The second session of C-Quotient Campus Series took place on 9 July 2010 at Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Engineering. It featured two guest speakers who are based in China, one a Singaporean, and the other, a Chinese.
Our first speaker, Mr See Yong Sheng, is the Founder and Managing Director of Hanshijie Education and Technology group. Although he spent his growing years in Singapore, he fell in love with China and her people when his previous company posted him there. Hence, later on, when he was posted back to Singapore, he chose to leave his job and return to China instead.
He shared with us how difficult it was to be an entrepreneur in a foreign land, because nobody in China knew him. Mr. See was faced with many challenges but he persevered and eventually reached where he is today.
He emphasized a great deal on the fact that ‘China is equal to progress’. “Therefore, young entrepreneurs should seize the moment and ride on China’s progress.”
Mr He Kejia, our second speaker, is an Investment Banking Associate for Hai Tong Securities Company. He stayed in Singapore while doing his Master’s Degree at the Singapore Management University. Singapore has since left an excellent impression in him. However, the Shanghai-born businessman still chose to return to China due to her rapid economic growth and numerous entrepreneurship opportunities. He even joked about how some of the Chinese locals refer to China as “拆哪？” (Pronounced as chāi nǎ, which literally means, “Demolish where?”) He meant that China is developing so rapidly that they are constantly building and re-building infrastructure. Jokes aside, Mr He also gave plenty of advice.
He explained the differences between Singapore and China’s working environments, and advised on what young entrepreneurs should remember when venturing into China. For example, one should not be afraid of misunderstandings and failures.
The floor was then opened for questions, allowing participants’ to have deeper understanding of China. A participant asked about going to China as a Singaporean student. In the speakers’ reply, they described Singaporeans as global-oriented; as such they can adapt easily in China. Many insightful questions were also posed by the emcee, Cruz, and both Mr See & Mr He shared their interesting experiences.
With that, the second session of the C-Quotient Campus Series came to a close. If you want to increase your China Quotient(C-Quotient), do sign up for future installments of the C-Quotient Campus Series!
Click here to view video clips on C-Quotient Campus Series facebook fan page.