1415T2g1 South Korea/Participant Information/Seow Zi-Hua
Contents
About Seow Zi Hua
Name: Seow Zi Hua
Academic Year: 3
Degree: Information Systems Management
2nd Major: Operations Management
Interests: Floorball, Basketball, Outdoor Activities & Meeting New People!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seow.zihual | facebook
Email Address: zihua.seow.2012@sis.smu.edu.sg | Email me
why TSM South Korea
- What motivates you to join TSM?
This will only be my second time travelling to South Korea! My motivation to join TSM is that i believe that learning should not be restricted to the classroom and i would like to grasp this once in a lifetime opportunity to embrace a different style of learning that will broaden my perspectives. Also, travelling on TSM will provide me opportunities to visit places that i would not have access to and gain first hand experience on actual challenges that companies are facing in a different country.
- Why pick South Korea?
According to Bloomberg(2014), Korea is the most innovative country in the world and has established its position as one of the key start-up hubs in Asia. Personally, I am amazed at the pace of change and the hunger that local founders are embracing the challenge and opportunity presented by entrepreneurship. Also, i would like to embrace a culture where both enterprises and society pursue innovation at a elite level.
Internship Opportunities
- What types of internship opportunities interest you?
Business analyst - Without an in-depth analysis of a company's business process and problems, it is almost impossible to deliver an effective IT solution and this is why we have so many examples of IT solutions that are costly and ineffective. An internship opportunity will give me a platform to analyse businesses at different levels and learn how to develop a methodology to deliver effective IT solutions.
Assistant Project Manager -Being able to learn from a professional project manager will give me exposure to the best practices that are used and i would have the opportunity to manage parts of a full scale IT project that would better prepare me for management roles in the future.
Mobile Programming - With the increasing number of smartphones and tablets, the market for mobile application development provides vast amount of opportunities that we can venture into. An internship opportunity provides an excellent starting point to develop mobile applications that could be the next big thing.
Technologies Startups -Although startups might have limited resources and manpower, i believe an opportunity to work in such an environment is valuable as i would get first hand knowledge of the difficulties and challenges faced by start-ups at no cost. This experience would be extremely valuable when i decide to have my own startup.
Also, i believe that undertaking an overseas internship will broaden my perspectives and give me the opportunity to adapt to and experience a different culture and working environment. I believe this type of experience will help me assimilate better into any working environment and aid me in my plans of becoming a entrepreneur.
- Any ideal firms (based in South Korea) that you wish to join?
I am particularly interested in working in Samsung, Kakao or Nexon.
Samsung - First on my list is no other than the Samsung Electronics. Who wouldn't want to join the world’s biggest technology firm? In South Korea, Samsung is the largest company ever listed. Samsung has a lot of industrial subsidiaries like insurance and heavy industries but I like to tap on their Electronics conglomerate which includes manufacturing of Samsung Mobile device. I want to be a part of a company that helps shape the world's technological advancement.
Kakao developed KakaoTalk which is a free mobile messenger application for smartphones with free text and free call features. In less than three years in the market, they have reached 100 million users in January 2014! Therefore, i would like to be part of such an inspiring start-up to embrace their culture and gain insight to their secret to success.
Nexon has developed countless video games that are popular all around the world. Nexon has became a global leader in gaming with the introduction of the worldwide hit MMORPG “MapleStory” and i would like to understand their methodology in game design and graphics.
Starting Business
- What types of business interest you?
- Online e-Commerce
- Mobile development
- Property
- Environmental
- What plan do you have in starting a business?
With a strong interest in fitness ad nutrition, i have been in discussions with one of my friends in SMU to set a up a food store that sells healthy food for students who wish to pursue a healthier diet and lifestyle. We are also looking into setting up a store that sell sports apparel and equipment but due to the lack of capital, we would like to set up the food store first and see if we are able to make profits and gain the experience of managing a business before venturing into the sports store.
Past Experiences
- Describe your past experience
My past experience comes from assisting my dad in the setup of a waste water treatment plant in China(Jin Jiang) five years ago. I was involved in overseeing the development of the plant, purchasing of machinery and liaising with the factories who are using our services. As of now, we have completed 2 out of 4 phrases of the plant where our operating capacity is at treating 60,000 tonnes of waste water every day.
