End of my PR journey...or may be not :)

Hi guys, this is going to be my last post here. I want to take this opportunity to wish all my fellow Chinese PR practitioners Happy Chinese New Year! May your year be filled with luck and prosperity!

As promised, I will share a few corporate social responsibility (CSR) events that has been going on in my association, Curtin Sarawak. As a one of the top notch education institution, Curtin Sarawak has been implementing quite a number of CSR projects which bring benefits to its stakeholders and to maintain its long term sustainability.

I believe everyone here is familiar with media and press monitoring. I did the same during my internship too. Remember the amount of newspaper I read everyday? Through my whole internship, I have stacked up three piles of newspapers of my height! Instead of throwing them away, the newspapers will be tied up and sold to the recycle center. Not only that, the money gain from the newspaper recycling will be donated to Red Crescent Society monthly. Isn't it great? By doing so, not only that we can sustain the environment but also we give monetary aids to those in need.

If you think this is it, you are wrong. During the last day of my internship, I have attended Curtin Appreciation Night. The purpose of the event is to show appreciation to local high schools' in supporting in Curtin Sarawak's education welfare. From the presentation of our pr and marketing executive, Ms. Chen, she stated that Curtin has been organising motivational and career talks in local high schools to give students motivation in study and life annually. Besides, activities such as talks about sustainable development, health awareness campaigns and science exhibitions are also conducted for the local high schools students. All the activities conducted are aimed to advocate and promote in youth development. 

Other than that, on last Sunday, Curtin S'wak also collaborated with Sarawak Cancer Society, local enterprises and tourism board in organising an event called "Run for Hope". It is a charity event where the communities are encouraged to participate in either donating in form of monetary or join the marathon to create awareness on cancer. Although it was not part of my duty as a PR practitioner anymore, I still joined in the event along with my friends. It was fun! Plus, the joyous feeling after running for a cause is incredible!

So this is the end of my internship in PR industry. There are more CSR projects advocated by our association but I shall stop here now or this is going to be another long post! Time really flies. It is really hard to believe I learnt that much in such a short time. This internship has given me a lot of insightful experiences that I couldn't get during my study time. It also assured myself that I have made a right choice stepping into this industry. I feel there are so much more to learn and I don't want to stop learning! I am really enthusiastic about my future endeavor in PR industry. This is definitely not an end for me yet!

It's been a great pleasure to share my internship experiences here. Hope you guys enjoy this internship experience as much as I do!

Renee Tiong

Curtin Bentley

15621580

Advocating Stakeholders, Press Conferences and CSR.

Hi, It's me again! It has been an exciting week for me as there were two events in a week, a press conference and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony. I feel delighted to be invited to a press conference held by our campus, Curtin University Sarawak and a local renown poverty company, Naim Land. This alliance of both companies benefits to fulfill their common mission on community engagement. This is also an opportunity for me to meet more people and extend relationship with our stakeholders. 

The main purpose of this press conference is to launch and deliver the important details of the short video competition themed "My High-rise Home". This competition aims to gain local community's view of what forms of ideal high rise living and also collecting marketing messages through creative video productions. I personally think this is a great platform provided for the local youngsters to shine their talents and creativity ideals. 

After the press conference, the VIPs and journalists are invited to have a glance on Naim Land's newly launched architectural and interior miniature models displayed at the exhibition corner. Refreshment was served after that. I really enjoy the pleasant atmosphere where everyone stays to socialize with each other. It is really a great experience for me.

Q&A session during the press conference.

My colleagues and me. Refreshment was served after the press conference.

The second event of the week is Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony. This MoU signing event is to assure co-operation between Curtin and Samling group of Companies can be continue in broader range. 

The local journalists and managers of Samling Group of Company were invited to the event. Before the ceremony starts, media kits are distributed to the media journalists. The honored attendants of this event are Curtin Sarawak council's chairman, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan, Chief Operating officer (COO) of Samling company and vice-chancellor and chief executive of Curtin Sarawak, Ian Kerr. 

In Dr Chan's speech, he believed through this MoU signing not only it will reinforce both parties' relations but also continue to improve students' development through internships placement, scholarships, subsidiaries or guest lectures. This MoU signing also encourages collaboration in CSR activities advocate community's benefit and interest.

In this event, I learnt the procedures in organizing a press conference. My supervisor has been busy sending invitation e-mails to the journalists. We arrived to the venue early to ensure the sound system works, the backdrop is nicely put up, indoor lighting is bright enough and so on. Media kits are needed to be prepared and hand in to the journalists before the event starts. 

To conclude, I found out that the common ground of these two events are both aiming at gaining mutual benefits while advocate the other key stakeholders - students and the community. By having collaborations between the education institution and other enterprises help in gaining more stakeholder's support and useful resources. The press conference is a way to communicate with the stakeholder of what is happening recently. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is also one of the vital activities in our department. We often  collaborate with some of the corporations for CSR activities. 

Coming week, we will have another CSR event going on. I will share with you guys with my experience again on my next post!

Renee Tiong

Curtin Bentley

15621580