Their Journey to the World Expo 2017: Experiences and Takeaways

Two of our students in SYSD travelled to Kazakhstan for the 2017 World Expo themed ‘Future Energy’, aiming to solve issues like energy use and CO2 emissions. They represented Sunway University to share their experiences and views in green tech education. After their journey, we asked about their experiences, lessons and takeaways they learnt.

To introduce our representatives, Shak Shahrul and Tan Jin Yuan (Jerry), study business management and financial analytics respectively. Other than being a member of SYSD, Jerry also serves as the Secretary of Sunway University Business School (SUBS) Student Concilium. While Shak is generally actively involved in diplomatic work. He was appointed as a fellow to intern at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya.

Shak (Left) and Jerry (Right)

The reasons they were attracted to join the World Expo varied. For Shak, he feels that as a Malaysian and citizen of the world, he needs to actively participate in international events that fights for the causes he believes in. As an aspiring diplomat, he seems to be able to bring people together through the Student forum he moderated and a speech he made in a Student’s TED Talk session. As for Jerry, it was the opportunity for global exposure and exchange of ideas that attracted him. Through visiting the thematic pavilions of different countries, his mind expanded as the possibilities that innovations offer seemed endless. After returning to Malaysia, Jerry likened the event to a butterfly that could create a hurricane of inspiration, causing students to be more engaged in tackling climate change, a virtuous butterfly effect.

However there are challenges to overcome. Even though technology can be magical at times, it’s not magic. Transportation infrastructure that are available in many major cities, are not buildable in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. It has soft soil present, making underground tunnels and even elevated highways, more difficult and expensive to build. Kazakhstan is also a landlocked country and faces challenges in trade and development. However, Jerry shows optimism as the country's’ commitment to host the World Expo proved that top talents are working to bring sustainability to Kazakhstan.

What the experiences taught Shak and Jerry in the World Expo, is that awareness, curiosity and cooperation is important. Shak feels that agreements between countries can bring both countries the technology and capital we need. On the other hand, even though most Malaysians can speak three languages fluently, being unable to communicate in Kazakhstan brought Jerry a realisation that the world is larger and more diverse than what we see in Malaysia and over the net. Both of them agree that SYSD is a great platform to fulfill what is needed in Malaysians for sustainable development, advocacy, exposure, networking and learning experiences.

Author: Wong See Aik, Neo

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