Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) Malaysia undergraduate Kevin Kana Jacques was part of a team that won the Sustainable Innovative Young Entrepreneurs Challenge at a Youth Dialogue organised by the Government of Hong Kong (Cyberport), the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the UNESCO Hong Kong Association, which took place on 29 to 30 March 2018 at Cyberport Hong Kong.
The Dialogue, entitled ‘Youth Livelihoods and Wellness through Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship through South-South Cooperation’, aimed to facilitate the sharing of ideas on technology, innovation and entrepreneurial activities that would contribute towards the fight against poverty, enhancing economic growth via women empowerment and innovation, and creating knowledge for sustainable development via the promotion of mind and body wellness.
The two-day event culminated in the Sustainable Innovative Young Entrepreneurs Challenge, which saw student delegates preparing business proposals for action. The proposals were then vetted by a panel of judges consisting of Gratia Christian College Hong Kong Head of the School of Business and Associate Professor Dr Shirley Mo Ching Yeung, City University of Hong Kong EMBA Programme Director Dr John Leung and CMA (Global) Hong Kong Senior Vice President Professor Allen Wong. The winning team received a cash prize of USD200.
Kevin, a third-year student on the BSc (Hons) Business Economics and Management programme, together with two students from IPMI International Business School, Jakarta, Indonesia, presented a proposal for a business idea centred around championing and developing the recycling and upcycling industry in Malaysia and Indonesia and eventually across Southeast Asia.
“The vision behind our business model was to build thought leaders from amongst young students through a series of education initiatives including gamifying recycling for children, and programmes to empower older students to become catalysts for change.” says Kevin.
According to NUBS Malaysia Acting Dean, Dr Mohan V. Avvari: “We are grateful for the invitation that was extended to our student, Kevin, to participate in the Youth Dialogue.”
“We are also delighted that Kevin won the challenge along with his team-mates from Indonesia. This achievement underscores the emphasis that the Business School places on incorporating social responsibility and sustainability topics across our curricula, research and partnerships.”
Earlier on in the Youth Dialogue, Kevin had also shared his ideas on sustainable solutions for the Malaysian and global personal care industry.
“The Youth Dialogue has been an amazing experience for me – learning from experts in influential organisations, meeting with some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs Hong Kong has to offer and having the chance to collaborate with student delegates from around the world,” says Kevin.
“I’m excited to bring what I’ve learnt back home to cultivate a global citizenship perspective amongst youth in Malaysia.”
About Nottingham University Business School Malaysia
Nottingham University Business School Malaysia has had more than a decade's experience in providing international quality teaching and scholarship in various areas of business, management and finance, and is accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).
Nottingham University Business School was chosen as one of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Champion Schools for 2018-19, a prestigious status that has been given to only 39 business schools. PRME Champions commit to a significant transformation in teaching, research and partnerships underscored by the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
(Image caption: Right to left: Dr John Leung, IPMI International Business School student delegate Nania Marli, Consul-General of the United Arab Emirates to Hong Kong Nabila Abdelaziz Nasir Saeed Alshamsi, Kevin Kana Jacques, Dr Shirley Mo Ching Yeung and IPMI International Business School student delegate Rizky Octoralie)
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More information is available from Chan Wen Li, Director of Information and Communications of Nottingham University Business School or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at University of Nottingham Malaysia on +6 (03) 8924 8746.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16. More than 97 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is recognised internationally and it is 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 5th April 2018