Our journey began when co-founders Will and Fei struggled to move on from a career in management consulting in Australia. They didn’t have much direction, they feared to pursue interests, they didn’t know much about emerging industries and they didn’t know anyone who could help. They took a leap anyway, because trying was better than not knowing, and started building a tech startup in Singapore.
We began in 2015 to be more than a recruitment company. We wanted to help people try new careers, meet new people, and get out of their comfort zones and build an identity out of passions, and not just professions. What started as a remote internships platform between professionals and interesting startups, has now evolved into changing how people think about learning. A school that is more than a recruitment agency, but a mindset you adopt for life.
Our team is global and remote first. We’re part nerdy, part creative but we all share a passion for changing the way people learn and grow. Keep life in beta. First off, let’s meet Lily Wu who handles Global Host Success at NewCampus.
Lily is always globetrotting or learning a language. Lily has been passionate about the education and learning space for a long time, having founded and run her own education startup for 5 years. A free spirit with many interests and hobbies, Lily is a black belt in Japanese martial arts Taido, has held art exhibitions doing architectural line drawings and published 2 children books!
What do you do at NewCampus?
I’m the Global Host Success acquiring amazing, world-class speakers from around the world for NewCampus.
What does your typical day at work look like?
As I'm currently traveling, there is no 'typical day'! Over the last 2.5 months, I've been trying to tweak my schedule to be a little more effective than the last. Every day is different but usually, because of the time difference in Europe, it starts off by me having calls with potential class hosts and any team meetings starting from 7am at home. I then get breakfast at a local cafe which usually serves some cheap pastry with coffee deals. Since I've been in Madrid for the last 3 weeks, I've settled into a more consistent routine of doing a 30-minute walk to the Google Startup Campus or WeWork (got to get the step counts and some light exercise in!) and then tackling some of scheduling and designing the classes for the next few months. I take a break by having a Spanish lesson, by drawing or reading.
What is your current focus at work?
I'm currently working on filling up the classes 2-3 months in advance and finding a kick-ass speaker line up for the upcoming FastFwd Festival. These take a lot of back and forth communication, calls and research!
Three words that describe you?
Adaptable, curious, adventurous
Why did you join NewCampus? What excites you about what you do?
After running a business in creating Career Bootcamps for university students around the world, I was still passionate about the learning space. But I didn’t want to limit myself to the university market.
What attracted me to NewCampus is the emphasis on lifelong learning. Other education companies provided 12-week courses on a particular skill like coding or digital marketing. But what I loved was NewCampus’s ethos on learning for the sake of learning and being able to train your mind as a muscle. At the end of the day, being “futureproof” is not learning a particular skill but your ability to be curious and adaptable no matter how fast the world changes.
It excites me that at NewCampus, I’m able to source interesting world speakers who are at the forefront of these business, cultural and technological changes. I love learning how these changes affect the way we live, interact and see the world.
How do you incorporate lifelong learning into your schedule?
I’m always learning something new, reading books and listening to podcasts. Currently, I’m reading one of my favourite blogger, Scott Young’s book “Ultralearning.” It’s on meta-learning or the art of learning more effectively. I’ve been learning Japanese, Korean, Spanish and French. I’m also improving my writing and drawing alongside my traveling and working schedule!
What/who inspires you?
I’m always inspired by my surroundings and the people I meet. Since I’m always traveling, I’m always learning about different cultures, perspectives and stories. These help shape and grow my own understanding of the world.
Share a book/podcast/article (with relevant data and links) that inspired you and tell us why it impacted you
Book: One of the best I read this year has been: Educated by Tara Westover. It’s a memoir of a Mormon girl who has to go against the grain of her parents’ extremist view to get an education. She was also psychologically and physically abused by one of her older brothers. You go through a rollercoaster journey with her as she struggles to make sense of her life and conflicting views. Tara started up with no education and ended up gaining an education at Cambridge, PHD at Harvard and got a Gates scholarship. It really highlights what a privilege it is to get an education, create and analyse your own thoughts and perspectives.
Netflix documentary: “The Great Hack” is about the usage of our data. It tells us how we should gain awareness on how our data is being used, and manipulated against us. It raises the moral question of whether we have a free choice anymore in this social media age.
What do you do outside of work for fun?
Dance, draw, active sports, write, learn things
What’s the best piece of advice you can give to anyone?
Find out what your core values are and stick to them
Your favourite quote/Motto
Prince EA’s: “It is not death most people are afraid of. It is getting to the end of life, only to realise that you never truly lived.”
Motto: I don’t want to live a life with regret of the things I didn’t do!
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Follow Lily on Instagram, learn more about NewCampus here or come say hi at hey@newcampus.co ✨
