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On the 10th of March 2021, we invited Professor Ng (Professor in the department of Strategy and Policy), Xinwan (Y4 Business Analytics and I&E Spec) and WaiKin (Y4 Double Degree in BBA and Information Systems) to share with us about I&E.
What is I&E
I&E stands for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, whereby the former refers to the understanding of organizational and scientific technology of anything new that goes on within one’s community, and the latter refers to individuals who pursue opportunities without regard to the resources currently controlled.
The above is a comparison of traits between entrepreneurs and regular companies shared by Professor Ng. Studying entrepreneurship tends to shift one’s traits to skew towards the left-hand side of the image, whereas studying other specializations will cause individuals to have traits leaning more towards the right-hand side.
Why study I&E?
Grounded in practice, will not just involve the skills and theoretical aspects but will also expose one to the community at large
Can meet more people and increase networking through panel sessions like this one
Able to meet people out of the business faculty
Other specializations, such as marketing and finance, might be too niche for certain individuals
Since work is self-defined, the jobs done by entrepreneurs are more fulfilling and meaningful – as compared to jobs that are constrained by resources and hierarchies involved.
This is a brief overview of what one can expect to study when specializing in I&E:
General advice from the speakers
If one wants to graduate earlier with a double specialization, it is better for one to complete their first specialization before taking the second one rather than simultaneously taking both specializations at one time. It is also important to schedule their study plans carefully. When in doubt, one can always email the BBA Office or google search NUS BBA Curriculum 2017 for more information.
With regards to taking up internships, it is recommended for individuals to join startup companies first as these internships are way easier to obtain due to the lack of stringent requirements. Also, more knowledge will be acquired due to the increased workload in startup companies and possible direct interactions with the founders.
Questions & Answers
A common question included that since I&E is new, should this be a worry or an issue when it comes to deciding to specializing in this area. Even though I&E is new, if one wanted to be an entrepreneur they should be anticipating the new and hence this shouldn’t be a worry or an issue. Interested individuals should just try and if they are passionate, they will eventually find a purpose in taking I&E.
With regards to the skillsets involved, it was mentioned by Prof Ng that 4 main skillsets needed for studying I&E are “Read, Write, Count, and Think”. And these skillsets are a necessity when it comes to innovation. Design and thinking, as well as product development, are also important skillsets to have when pursuing I&E since innovation revolves around building products for the customer
Lastly, studying I&E will allow one to pick up skills that prepares us for the unknown rather than prepare us for what we want to pursue in the future. As companies tend to employ people of different skillsets with the right fit to do the job, undergraduates specializing in I&E can find ways on how to make use of this additional skillset to benefit the company.
Below are the contact details of our speakers. Do feel free to contact them if you have any questions!
Professor Ng
Email : weiyi_ng@nus.edu.sg LinkedIn : linkedin.com/in/nweiyi
Xin Wan
Email : zhang.xinwan@u.nus.edu LinkedIn : linkedin.com/in/zhangxinwan
Wai Kin
Telegram : @wai_kin
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