Driving digital consciousness in running businesses

From right: Dr Hen, Dr Lee, Dr Wong, Dr Sia, Loh, Prof Choong and Ooi with Alibaba Business School students

With the hope to further grow Malaysia’s digital economy, the Department of Soft Skills Competency (Sungai Long Campus) supported by Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) and Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) organised the UTAR New Village E-commerce Project and Alibaba Business School Sharing Session at Sungai Long Campus on 16 January 2020. The event aimed to empower students by increasing their knowledge and understanding of e-commerce.

The event also featured several booths from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) such as CB Red Label Sdn Bhd, Kopi 3 Entreprise, Kampung Sungai Janggut – Homestay Wave, Bentong Ginger FGT, Danevin, Kleenso, Oh Swee Len Sdn Bhd and Jackie Peanut Snack showcasing their products. At the same time, the event also served as an avenue for the SME representatives and 15 students from Alibaba Business School to interact and learn from each other on the aspect of running O2O business.

Present at the sharing session were UTAR Vice President Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, DESA Project Co-Founder Ooi Kim Chong, FAM Dean Dr Sia Bee Chuan, FAM Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Dr Hen Kai Wah, LKC FES Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Assoc Prof Ts Dr Lee Kim Yee, LKC FES Master of Information Systems Programme Head Dr Wong Whee Yen, students and staff.

Prof Choong presenting the token of appreciation to Ooi (left)

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prof Choong said, “This event is indeed a good networking opportunity among all parties concerned and I do look forward to having future collaborations as a result of today’s presentations. We appreciate your efforts and we hope that today’s presentations will bring in new opportunities for collaboration and exchanges with the SMEs from the New Villages who are here today to showcase their products.”

Sharing the possibilities of becoming an entrepreneur and its life-changing adventure, students from Alibaba Business School, namely Loh Qi Hern, Ooi Tru Men and Loh Ning shared their experience about life in Alibaba Business School and living in China. The classes are taught in interactive ways to build students’ confidence level for pitching. Moreover, students are also allowed to learn from industry experts.

Loh particularly spoke about the trends of the digital economy and the e-wallet system in China. He said, “Alipay is not just an e-wallet, it is pretty much a system in our daily lives in China as society goes cashless. This system was set up to create trust between buyers and sellers.”

Click here to read on the sharing session by Loh, Ooi and Loh Ning.

Participants mapping out points on e-commerce

Students presenting their ideas on e-wallet

Sue and Chen (left) sharing the benefits of GET Simulation Platform

The session continued with ‘Queelan’ owners Sue Jung Hong and Chen Shi Ching who won second placing for Alibaba B2B Cross-Border Simulation Platform with 114 per cent of return of investment. During the sharing session, they spoke about their business’ core values and the journey of setting up the business. Sue said, “We established Queelan as the most innovative skincare community with social-commerce touchpoint as we believe everyone deserves the right skincare solution without much hassle. Our activities were carried out at different platforms such as flea markets, MCM Off-campus and O2O.”

Ooi who brought 15 students from the Alibaba Business School said, “One has to have dreams because if you don’t dream then you won’t see the future. Next, you must have a clear vision of what you would like to achieve and then set a mission to achieve that vision. The most important part is to have core values in everything you do because that would be your guiding principle.”

Group photograph among participants and Alibaba Business School students

The SMEs booths