A session and souvenir presentations by Dr Au Yong to the speakers.

Corina giving a brief introduction about herself

Dato’ Heng sharing on the vast opportunities in the technology sector

Dr Au Yong (left) presenting tokens of appreciation to Corina and Dato’ Heng