In celebration of Curtin Malaysia’s 25th Anniversary we caught up with the President of the Curtin Malaysia Alumni Chapter – Jane Teh.
The Finance and Marketing alumna graduated from Bentley campus in 2002 and has a wealth of marketing and sales experience under her belt as a respected Consultant and Sales Leader with Nu Skin Enterprises, and Corporate Trainer at Direct English Malaysia.
The hardworking and highly devoted Chapter President has seen great change in the Chapter over the past few years and is optimistic the next 25 years will be just as memorable.
What makes Curtin Malaysia’s 25th Anniversary so special for the Curtin Malaysia Alumni Chapter?
The Curtin Malaysia Alumni Chapter has come a long way over the years.
When I graduated in 2002, I had the option of graduating in Miri (Malaysia) Singapore, Hong Kong or Perth. Ultimately, I chose Perth and graduated in 2003.
I think it’s beautiful to be able to reconnect with our past; be it the friends that we made or the fun times that we had.
This anniversary marks a huge milestone for Malaysia. It was a momentous success then to have an Australian University in Malaysia and 25 years on, it is fantastic to see the university thriving.
Our network of alumni chapters is so vast, connecting Malaysia with Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong, among others.
This anniversary will bring together many of our Curtin graduates. Thanks to being in the Curtin Malaysia Alumni Chapter, I get to meet people in my working committee – namely my Vice President Dean and Secretary Julius, and many others who have done amazing things. There are many superb Curtin graduates out there!
Since becoming Chapter President in 2019, what has been one of your proudest achievements?
My proudest achievement was meeting Simon Leunig, President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Curtin Malaysia at this event called ASEAN Australia Education Dialog.
Meeting Simon allowed our Malaysia Alumni Chapter to work very closely with our campus in Malaysia. Prior to that we were a bit divided, as our activities were not aligned with the university’s.
Now, we champion a One Curtin effort among all other alumni chapters too. It might seem like a small achievement, but synchronicity is important as a good foundation to build on greater things.
I believe it is thanks to this small step that we were able to have an amazing relationship with the university, faculty, students and graduates.
What you love the most about being a Curtin graduate?
My father was the one who helped me decide on studying at Curtin, obtaining a Curtin degree has opened so many possibilities for me.
Being a Curtin graduate allowed me many experiences, such as being Vice President of Education on the Malaysian Australian Alumni Council from 2015-2018.
Being a Curtin graduate has also allowed me to meet many other Australian graduates and connect with countless alumni from around the world – it is something we can easily bond over. I also have a new love for pickleball now, and I have found some Curtin grads who share the same interest too. The friendships and connections that are forged through this community are truly special!
How did your time at Curtin prepare you for your current professional career?
My Finance and Marketing degree from Curtin has significantly helped me in my career.
As a Professional Corporate Trainer, specialising in entrepreneurship, communications, sales, management and marketing, I still practice some of the skills my lecturers taught me during my time at Curtin.
What used to be the 4Ps of Marketing has now expanded to 7Ps (product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence), and I still incorporate these when I deliver a training, especially on marketing.
My university experience was one of freedom and joy, something I cherish to this day – I still feel as young as I did when I graduated, just with more wisdom.
Given your extensive experience, can you share your three biggest pieces of career advice for aspiring graduates looking to excel in their career?
This is a loaded question. Haha!
My top tips would be…
Always be of good value and have a good work ethic.
It is important for us to be valuable, be it at work or in relationships. Take note that value is determined by the consumer and not the producer. It is pointless for me to say I am valuable because I am the one producing the work, when the consumer of my value doesn’t agree. So, always check in with your ‘consumer’.
Know what your objectives are.
In today’s world, we have a lot of distractions and waste. Waste, in this case, means anything and everything we do that does not add value to ourselves or others. As Sun Tzu said in the ancient book The Art of War, “understanding ourselves and others, a thousand battles fought will be a thousand battles won”. Whatever we do, it’s important to know what the objective is and the key results that we desire. Then, we can figure out how to get there. Don’t be afraid to fail. Just learn as you go and keep improving.
Be open to continuous improvement.
Aim to be better than who you were yesterday. The competition is not external but internal, because everyone is different. We all have different needs and desires. I encourage you to decide on what you want, and then keep improving to be better each day until you achieve your desired goal. It could be better health, more happiness, career progression, better relationships with people who matter, or all the above. Just take it one step at a time and be kind to yourself.
Jane Teh, President of the Curtin University Alumni Malaysia Chapter
Graduating from the Curtin Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Finance and Marketing in 2002, Jane is now the President of the Curtin University Alumni Malaysia Chapter and is an experienced and respected Consultant, conducting training to a range of clients on entrepreneurship, marketing and sales. Currently, Jane works as a Corporate Trainer at Direct English Malaysia and is a Sales Leader at Nu Skin Enterprises.
