It was my first time at a conference as a corporate delegate and it was such an eye opening experience for me. If you don’t already know, TiE Malaysia is the Malaysian Chapter of TiE global, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship in the country.
As I make my way down that sloping flight of stairs in the conference hall, I thought to myself, this is no joke. Watching groups of businessmen nicely dressed in suits and seated in the hall, listening to speakers giving talks on things that I didn’t quite understand did really make me feel a little intimidated. (GDP, PPP? Really?)
The panel of speakers for the day. (from left: Sanchita Basu Das, Tan Sri Dato' Ajit Singh, Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria and Subash Bose)
The first quarter of the conference started off with speeches from the panel of speakers (pic above) and it was a good 2 hours worth of knowledge. Although it was my first time attending a TiE conference, I think they have such eminent and experienced speakers, each of whom shared their valuable insights about the India – ASEAN relationship.
The coffee break was a brisk 30mins but it was suffice for us to grab a morning coffee and some light food to kick start the day. I’ve also met a few students from other universities and it was great to know that I wasn’t the only student there. (Phew!) We had a quick yet fun chatting session with other delegates at our table and quickly made our way back to the hall.
Pastries and sandwiches for coffee break!
The serious atmosphere in the hall kept me quiet for a while until Mr. Stuart L. Dean went on stage. I know I appreciate jokes during speeches like this. :)
Stuart L. Dean, Head of South Asia of GE Corporation giving a speech on stage.
Q&A Session
We had a lunch break at around 1pm with the arrival of the honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak giving a special keynote address right before the lunch break.
Najib also mentioned on how strong economic tie between Malaysia and India will bring more opportunities in future investment. It was definitely one of the most important highlight of the conference.
Our Prime Minister receiving a special souvenir from TiE. It was a nicely framed map of all the ASEAN countries.
The main course was an oven-baked chicken breast filled with ricotta cheese served with sautéed seasonal vegetables and wild beans potato puree-bell pepper sauce. Such a long name it is but sadly, the food did not live up to my expectation. I finished it anyway because I was forced to… nah, I’m kidding! :)
Melvin chatting away with other delegates.
It was such a great learning opportunity for me and it’s definitely one of the far most memorable event during my 2 month internship. Through this conference, I’ve came to experience how it feels like being in the real business world *le gasp* and not forgetting the amazing people that I’ve met during the conference! Thank you TalentEdge!
Posted By, Lai Kuen | A 4’9 photography enthusiast. She’s a final year student doing Mass Communication in UCSI, vertically challenged, believes in faith, always an optimist and constantly in denial of her height.
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