“He’s abandoning his bright future to cook food for someone else,” Bo Li’s father said in dismay when Bo Li decided to drop out of his Master’s degree in Architecture at Deakin University. Discover how and why Bo Li embarked on a completely dif

Headlines to Heartstrings: Teacher, journalist and owner of Makchic, Laych Koh’s journey of writing from journalism, teaching to motherhood

Apr 16th, 2024 43m 48s

As young as nine years old, Laych experienced firsthand a lesson of humiliation and also kindness from an unpleasant classroom experience in Malaysia which she believed had shaped her view of empathy and compassion. From there, Laych went on to

Feasting on Fun: Ili Sulaiman’s journey from serving the British Royal Wedding to becoming Malaysia’s much loved celebrity chef

Mar 8th, 2024 52m 41s

If you’ve watched Ili on screen, she’s always bursting with so much joy and laughter. The joy is real and permeates everything she does from her studies, to every career move, which includes serving at Will and Kate’s wedding (!). You don’t wan

Runways and ruins: Two senior academicians from Southampton University take us through their journey in luxury fashion and archaeology

Jan 19th, 2024 43m 14s

Does fashion matter, or is it just frivolous? Also, what does a museum and archaeology expert do when she gets more confused from visiting Nepal’s Narayanhiti Palace Museum? Dig deep into all these and more as we chat with Professor Bryony Whi

An award-winning writer at dawn and reservoir engineer by day: Wole Talabi on the joy of figuring out numbers and narratives

Nov 8th, 2023 47m 23s

Wole Talabi’s curiosity has taken him places. At nine, he read his parents’ entire collection of encyclopedias because he enjoyed the process of finding things. Later, as a chemical engineer, he went to Imperial College to pursue a Master’s deg

From engineering, literature to digital humanities: Leeds’ Dr Dibyadyuti Roy’s intricately woven journey across three continents

Oct 11th, 2023 45m 30s

The word ‘text’ originates from ‘textile’ - which means woven together. To Dr Dibyadyuti Roy, this was the single most accurate way of describing his journey from literature into digital humanities. To him, his foray into media studies digital

Proving the naysayers wrong: How Malaysia’s first blowdry bar, Cocodry broke even in six months during Covid-19

Sep 20th, 2023 32m 52s

“It won’t work,” people told Kim when she first bounced the idea of a blowdry bar. “You’re going to get eaten alive by the big fish.” Kim, the perennial lover of challenges, set out to prove everyone wrong. Here’s her story of starting Malaysia

Climate crisis: You can make an impact right where you are, says ecopedagogy specialist, Dr Ria Dunkley

Jul 12th, 2023 37m 1s

Straight from the heart, Dr Ria Dunkley revealed that she didn’t know what she wanted to do at university. Her tutor encouraged her to study tourism. She thrived at university and became a lecturer in tourism - then dedicated her life to ecoped

Reconciling real life with art: How Tragikomedi founder Shari Jaffri grew her writing and illustrating skills from a childhood of ‘daydreaming’

May 22nd, 2023 27m 4s

Shari’s teacher would complain to her parents, “Shari’s just a daydreamer, she should really focus more in class.” But being a daydreamer had grown her observation and reflection skills, which in turn, she put to writing and illustrating. Today

A marketeer from childhood: Southampton University’s Assistant Professor in Marketing, Dr Tugra Akarsu on the invaluable impact of her entrepreneur parents on her career

Apr 28th, 2023 34m 24s

“There was always an action at the workplace,” Southampton University’s Assistant Professor of Marketing, Dr Tugra Akarsu shares. She confesses that growing up with her working parents had sown the seeds of sales and marketing in her from her e

No money, no network, no experience: How two Portsmouth College students built the award-winning media agency Hewitt Matthews all by themselves

Mar 21st, 2023 37m 8s

“I’ll just sell my car - that will do our salaries for a while, and we can just walk to meetings,” thought Carl Hewitt when his co-founder Reece Matthews and him first started their little-known media agency. Discover how these 18-year-old’s ro

Entrepreneur from young: How ZUS Coffee COO Venon Tian’s online business funded his university life and grew his career

Feb 20th, 2023 38m

“We won’t be able to send you to university anymore, we couldn’t afford it. You got to think for yourself,” Venon Tian’s mother told him as he finished high school. Amazingly, Venon (who is now COO at ZUS Coffee) went ahead with university and

Super curricular and extra curricular: how Oxford International College CEO Yasmin Sarwar helps students track their career for life

Dec 13th, 2022 42m 32s

As the founder and leader of the UK’s two highest-performing A-level colleges for twelve consecutive years, Yasmin started her career “purely by chance” in her kitchen-turned-to-lab when she was waiting for her research grant in Cardiff. Tune i

Break a leg: How a rugby mishap became a self-fulfilling prophecy for actor and MPW’s Director of Admissions James Barton

Nov 15th, 2022 49m 40s

When James Barton broke his leg as a teenager, his dreams of being a professional rugby player had to take a dramatic shift. Looking back, the mishap literally ushered him into a new ‘stage’ of his life: acting and Indiana Jones (yes) were part

Dime and time: Patreon’s Former Editor Julian Brimmers’ journey of giving his all in writing about music, pop culture and more

Oct 11th, 2022 38m 18s

Julian Brimmers grew up in unassuming Straelen, Germany where he “yearned for the exciting stuff”. He went on to be a journalist, filmmaker and podcaster whose works have been published by the BBC, the Paris Review, and many more. For Julian, t

History ‘Manuel’: Leeds’ Professor of Global History Manuel Barcia’s makes his own history from a working class family in Cuba to international recognition

Sep 6th, 2022 35m 47s

Prof. Manuel Barcia’s first day of work at a museum archive changed his life forever. “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” he thought to himself. Tune in to find out what’s in the museum archives and how he journeyed from Cuban

Still getting starstruck: Record label 4AD Head of Press & Communications, Annette Lee chats about how going for gigs turned into a career for her

Aug 8th, 2022 49m 46s

Annette Lee started off as a receptionist before rising the ranks to be the Head of Press & Communications at 4AD, one of the world’s most respected indie record labels. Learn how Annette’s self-starting aptitude helped her to make the most out

Museum Musings: Corinna Gardner on her unique journey as a museum curator at the V&A, the world’s leading museum of art and design

Jul 18th, 2022 37m 10s

You’ve probably visited museums, but have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in a museum? More specifically, being a museum curator? In this episode, Corinna Gardner shares her unique journey as a museum curator and how it’s like working

Find your beat: How award-winning international broadcaster and social psychologist Aleks Krotoski found her own voice in her career and encourages you to do the same

Jun 13th, 2022 55m 39s

Born in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Emmy and BAFTA award-winning international broadcaster Dr Aleks Krotoski takes us through her journey of reinventing her own story. Shuffle with Dr Krotoski between the US and the UK — from being born to scienti

Let it be a journey: Accenture’s SEA Energy Lead Cheah Wai Seng bares all about his most important influences and principles that led to his success

Mar 29th, 2022 40m 44s

Most of Cheah Wai Seng’s childhood memories revolved around what he did outside of school. Discover how these puzzles of life fit into his journey from childhood to his successful career in one of the world’s top management consulting firms tod

Courting destiny: Kelantan-born Vinita Templeton's journey from child rights specialist to immigration lawyer

Feb 18th, 2022 43m 59s

Vinita Templeton disliked studying law and thought it was the most dreary thing ever. “I’d sooner pick up a novel than read a law book,” thought Vinita when she was studying her LLB in the UK. Little did she know that she would be Director of I

Yalpanam author Shivani Sivagurunathan on creativity, the creative process, teaching creative writing and finding her creative voice

Jan 3rd, 2022 46m 33s

Creativity—as author Shivani Sivagurunathan discovered for herself—was birthed out of the lack of activities and events in her quiet hometown in Port Dickson. Because she kept to herself mostly, she often invented creative activities of her own

Business unusual: How Professor Peter Rodgers’ interest in Soviet Union politics paved the way to his role as MBA Director at Southampton Business School

Dec 20th, 2021 32m 12s

Ever wondered what it is like to study at one of the most sought-after MBA programmes in the world at the University of Southampton? Listen in as Southampton MBA Director Professor Peter Rodgers shares about the programme and his journey from p

Paradise found: Dr Bryan Brazeau on the immeasurable value of an interdisciplinary liberal arts degree and how it has transformed his life

Dec 1st, 2021 53m 40s

What really is the value of a liberal arts degree? Associate Professor (Liberal Arts) at the University of Warwick, Dr Bryan Brazeau, has answers and questions for those of you considering a liberal arts degree. Discover how the world can be yo

Fashion educator Karen Heard on growing up as a country girl, her Devil Wears Prada years and unending discovery with students at UAL

Nov 18th, 2021 56m 59s

Fashion educator Karen Heard grew up in the West Country, England where the seeds of curiosity and exploration were first sown. Later, when faced with “what will I be when I grow up” at secondary school, she was advised by her teacher to work i