When I sat down for my first class of Basis of Entrepreneurship Skills, honestly I was really looking forward to setting up a stall and selling stuff at the end of the semester. I always thought the idea that we can actually make money in a course quite enticing. But boy was I in for a shock.
The first few weeks of lectures were, in my opinion, the same as all the previous semesters. We learned about various things like ethics and planning for businesses. It seemed kind of bland but it was interesting enough. Hands off to Puan Ponmalar for keeping us well awake during classes with her interesting examples. It was not until the fourth week that we were informed that we would actually not be setting up any stalls and that a representative from the industry was going to give us some mentoring. Honest to say, I was not happy. It came as quite a shock.
I came into class on the day of our first mentors' class with apprehension. I was expecting to see some old guys from some firm to give us a boring lecture. But boy was I surprised to see quite a young guy was our mentor. From the word go, I was hooked. His way of lecturing and handling us was refreshing. It was the first class where my eyes were glued to the lecturer for the full two hours.
We learned a lot over the next few weeks. It wasn't the same old theory lectures but it was like we were actually being mentored. We were not taught to sell pancakes at a stall but to we were taught to look at the bigger picture. How we can use our best skills to become a good entrepreneur. There was some lessons to be learned, like how to come up with a good proposal and to keep it short as well. One of the hallmarks of the semester was when we actually moved out of the lecture hall and into the lobby to work on out Business Canvas. It was a more practical way of getting things done. It was also great to see some guests from FoundersLab come in a give us some tips and trends on the way business was moving in the field of computer science. It felt that the course had become more customized towards the type of students we are.
More so than the lectures, Bernard, our mentor, kept emphasizing on TIME and how little of it we had left. This sense of urgency gave me the most important thing to take away from this course and that was the MOTIVATION to get out and actually start doing something productive.
In the end, all I can say is that I have no regrets that the system of APK has changed.
The first few weeks of lectures were, in my opinion, the same as all the previous semesters. We learned about various things like ethics and planning for businesses. It seemed kind of bland but it was interesting enough. Hands off to Puan Ponmalar for keeping us well awake during classes with her interesting examples. It was not until the fourth week that we were informed that we would actually not be setting up any stalls and that a representative from the industry was going to give us some mentoring. Honest to say, I was not happy. It came as quite a shock.
I came into class on the day of our first mentors' class with apprehension. I was expecting to see some old guys from some firm to give us a boring lecture. But boy was I surprised to see quite a young guy was our mentor. From the word go, I was hooked. His way of lecturing and handling us was refreshing. It was the first class where my eyes were glued to the lecturer for the full two hours.
We learned a lot over the next few weeks. It wasn't the same old theory lectures but it was like we were actually being mentored. We were not taught to sell pancakes at a stall but to we were taught to look at the bigger picture. How we can use our best skills to become a good entrepreneur. There was some lessons to be learned, like how to come up with a good proposal and to keep it short as well. One of the hallmarks of the semester was when we actually moved out of the lecture hall and into the lobby to work on out Business Canvas. It was a more practical way of getting things done. It was also great to see some guests from FoundersLab come in a give us some tips and trends on the way business was moving in the field of computer science. It felt that the course had become more customized towards the type of students we are.
More so than the lectures, Bernard, our mentor, kept emphasizing on TIME and how little of it we had left. This sense of urgency gave me the most important thing to take away from this course and that was the MOTIVATION to get out and actually start doing something productive.
In the end, all I can say is that I have no regrets that the system of APK has changed.
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