Paul Lee

Course: Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Communication & International Studies), 2011
Nationality: Malaysian
Current role: Co-founder and CEO, Roiquant

How have your studies at Monash helped to prepare you for the working world?

Monash Malaysia has a richer student cohort from the African and Asian countries, with the majority from Islamic nations than Monash Australia where I spent a few semesters at.

The multi-cultural experience taught me to assimilate the African, Asian and Islamic cultures that helped my previous business undertakings in Africa and Asia.

Importantly, the lecturers in Monash Malaysia, such as Dr Helen Nesadurai, Dr Yeoh Seng Guan, and Dr Andrew Ng, were very helpful and nurturing in their teachings.

They  showed expertise, wisdom and patience in their mentorship which significantly shaped my team management approach.

Did you participate in any student activities or opportunities while at Monash?

Unfortunately, I didn’t participate in any of the internship placements or activities availed by Monash which could have offered me corporate experiences.

That said, I did take up various jobs and roles on my own initiative such as gardening, kitchen assistance, waiting tables, construction supervision, freelance modelling, freelance magic performance, basketball chaplaincy, and church apprenticeship.

As much as these working experiences equipped me with various bottom-up skill sets, I’d encourage students to obtain top-down skill sets through internship placements at various companies, ranging from startups to SMEs to corporations.

These are some great opportunities that I missed out on during my time at Monash.

What did you enjoy most about your student life?

I loved that Monash University offered different campus experiences through their multiple campuses in Australia and in Malaysia.

Due to Monash’s many collaborations, programmes and activities with its collaborators around the world, its international exposure brought together a diverse group of people, both students and academics alike, which I greatly appreciated the opportunities to meet and learn many things in life from the people I’ve met through Monash.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the diversity of courses offered by Monash which enabled me to mix and match my electives according to my majors (double major in Communications and International Studies) and interests.