Foong Kah Wai
Public Relations Executive, Malaysia Design Innovation Centre, 2009
Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication) in collaboration with Curtin University of Technology, Australia
One of the great things about working in this place is how it allows, and fosters, individual creativity…The kind of separation by seniority doesn’t happen here – even when I just started, I had many opportunities to directly communicate with the press, something which many of my friends working in other companies did not get.
10 December 2009
Building Connections and Relationships
Written by Catalina Rembuyan
Kah Wai Foong is the lady behind Limkokwing University of Creative Technology’s publicity engine. Liaising with media and getting the word out when it comes to events, developments and activities on campus, she is one of the primary channels through which Limkokwing University builds its presence in Malaysia and around the world. She shares with us on her decision to join Limkokwing University and how it has made a difference in her life. Catalina Rembuyan tells her story.
“Studying at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology offered me opportunities that I never dreamed I would have prior to coming here,” said Kah Wai Foong, a public relations executive currently working at Limkokwing University’s own Malaysia Design Innovation Centre.
“It gave me a competitive edge that no other institution of learning could offer me – a wide range of connections stretching across many countries in many different continents. When you’re stepping out into the world, developing connections is vital for professional success, and Limkokwing University offers you the opportunity to make those connections while you’re still a student.”
Thanks to my work at Limkokwing University, I’ve been able to develop connections with people in the media, embassies, local and foreign celebrities, as well as key people in various industries like lifestyle, fashion, film, architecture, and so much more. If I had not been working or studying here, I do not know how long it would have taken for me to make those connections.
Kah Wai can certainly understand the value of having good connections – it’s vital in her line of work, and in a highly competitive world of increasingly globalized markets, who you know can make all the difference between getting ahead and being left behind.
“Thanks to my work at Limkokwing University, I’ve been able to develop connections with people in the media, embassies, local and foreign celebrities, as well as key people in various industries like lifestyle, fashion, film, architecture, and so much more. If I had not been working or studying here, I do not know how long it would have taken for me to make those connections,” she said.
“On top of that, the connections you gain are not just restricted to a single country, but to the entire world. When I was a teenager I had no idea that I would be able to make friends from people from Palestine, for an example, but here am I, and I know someone from almost every country in every continent of the world.”
Trends are changing and you cannot afford to be someone who is over-specialized in just one skill. You need to have the ability to handle and deal with many different things.
As a teenager studying in a Chinese medium school in Ipoh, Kah Wai always felt that she was uncomfortable with the very artificial learning environment that the classroom offers. When it came for her to choose a place to further her studies after graduating from secondary school, Kah Wai chose to study at Limkokwing University, where she undertook Film and Television under the Mass Communications degree programme.
Conducting her PR internship at Limkokwing University, Kah Wai said that she enjoyed her time as an intern so much that she continued working at the Malaysia Design Innovation Centre after her period of internship was over, coming in in-between classes to help out as a part-timer. She was offered a job immediately after she completed her studies, and she has been with the centre until today.
“One of the great things about working in this place is how it allows, and fosters, individual creativity. A lot of graduates expect to be spoon-fed after they’ve completed their studies and take their first steps in any given profession. Over here, you know what you have to do to perform better, and you’re given the freedom to do so. The kind of separation by seniority doesn’t happen here – even when I just started, I had many opportunities to directly communicate with the press, something which many of my friends working in other companies did not get because they were too junior.”
Kah Wai states that the working environment is continually changing, and the kind of stratified system where seniority and status offers specific job designations are slowly going out the window. “Being successful in a project is a team effort. It doesn’t matter how high your position is, you have to make sure (if you’re running an event) that the carpet is rolled out and the coffee is served.”
Limkokwing University transformed me, inside and out. I’m glad for it.
On the flipside, Kah Wai also states that it is important for a graduate to develop skills that enable himself or herself to be a multi-tasker. “Trends are changing and you cannot afford to be someone who is over-specialized in just one skill. You need to have the ability to handle and deal with many different things.”
Most people would define success as some way related to being happy. If you’re unhappy with what you’re doing and you’re always complaining, that means that you’re failing, because you’re not enjoying what you are doing but at the same time, you’re unable or unwilling to make the changes you need to move forward.
For Kah Wai, failure is what happens when a person no longer finds joy in his or her work, but is unable or unwilling to make a change and move forward. “Most people would define success as some way related to being happy. If you’re unhappy with what you’re doing and you’re always complaining, that means that you’re failing, because you’re not enjoying what you are doing but at the same time, you’re unable or unwilling to make the changes you need to move forward.”
At this point in her life, Kah Wai is definitely happy, and definitely moving forward in her career. Through her engagement with the media and Limkokwing University, Kah Wai is learning about various angles of the media industry, while building relationship with people from different backgrounds and industry specializations from all around the world.
“Limkokwing University transformed me, inside and out. I’m glad for it.”
