#WhatInspiresMe

#LearnSomethingEveryDay

This year marks Dika College’s 17th Anniversary.  I admire and am always inspired by the hard work that the team at Dika consistently puts in to train educators in early childhood education and special education.

In my Chairman’s message (https://www.dika.edu.my/chairmans-message/) for the Anniversary celebrations, I shared a story about a compliment I received from a teacher when I was in Form 2. That compliment was instrumental in inspiring me to work hard for my Form Three exams.

After my Form Three exams, I told my father that I was leaving for Kuala Lumpur. He gave me his blessings and I left to enrol in the Technical Institute of Kuala Lumpur located at Maxwell Road.

My time at Maxwell Road was so memorable and I cherish to this day the friendships made. The picture that you see here is of me and my schoolmates, taken at the Technical Institute of Kuala Lumpur grounds. I am standing in the middle. To my right is Ong Wah Choong and to my left, Ng Kok Khee. In the front row from left are, Siow Kim Lun, Robert Nadarajah, Teo Tee Hong and Kok Choo Moi (deceased). 

Siow Kim Lun, was one with whom I shared my dreams and ambitions. When our paths crossed later in life, Kim Lun often told me that I was the only person he knew who dared to dream such dreams and who actually turned them into reality.

By the time I completed my O-levels and left the Technical Institute of Kuala Lumpur in 1969, I knew that the only way I was going to achieve my dreams was through a solid education and to continue to “engage in lifelong learning”, as advised by one of my many mentors.

Thereafter, I was offered a scholarship by the Johor State Government to pursue a three-year Diploma in Mechanical Engineering programme at the Technical College in Kuala Lumpur (now known as the University of Technology Malaysia) from 1969-1972. 

I can’t stress enough the importance of lifelong learning. And I’m not just talking about school, college and university. To me, education only stops when our hearts do. 

At times, we feel that we have ‘no time to learn’. Undeniably, each of us has different lifestyles and commitments, but we all have the same number of hours in a day. It is important that we use our time to move a step closer to our dream by focusing on our personal development. 

Be it setting up a 30,000-tonne capacity quarry, or understanding how the brain develops, or something as simple as taking a screenshot on our phone, there is something to be learnt every day. 

Here’s a shout-out to my schoolmates from the Technical Institute of Kuala Lumpur. If you’re reading this post, drop me a note. I’d love to hear from you.

It is also my hope that all of us, especially educators, consistently improve ourselves so that we will always be able to give our best.

Have a great week ahead and do share what you’ve learnt. 

Dr Sim Quan Seng

#personaldevelopment
#lifelonglearning
#whatinspiresme
#education
#entrepreneurship