By Ramaswami Palaniappan Arjun & Abhaikumar Sakthi

As the academic year 2016 started, many students flew to Singapore from various nations and with great aspirations. A common doubt that badgers most of their minds is, “What do I do next?” Their future is unknown. Questions arise as whether to pursue higher studies, to land a professional job or to start a new venture. All these questions are never ending thoughts that run through a fresh graduate’s mind.

With this regard, the IEEE Young Professionals chapter of Singapore Section successfully conducted a career talk on “How to Design Your Life as Professional, Investor or Entrepreneur” held on 24th August 2016 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The event was organized in association with NTU Graduate Students’ Council and BestTop Career Consulting, Singapore. The target audience for the event was masters and post graduate students from various engineering domains.
The keynote speaker of the talk was Mr. Patrick Lim, Co-founder and Principal Trainer of Colt Academy; an organization with a vision to create positive changes in the world by developing a community of young and aspiring leaders. Mr. Patrick is also a director for several other organisations and manages his own property investment portfolio.

The talk focused on finding the solution to a few major questions face by fresh graduates. What is the first thing you do when you graduate? How do you view the upcoming years of your life? Would you end up as an entrepreneur, a professional, an investor or a monthly wage earner? The speaker related the situation to the famous saying – “A good Architect designs a home rather than a house; a great States-person creates a vision for the country; a brilliant General strategizes to win before engaging into battle”. He advised the listeners to plan out a strategy for one’s future before actually jumping headlong into a new job or venture. He introduced “Design Your Life”, which is a program that helps one to plan ahead, determine what they want, and construct their life keeping their end goals in mind.

The wonderfully interactive talk finally concluded with a networking session among the speaker and the participants. This successful event encouraged IEEE Singapore Young Professionals to arrange further interactive programs and sessions in this category.

Ramaswami Palaniappan Arjun & Abhaikumar Sakthi