r a b a S h M K C I Apa
November 2017 • Issue 19 • Winter
LIST OF ICMS EVENTS NOV DEC JAN
Editors Ang Sea Yen. Clarrise Ng, Nur Adani Sobri, Ong Li Hui, Patrick Chong Content Andrew Chang, Kate Lee, Kong Bin Xuan, Lian Jia Le, Nur Syafiqah, Zen Soo, Idris Azim, Aw Yee Chen Design Delphine Lee, Eu Shi Qi, Tan Yen Sing
Induction Day (HK,MY,NA,UK) Unilever Food Solutions AlumNite Induction Day (SG) ICMS Venture Challenge (IVEC) Perfect Pitch Alumni Sharing
HUMANS OF ICMS
TABLE OF CONTENTS Inside This
Issue
Past Events ICMS Recruitment Efforts ............................................... 2, 3 First Step to Career Success ............................................... 4 Virtual Career Fair (ViCaF) Connect the Dots .......................................................................... 5 Axiata - ICMS Roundtable Investment & Banking Hub - Blockchain Technology Workshop ....................... 6 - Resume Writing Workshop Associate Features Julian Tay @ McKinsey & Co. ............................................. 7 Yau Khai Leed @ ICMS Consulting Group ......... 8 The Power of Music Upcoming Events Induction Day ................................................................................... 9 Unilever - ICMS Roundtable AlumNite Slack Workshop Internal Initiatives PDI The Mamak ............................................................................... 10 ICMS Portal Quote of the Month 1
Here at ICMS, we are thankful for the incredible journey we’ve been through and the people who've brought us here today. ICMS is built by inspiring, hardworking, and talented people with great stories to tell. Humans of ICMS will be relaunching soon. In the meantime, see our latest featured Associates here!
Past Events ICMS RECRUITMENT EFFORTS Hong Kong's Recruitment Roadshows In the mid of September, ICMS Hong Kong conducted 5 roadshows at different universities starting with The University of Hong Kong (HKU) where ICMS is particularly popular among the students. Besides a presentation to introduce ICMS, a total of 5 current Associates also shared their experiences in being a part of the Council. Due to conflicts with other concurrent events, the turnout at the City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University were unfortunately low. To supplement this, the HK Chapter provided the presentation slides to interested students on our Facebook event page and invited them to attend the info session organised by the NA Chapter. Fortunately, recruitment efforts in CUHK proved to be fruitful as it attracted more applicants than previous years. Although the number of attendants for this year’s roadshow was similar to previous years, more CUHK-ers showed interest in our events and organisation. Our Associates and the CUHK attendees even had a late bonding dinner after the briefing session.
Singapore's Virtual Information Sessions As part of our recruitment efforts, the Singapore Chapter conducted virtual information sessions throughout September and October. ICMS SG faced certain restrictions in our marketing efforts due to certain regulations in Singapore. However, that did not dampen our spirit as we sourced alternative opportunities and worked hand in hand with the Malaysian societies in universities to recruit potential Associates. Moving into its third year of establishment in Singapore, the Chapter is received much more positively by Malaysian students studying in Singapore. Information sessions started off with a brief self-introduction and continued with insights to ICMS and the Singapore Chapter. The attendees were also made aware of the value of being an ICMS Associate and the difference between our organisation and Malaysian societies in universities. Lastly, our Associates gave attendees a glimpse into their journey as an ICMS Associates and encouraged them to experience the ICMS journey. The session ended with a Q&A session and a short appreciation message to the attendees.
North America's Exclusive Info Sessions ICMS North America kick-started its recruitment efforts by conducting a series of info sessions to pique the interest of individuals who would potentially apply for ICMS.
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ICMS North America kick-started its recruitment efforts by conducting a series of info sessions to pique the interest of individuals who would potentially apply for ICMS. The first ICMS North America Exclusive Info Session was a 30 minute Hangouts on Air on the 17th of September. The North American team gave attendees an exclusive overview of what ICMS does, what it looks for in Associates, what Associates could gain by being in the organization, and answered questions from attendees. Attendees were interested in the international interactions ICMS provides and the character of our Alumni and Partner & Sponsor networks. The info sessions were a great chance for attendees to engage with Directors and Associates personally and assess if they would be a good fit for ICMS; as well as to see what differentiates ICMS from every other Malaysian student organization around the globe.
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Malaysia's Teh Tarik Sessions On the 20th of October 2017, “Connect with ICMS: an Exclusive Networking and Sharing Session” was held at Teh Tarik Place in Nu Sentral. This mini gathering was an initiative recently launched by the IAP and EOP Divisions of ICMS’ Malaysia. The session was held in conjunction with recruitment efforts for the 8th Council of ICMS. The session was conducted in the form of a casual hangout with the aim of facilitating casual interactions and sharing of ideas and opinions between ICMS Associates and newfound friends. The total of 17 participants did not only learn more about ICMS, they also learned about the people behind ICMS, their experiences at college and university as well as how ICMS has contributed to their personal and professional development. The event began with a brief introduction by Tan Joey and Matthew Wong, the National Executive Director and the Deputy National Executive Director of the Malaysia Chapter, followed by casual conversations where the participants and the Associates were free to interact with each other. On behalf of ICMS, we would like to thank all the attendees including the Associates from the current and past Councils for making Connect with ICMS a wholesome event!
United Kingdom's Recruitment Roadshows Social Network’, was unveiled to the public. The ‘Final Frontier’ kicked off with an awe-inspiring opening speech from Chua Chong Yao, the National Executive Director of the UK Chapter, who captivated the audience with his story of how he got past his fears and learned to “seize the moment” when he first joined ICMS.
Starting from mid-October, ICMS launched its series of Roadshows throughout the United Kingdom, where university students interacted with eager ICMS Associates and learnt more about the organisation, and more importantly what it means to be an ICMS 8th Council Associate. Joining us in this endeavour were our newlyappointed Ambassadors, who provided a human touch and refreshing perspectives of their experiences as ICMS Associates. With the first roadshow held in Bristol, consecutive roadshows were conducted in Bath, Cambridge, Sheffield, and lastly in London itself. ICMS’ final roadshow in London, ‘The Final Frontier’ was held on the 22nd of October at University College London. More significantly, it was the same event where our new Networking Workshop, ‘The
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Following Chong Yao’s astounding opening was a concise presentation of ICMS as a whole by Harold and Liyana. Moving swiftly on, we were able to surprise the audience with ‘The Social Network’, a networking workshop created using data gathered from interviews with ICMS’ Partners and Sponsors, Alumni, our very own Corporate Relations Division, and the wisdom gained from Michael Teoh, founder of Thriving Talents and Malaysian Youth Icon. The London Roadshow received the highest turnout and was by far the most successful roadshow for the year.
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FIRST STEP TO CAREER SUCCESS (HK) by Andrew Sea Yen
Chang,
Ang
ICMS First Step to Career Success (FSCS) was held on the 7th of October 2017, at the Consulate General of Malaysia in Hong Kong SAR. Honorary speaker Mr. Anthony Wong, a human resources professional with 20 years of experience facilitated a career planning session with insights into various business ventures including blue chip companies and startups. Ms. Grace Rebekah Teh Mei Shan, representative of the Consulate General of Malaysia then gave a speech and introduced the Malaysian Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) development initiative. Mr. Anthony Wong returned for the next part of the event, sharing his expertise in career planning and goal setting, followed by a CV writing workshop and a session on the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Good CV practices include highlighting results and using strong action verbs while describing one’s involvement.
Mr. Wong spoke on crucial interview techniques such as maintaining eye contact and giving firm handshakes. Participants learned how to sell themselves with an attentiongrabbing self-introduction while navigating tough questions potentially asked by recruiters. As the event concluded, Hong Kong’s National Executive Director, Vivian Ng thanked all participants and the honorary speaker for their presence. The Finance and Corporate Relations Director, Benedict Low closed the event with a brief overview of ICMS. A token of appreciation was presented by Tan Zhi Qing, the Associate in charge of the event, to Mr. Anthony Wong for his valued contributions. FSCS was proudly sponsored by the Consulate General of Malaysia in Hong Kong SAR.
According to Matthias Lee, ViCaF was organized to provide Malaysian students in the United States and Canada with career development opportunities. The event was conducted virtually from October 11th to October 15th, thus providing students and companies more time to interact prior to the interview process. Among the participating companies were ExxonMobil, Shell, Axiata, Hannover Re and Teach for Malaysia.
VIRTUAL CAREER FAIR - ViCaF (NA) by Nur Malik
Syafiqah
Adam
ViCaF was not far from a physical career fair - companies presented, students asked questions and everyone was dressed formally. Students “queued” at the company’s “booth” and got the chance to speak one-on-one with recruiters who were on the other side of the world. On the last day of ViCaF, recruiters contacted successful candidates for the second round of ViCaF. Similar to a physical interview, most candidates had a video call interview with recruiters through Zoom. ViCaF provided accessibility for Malaysian students to the Malaysian job industry despite being abroad. Some of the graduating class used the career fair as a platform to secure jobs upon returning to Malaysia and the others to search for summer internships. ICMS’ collaboration with NAMSA to organize ViCaF was just one of many other future efforts to continuously provide professional development for Malaysian students studying in North America.
Targeted to Malaysian students in North America, the National Assembly of Malaysian Students Association (NAMSA) collaborated with ICMS, COMMS, MASCO, EMWDC, EPIC, WCC and KULN to organize the inaugural Virtual Career Fair (ViCaF).
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CONNECT THE DOTS (UK) by Lian Jia Le
to and perform activities that would help build important career-development skills. One particularly interesting booth challenged crossborder cooperation by pairing up participants in the two cities to role-play in a mock interview setting. The participants enjoyed working in teams while managing different crises thrown to them by the booth supervisors. Connect The Dots this time adopted a cumulative scoring system with only one winning team at the end of the day. The atmosphere grew tense when the event proceeded to the levelup booths later in the evening. Facilitators engaged teams in active discussions regarding their takeaways from participating in the booth activities. Towards the end of the event, the IAP Division conducted the long-awaited CV workshop with reference to the guidebook endorsed by PwC. After that, participants were divided into groups for a CV consultation by ICMS Associates to apply the knowledge they gained throughout the day. The Connect the Dots team would like to express our appreciation to all Associates who contributed to the big day, as well as the Warwick Malaysian Students Association and the Malaysian Students’ Society of Manchester for their utmost support.
ICMS United Kingdom’s annual autumn regional event, ‘Connect The Dots’, took place on the 14th of October 2017 in conjunction with our intensive recruitment season. Taking place concurrently in both the Warwick and Manchester universities, the well-known unconventional career day started simultaneously in both cities at 1.15pm. Connect The Dots’ main event consists of booths where teams would go
AXIATA ICMS ROUNDTABLE (MY) by Nur Sobri
Adani
On October 14th, the International Council of Malaysian Scholars and Associates (ICMS) was honoured to collaborate with Axiata on “Axiata: A Roundtable On Advancing Asia”. Held at Axiata Tower in Kuala Lumpur, 66 participants of various academic backgrounds attended the much anticipated event to gain invaluable insights from one of Asia’s largest telecommunications group. Participants were also given the opportunity to network with Axiata’s top leaders. This year, the roundtable session focused on how Axiata is playing its role in advancing Malaysia further into the digital era through the Axiata Young Talent Programme (AYTP).
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The event was officiated by the Group Chief Talent Officer of Axiata, Datin Sri Badrunnisa Mohd Yasin Khan and was facilitated efficiently by Axiata’s representatives. Throughout the day, three workshops were conducted which centered on the AYTP, communication skills and business models. The final session required the participants to work on a case study and present their solutions in the form of a business model using the methods taught by the facilitators earlier in the day. The winning team who represented “GrabCar” went home with exclusive prizes from Axiata. ICMS would like to thank our sponsor, Axiata and the organising committee for making the event a monumental success!
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Investment & Banking Hub
ONLINE SPEAKER SERIES WITH NG SHYUE JER : BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY by Lian
Jia
Le
September 24, 2017: Ng Shyue Jer is an ICMS Alumni and now works at the Central Bank of Malaysia. This session focused on understanding the different types of cryptocurrencies that are available in the market today. Shyue Jer also shared his insights on the future of cryptocurrencies. Watch it here! https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=f0Ec3TIbICM&t=2339s
ONLINE RESUME WRITING WORKSHOP WITH QED by Husna
Nazrei
October 15, 2017: This Singapore-based service was founded by Josephine and Margaret. Collectively, they have ten years of experience working in the consulting and investment banking fields, during which they examined hundreds of resumes. During this session, they shared some of the most crucial tips on how to write a resume that stands out. Watch it here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AULCUmoiFU
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s e r u t a e F e t a Associ JULIAN TAY AT THE MC. KINSEY & CO. YOUTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY by Julian Tay with Nur Adani Sobri The Youth Leadership Academy is a 10-week leadership development programme hosted by one of the top global management consulting firms, McKinsey & Co. and I was honoured to be a part of this year’s session. Throughout the entire programme, my team and I were given one ultimate goal: to reduce food wastage. After weeks of discussion, research, debates and rejections, we finally settled with reJuice which saved 65.1KG of fruits, and emerged as the champion team! So what is reJuice? reJuice is a drink made from delicious and safe fruits and vegetables that are blemished or would otherwise be discarded just because they don’t look pretty enough. By juicing these products, food is minimised in a healthy and delectable way. I have learned so much through this journey. But I am going to bring it down to three main ones.
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1) REJECTION IS PART AND PARCEL OF EVERYTHING Looking back, we received a lot of rejections. For our first idea, we found out that another social enterprise, called Grub Cycle, is already doing the exact same thing. And for our second idea, we found that it did not appeal to our target community, leaving our effort in vain. One of the hardest things to pull off was convincing others to purchase or even be interested in your product! (One thing was obvious - I am definitely not made for sales) 2) THERE IS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE Success takes hard work. First, getting the product ready. It was way more than just “juicing”; it was travelling all the way to Selayang just to get the blemished fruits, peeling and cutting close to 100 carrots and oranges each, and juicing all the way from 9PM till 2AM. Second, is the impact of this project. Looking at the surface, it is basically about selling juice
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from blemished fruits. How much impact can we possibly bring? But hey, saving 65.1kg of fruits is pretty impactful for a start, don’t you think? 3) QUITTING IS NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING You need to figure out when to quit, even when you have already invested so much of your effort and time in something. There is really nothing wrong in quitting in something that you know deep down is a lost cause due to the circumstances. My team and I had to forgo a few ideas that we spent weeks discussing and researching. However, always have a safety cushion to fall back on. Mine was reJuice. YLA was indeed a wonderful experience filled with sweat and tears, and constant effort. There are so much to gain and nothing to lose in this programme. But I can honestly say, I hope to not touch another carrot in my life. Ever.
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THE POWER OF MUSIC by Patrick Chong I believe in the power of music. I believe in the potential contained within the arrangement of tones that make melodies, the energy stored in every beat that makes up rhythm. I started learning how to play the piano when I was 7 years old. Back then, I did not think that music held the power that it did. It was a daily chore, sitting in front of the piano for a minimum of 15 minutes to practice scales, arpeggios, and classical pieces dictated by my piano teacher. And that routine persisted all the way for 7 years until I was 14. I was given the puzzle pieces that make harmonies and melodies, but I was never taught how to put them together to make melodies of my own. I discovered the potential of music when I started translating what I heard over the radio into tunes on the piano. Every note I played gave me yet another key that unlocked the chest containing all the possibilities of what music can do. Suddenly, everything made sense; arpeggios make up chords, and scales are representations of the tonality of a song. Once liberated from its chains, music suddenly could do so much more. It allowed me to freely express my joys and sorrows; vent my excitements and frustrations; and communicate my greatest achievements and deepest disappointments.
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YAU KHAI LEED @ ICMS CONSULTING GROUP by Yau
Khai
Leed
Disorganised, that was what we were. A team made of Alumni, EXCOs and Associates couldn’t even choose a leader! Yet everyone in the group has been the lead consultant of the team at some point. To the frank, most of our progress started close to summer’s end, when we kicked off our student and campus leader surveys. As much as we had late night meetings and calls with Ken Ming, the head of Talent Acquisition at Teach For Malaysia (TFM) throughout the project, we were still quite clueless up till the last week. Most of the thinking, depression and late nights started on the last week. Looking back, we really owe it to Sukhi Wei and Jing Lin Lee for pushing the whole team to start the slides 14 hours before the presentation. And to think about it, our mentors Jonathan Dason and Jer Rick Ong did more work than most of us. The best and worst night was definitely the last one, doing slides right after Connect the Dots, with faulty Google Hangouts and computers crashing more than we’ve ever experienced, it was tough and tiring but without my good friend Lincoln Lee, I really don’t think the presentation could have gone so well! It goes without saying that our team was super amazing and really willing to work with each other, but this is not something about consultants, it is a blessing that comes with people in ICMS. So if you’re looking to become a consultant, be prepared for the worst but take note of the smiles you bring to everyone’s faces at the end - that, is an indescribable feeling.
I believe that music breaks the first Law of Thermodynamics, for so much more energy is created with little effort. The power of music is not restricted to the player but is freely available to everyone who listens to the music as well.
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Every note played, every rhythmic beat is a packet of energy not unlike a photon of light that brightens the day of those who hear it. Music gives back more than what you put in. This is the power of music.
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ents v E g n i m o c p U INDUCTION DAY The 7th Council wholeheartedly welcomes the 8th Council’s Junior Associates (JA) into the ICMS family! This year promises a comprehensive introduction to the Council by having interactive presentations in each Chapter’s Induction Day. JAs would also engage with Associates and Alumni through the various activities conducted throughout the day. Each Chapter has their own perk for their Induction Day; some have social lunches or post-event dinners while other Chapters will be holding the event virtually. Stay tuned on our social media platforms for more upcoming stories and pictures of each Chapter’s Induction Day! MY - 11th Nov, 8:30 am MYT, Maybank Tower Kuala Lumpur. UK - 11-12th Nov, 8.30am UKT, Imperial College London HK - 12th Nov, 1pm - 7pm HKT, Room 1103, Cheung Lee Commercial Building NA - 12th Nov, 1pm EST, Zoom SG - 9th Dec
UNILEVER - ICMS ROUNDTABLE The 7th Council is proud to introduce the Unilever - ICMS Roundtable 2017! Happening on the 18th of November 2017, the Roundtable serves as an opportunity gain more insights into the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry and the various opportunities in Unilever, one of our Platinum Sponsors. The event is seasoned with a different tint of flavour this time – a cooking competition where participants have to make their own dipping sauce. Remarkably, this will be the very first ICMS event for ICMS Malaysia’ 8th Council Junior Associates. Register before 18th November 2017 to book a seat!
ALUMNITE With the aim of building stronger bonds between ICMS and Malaysian Societies(Msoc) in mind, the UK Chapter proudly presents AlumNite which will take place on 1st December 2017. This event provides participants valuable networking opportunities with ICMS Alumni, who are already working in a variety of industries over a delicious dinner. Freshers could also seize this chance to apply skills they have acquired during the Final Frontier in the game sessions. Block the date!
SLACK WORKSHOP The Slack workshop is a collaboration between ICMS Academy’s GST Hub and SD for 8th Council Junior Associates to learn more about the benefits and features of Slack as well as how ICMS utilizes Slack in our work. Multiple sessions will be held to cater to Junior Associates in every Chapter.
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tives a i t i n I l a n r e t In PDI The Mamak
by
Samuel
Woo
The Mamak, ICMS' very own idea hub, is currently accepting input from all Divisions and Chapters. This development serves to actualise the "Realising Ideas" aspect of the ICMS motto by giving a means for Associates to develop their event and initiative ideas. Keen individuals have to fill up the "Event Idea" form posted in the ICMS Portal page; from there, Mamak managers will provide assistance and guidance for contributors in fleshing out the bare-bones suggestions into a finalised event proposal. Your input is most welcome - take it as an excellent learning opportunity and a chance to bond with motivated, talented Associates from all around the world! Jian Long Quek, Eddie Teoh, Archana Vijai Kumar and Samuel Woo act as managers for this initiative - feel free to message any of them if you have any enquiries.
ICMS PORTAL
by Patrick
Chong
Founded on the principles of centralization, sustainability and ease of access, the ICMS Portal aspires to be a one-stop resource centre for ICMS operations. Contents include, but not limited to a dashboard of important announcements and all upcoming ICMS events, document templates, the Events Portal, an information request form as well as operating procedures of every ICMS Division. The Portal also aims to provide resources to ICMS Associates for personal and professional development. Officially launched for the 7th Council, the ICMS Portal will be slowly rolled out to the 8th Council Junior Associates and will also be made available to the Alumni by the end of the year. The ICMS Portal is an initiative implemented by the Virtual Workspaces team of the Secretarial Division; all forms of constructive feedback is welcome at the comments section of the homepage.
onth Quote of the M
"There's just something beautiful about walking in snow that nobody else has walked on. It makes you believe you're special." Carol Rifka Brunt
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Produced by the ICMS Secretarial Division 2017-18 Questions? Email us at enquiries@icmscholars.org The International Council of Malaysian Scholars and Associates © 2011-2017 All Rights Reserved.
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