The Otak-Otak Program

Selamat Hari Gawai to all Malaysians celebrating!

7 Tips To Help Land That Internship If you are in college and hoping to use an internship to get your foot in the door of the financial industry, you are not alone.

Happy Labor Day! What are you going to be up to this long weekend?

Thinking about during these rough times.

How is everyone doing in 2015? Hello from the 2013 Cohort!

From 2014 Cohort Intern, Andrea Lau:

" at last night. Thanks to Patricia and Jasmine for helping put this together.

To quote the LeapEd personnel:
Building blocks for professional learning involve
1. learning the theory,
2. practising,
3. receiving feedback/coaching, and 4. doing personal reflection on whether what we are doing is working.
LeapEd is committed to transforming the education system by educating the educators! Really inspired by the work they are doing through establishing Trust schools."

We're still in the mood for Raya!

Our 2014 Otak-Otak Interns were at & Company.

Photo credit: Loh Yoong Shen

Selamat Hari Raya! As we celebrate this festive season with friends and loved ones, we also take a moment to reflect and pray for those who have lost their friends and love ones, especially in MH17 and MH370.

Otak-Otak Alumni had the privilege to volunteer at Kechara Soup Kitchen yesterday night to distribute food to the homeless in KL.

2013 Cohort Top 50 Intern, Hong Khai is now participating in . He is with 6 other Bosch Explorers who will explore 3 continents for 1 unique blogumentary. But first, he met up with Otak-Otak Interns in London!!!

Today, we grief as a country and as a humanity. There could not be a reason good enough to warrant this happening, but perhaps the maker of all things has a grander plan. Our deepest condolences and Al-fatihah to all those with love ones on board .

Otak-Otak was at Garena last night! Garena's team, the CEO of Malaysia and Singapore, Lucas, Management Associate, Apple, Otak Intern Alex, and other Garena staff welcomed them and gave them insight into the work which they have done!

Photo Credit: Andrea Lau

The 2014 Cohort Otak-Otak Interns visit Ethos & Co, a boutique consulting firm in KL.

Source: Andrea Lau

Another picture from the Top 50 Cohort Program Retreat this year! What questions do you have for our Interns?

Our 2014 Top 50 Program Cohort started their adventures with a weekend retreat at Sungai Congkak, Ulu Langat!

"I think all the countries' waste is about the same. The supermarkets in all countries work in a similar way: the fruit and vegetables must look perfect and the ones that don't go in the trash."

Euro trash tour: Dumpster diver's war on waste For most a trip across Europe involves sampling the cuisine. Unless like Baptiste Dubanchet they've got their head in a dumpster to highlight food waste.

Here's another Top 50 Intern, Sonia, who's working for the MDO (Malaysia Diaspora Outreach) department at Talentcorp, together with the GM of Groupon, Rafiq Razali!

Here's a photo of our very own 2014 Cohort Intern Reena Azlan at work in the Petronas Melaka L**e Blending Plant!

"The study found that by manipulating the News Feeds displayed to 689,003 Facebook users users, it could affect the content which those users posted to Facebook."

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/

Everything We Know About Facebook's Secret Mood Manipulation Experiment It was probably legal. But was it ethical?

Say hi to Reena, another Top 50 Cohort Intern!

Why did you apply to Otak2?
"I applied to Otak2 because of the uniqueness of the program that creates a platform for us to achieve our personal milestones. This will also be an advantage for me to put my academic skills into practice and preparing myself physically and emotionally upon my graduation."

What do you expect to gain out of this program?
"I am keen to acquire knowledge beyond the classroom level in order to expand my horizon, diverse cultures exposure and establish connection with the awesome people in this program. Most importantly, to attain exposure to the real working environment by working alongside the industry professionals."

Something interesting about Reena:
"I love to be out of my comfort zone – passionate in backpacking, parasailing and in the future skydiving or paragliding! Oh, and I am an avid fan of food!"

Two Otak-Otak Alumni will be on Capital Today on Capital TV tomorrow at 9.15am!

"CapitalTV is the home of commercial chronicles, financial news and business lifestyle programmes. A homegrown channel, we extensively cover Malaysia-centric business reports and trends with a team of dedicated presenters, editors and correspondents. Broadcasted in full HD on Unifi’s HyppTV Channel 420 we deliver relevant up-to-date market news across a variety of mediums to over 1.5 million viewers in Malaysia."

www.capitaltv.my

Meet another 2014 Cohort Top 50 Intern, Yoong Shen!

Why did you apply to Otak2?
“I first heard about Otak2 from a friend who was in the first cohort. As I started contemplating what to do after graduation, I wish to explore different opportunities in Malaysia, both in kicking off my career and giving back to the society. This is when the networking aspect of the program attracted me. Besides, I spent most of my time in student organizations, learning how to create positive impacts on the society and people around us. Because Otak2 was initiated by some young Malaysian entrepreneurs and many who took on this challenge were passionate youths from prestigious academic institutions around the world, I became excited about the leadership activities I'll be doing with other interns. In short, I want to be surrounded by like-minded people and do something meaningful after my graduation through Otak2."

What do you expect to gain out of this program?
"I’m excited to be interning for a tech start-up in Malaysia. It’ll be a good testing ground to how find out how applicable is the knowledge from my field of study, Informatics in Malaysia and the type of career i will pursue. I also look forward to making new friends and indulging in exciting and fun activities with other interns and the coordinators. Networking events with partner companies will hopefully get me some connections that can help with my job hunt in Malaysia. As I was previously involved in diversity discussions in my university, I anticipate similar opportunities during the program to understand how other Malaysian youths are perceiving things that are happening in Malaysia.”

Something interesting about Yoong Shen.
“I enjoyed trying new things during my college time in the US. I enrolled in a variety of fun classes in my university that were not required for my field of study. Among them were lesson classes for guitar, photography, swimming, Chi Gong, meditation, self-defense and Chinese language. The reason I enrolled in Chinese course was because I have basics in Chinese but did not have the chance to take a full-time Chinese class before. When I was taking the class, I was glad to pick up the right intonation for speaking proper Mandarin with my Chinese friends. However, after that semester, my Mandarin quickly got "infected” by my Cantonese accent and I’m speaking decent Mandarin again."

Hello from the Otak-Otak Founders!

Meet 2014 Cohort Top 50 Intern, Sonia!

Why did you apply to Otak2?
"I first heard about Otak2's existence through my neighbor. The term Otak2 sounded a bit absurd to me at first but I started to notice the significance of the program after what my neighbor had explained to me. It sounded like an interesting program for all students who are on a summer break. Hence, after doing my own research about this program, I found it to not only be challenging but a great opportunity for undergraduates to engage in meaningful conversations and debates with one another before entering the corporate world."

What do you expect to gain out of this program?
"I expect to get a taste of what it is like before entering the working field and to hopefully realize my potential at the end of the program. I hope that I would be able to make an impact upon entering this program whether it is through group discussions or minor contributions."

Something interesting about Sonia:
"I just realized that I have a bunch of talents and this include figure skating, playing the piano, horse riding, salsa dancing and kickboxing. I also enjoy doing a lot of traveling during the holidays!"

Meet another 2014 Cohort Top 50 Intern, Azelli!

Why did you apply to Otak2?
"I applied for otak2 in my first year and didn't get through. What really caught my attention from that process was how critical and demanding the interview process was. I liked that. And knew that it meant that the fellow Otak2 interns would be a pretty great bunch. So I applied again."

What do you expect to gain out of this program?
"I expect to learn a great deal from the company i'll intern with, make new friends, and go to bed each night for two months completely exhausted."

Something interesting about Azelli:
"I don't quite like travelling. I spend way more than i can actually afford. I like chocolate, green tea frap and Rihanna. Speech therapy has almost completely helped me overcome speaking difficulties that plagued my younger school days."

Meet 2014 Cohort Intern, Ayzvara!

Why did you apply to the Otak-Otak program?
"The prospect of meeting the brightest, enthusiastic and passionate group of people was certainly the main attracting factor for me in applying to the program. Additionally, I appreciated the holistic approach of the internship experience as I attempt to explore the professional workforce back home."

What do you expect to gain out of the program?
"I hope to gain a better perspective on the landscape of the professional workforce, develop leadership skills and form professional networks through the internship experience. Ultimately, I look forward to an experience that offers unwritten lessons and cherished memories."

Something interesting about Ayzvara:
"I have been fond of the idea of service learning and international development since I started my university life. Despite having experiences in international projects in Tanzania, Nigeria and Haiti, I have never travelled to or visited any of the places. I seem to like the idea of providing assistance from a remote perspective."

One of our Top 50 2014 Cohort Interns is featured on The Asian Network!

Gwen Yi Wong After a long, but you´ll see worthy break, we introduce you to another remarkable student, this time from Malaysia. Gwen Yi Wong - our youngStar on Asia´s social entrepreneurship firmament - is...

Our first out of two batches of the 2014 Cohort just started yesterday! Say hi to one of our 2014 Cohort Interns who started yesterday, Siti Eva!

Why did you apply to Otak2?
"The number one attraction for me is the after-hour leadership training and the opportunity for me to widen my networking circle.
I had always been interested with development programs and the fact that Otak2 chose the very best of Malaysian graduates, motivates me even more to apply!"

What do you expect to gain out of this program?
"The experience of being attached to reputable institutions and to be a better and a well developed person inside out. The bottom line is I MUST be a BETTER Eva at the end of Otak2. "

Something interesting about Eva:
"Solo backpacking is my PASSION! I loooveee to travel alone for the adventure and the experience
I've been to Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and Chiang Mai alone so far. Looking forward for another experience."