To promote sportsmanship and entrepreneurship among the students, UTAR collaborated with AstroBIZ to organise the “Smash to Success with UTAR Entrepreneur-MENT” event, through a badminton match viewing and interaction with former national badminton player Koo Kien Keat at UTAR Kampar Campus on 24 June 2023.
Mr Hew (second from left), Koo (third from right) and Choo (second from right) with UTAR staff, students and other guests from AstroBIZ and XOX
AstroBIZ provides content and connectivity solutions to businesses and SMEs, enabling enterprise customers to customise their subscription from a wide range of international and local original content to exclusive live sporting events, all in 4K UHD or full HD. Through AstroBIZ, businesses can subscribe to legal entertainment with enhanced viewing experience. Partnering UTAR and XOX, AstroBIZ offered networking opportunities for the students to get entrepreneurial exposure through the “Smash to Success with UTAR Entrepreneur-MENT” event.
The “Smash to Success with UTAR Entrepreneur-MENT” was a public viewing of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Taipei Open 2023 match supported by AstroBIZ, which featured the special appearance of Malaysia’s badminton legend and former Olympian, Koo. The event also saw an interactive badminton talk and sharing by Koo, followed by a lucky draw and photo sessions.
Students actively participating in exciting games during the event
The former professional badminton player, Koo who reached a career high ranking of world’s number 1 in Men’s Doubles in 2007, enthused, “After hanging up my racquet professionally, I decided to venture into the corporate world. While other professional players chose to become coach, manager or remain on the badminton court upon their retirement, I am now the executive director of XOX Networks Bhd and an independent non-executive director of Komarkcorp Bhd and Cheetah Holdings Bhd.”
Koo sharing his badminton journey with UTAR staff and students
The former All England and Asian Games Badminton Men’s Doubles Champion added, “After my retirement in late 2016, I made my decision to join the corporate world due to the passion and interest I had in events and the fashion world. I had always been keen on what corporate life entails such as structuring, seizing opportunities, proactively discovering solutions for every challenge and most importantly, leadership.”
He concluded, “Badminton has provided me with a strong foundation. The sports had taught me about discipline, endurance and leadership, and enabled me to be successful in the corporate realm.”
Students thronging the event venue
Attracting more than 200 UTAR staff and students, the event saw participants taking part in the AstroBIZ and XOX booth activities, which were filled with an array of exciting games and giveaways. The event also served as a platform for UTAR students to engage not only with AstroBIZ, but also with other potential companies and industries in pursuing internship and job opportunities.
A total of four companies joined and shared their professional career expertise with the UTAR students. Among the companies that participated in the event were Link IT Solution Sdn Bhd, JNJ Transform Resources, MXX Solution Enterprise, and Millennium Solutions.
A representative from JNJ Transform Resources shared, “Overall, it was a good engagement event. It was a good opportunity for dealers to scout for new talents. Some students enquired about internships as well as job opportunities in the company. This assisted them to know further about the job scopes.”
On the other hand, UTAR Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) Retail Management student Shum Zhi Xuan said, “Smash to Success with UTAR Entrepreneur-MENT provides excellent networking opportunities as it serves as a platform for students to make connections with potential employers. It is important to ensure that the students are familiar with and that they have a clearer view of their future.
Today’s event indeed assisted students in finding job and internship opportunities. I would like to thank AstroBIZ and UTAR for giving us this opportunity.”
Another participant, UTAR Bachelor of Science (Honours) Environmental, Occupational Safety and Health Tan Xin Yee added, “It was indeed fun to be part of this event. The booths set up by the companies provided the students with an opportunity to prepare themselves for the future workforce. Thank you, UTAR and AstroBIZ for the meaningful event.”
Also present at the event were UTAR Council Member Mr Hew Fen Yee, UTAR Department of Student Affairs Head Chiang Jeng Fong, AstroBIZ Assistant Vice President for Business Development Desmond Choo Wan Da, UTAR staff, students and AstroBIZ staff and dealers.
As a continuous effort to promote entrepreneurship and share professional career expertise with UTAR students, AstroBIZ together with its four industry dealers will set up career booths at UTAR Library in July 2023. The four dealers will take turns setting up booths each week to assist students who are looking for internship and career opportunities.
Some lucky draw winners
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