Kung Tze Xuan shared her thoughts on the Fundamental of Entrepreneurship module she is taking as a Semester 5 Dietetics with Nutrition student. There is a well-known adage that states, “Knowledge is Power but Without Action is Meaningless”. The industrial revolution has propelled the transformation of knowledge and technology into innovation, presenting extensive opportunities for healthcare entrepreneurship to address the needs of the community.
Maintaining the leading edge in the field, the School of Health Sciences (SOHS), International Medical University (IMU) incorporates the Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship module in the curriculum with an aim of becoming a training ground for the young entrepreneurs through a variety of activities. Thoughtful planning has gone into designing this module to equip the students with knowledge in the entrepreneurship ecosystem from planning, idealisation, marketing research, strategising, legal ethics to management and harvesting. Workshops and case studies are in place to instill entrepreneurial mindset and skills within the students.
“This module offers a great opportunity for us to explore entrepreneurship. At the beginning of this module, I found it challenging to understand and thus I was less engaged in the class. The study materials prepared by the lecturers and their explanations greatly enhanced my understanding. I really like those examples they provided as they helped us to gain a better understanding of how a company is established.” – Kung Tze Xuan, a Semester 5 Dietetics with Nutrition student who is currently taking the Fundamental of Entrepreneurship module shared her thoughts.
To up the game, the IMU SOHS is co-hosting with Youth Ventures Asia, an organisation providing coaching and training in entrepreneurial goals for the youths, to hold the IMU SOHS Young Entrepreneurs Challenge 2023. In addition to what was being learned in the classroom, Youth Ventures Asia is conducting a series of training workshops and one-to-one coaching sessions for the students who participated in the event to develop their entrepreneurial skills.
The SOHS students also had privilege to participate in one of the biggest events in the country, the Malaysian Commercialisation Year (MYC) Summit Youth Forum 2023 held by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Malaysia (MOSTI) at Connexion Bangsar on 4 August (Friday). There were more than 60 agencies, organisations, and institutions showcasing new technologies or initiatives towards a sustainable future. It was indeed an eye-opener to the young generation and the faculty members who attended.
Kogulakannan Alagappan, a Semester 5 student from the Biomedical Science programme who founded ‘Metacare4U’ and is the managing director of LA Digital Health Sdn Bhd was given an opportunity to pitch his business proposal during the Youth Forum.
“Participating in the MCY Summit 2023 turned out to be an unexpected but immensely valuable experience. The chance to deliver a chill pitch in a brief time span exposed me to the power of adaptability and concise communication, leaving me with valuable insights. Facing a diverse audience, including prominent figures like the Deputy Minister of MOSTI and esteemed company representatives, I had a mere 10 minutes to pitch. This experience highlighted the significance of succinct messaging and quick adaptability.” Kogulakannan Alagappan shared his experience during the pitching session.
Tay Way Hern, a Semester 5 student from the Dietetics with Nutrition programme shared his ah-ha moment during the participation of the IMU SOHS Young Entrepreneurs Challenge 2023 – “One of the valuable insights I gained from participating in this challenge is that it is crucial to obtain your investors’ viewpoints during business planning. One of the exciting activities in this challenge is for all participating groups to pitch their respective business ideas to selected faculty members for their “investment”. It opened our minds as we learned from their perspectives because those perspectives were not considered by us before! If you are interested or curious about what an entrepreneurship journey entails, this challenge will truly be a fascinating eye-opener for you.”
With the aim of cultivating entrepreneurial skills among students, SOHS will endeavour to organise the Entrepreneurship Day annually.
Written by Dr Wong Ting Xuan from Nutrition & Dietetics Department, the SOHS Young Entrepreneurs Challenge 2023 Committee Member
