Entrepreneurial Award Winner – Amornched Jinda-apiraksa
Learning Experience
K. Amornched: It was my first time ever living abroad as a student, after graduation from Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT), Thammasat University. Everything was new, both in terms of environment and friends, whose languages and cultures were different from my own. If you ask me what was unique about studying in Edinburgh, I would say the learning environment, because it’s so open. Even though I was used to classes being taught in English at SIIT, my classmates in the UK had pretty diverse backgrounds and attitudes, coming from 20 different countries in Asia, the Americas, Africa and Europe.
Seize your Opportunity
K. Amornched: The subject I chose to study was Robotics, which is very technical, and allowed me to find a job as a software engineer straight after graduation. However, I always wanted to start my own business if I was to continue working in a technical field. During my time in the UK, fortunately, I was able to create a group of friends from different parts of the world, and as a result I learned a lot of new ideas from them. Some of my friends from Thailand also visited me in the UK, and that was how I came up with a creative tourism idea allowing us to connect tourists with local tour guides.
Shaping your Career
K. Amornched: Studying Robotics might not have given me direct benefits in terms of the business I am involved with now, but it has helped create a logical way of approaching how to deal with business issues. It’s possible to adapt scientific procedures business, such as recognising the need to have effective information management and analysis.
Life Changing Experience
K. Amornched: One of the most valuable experiences I had is the chance to build my own network. It was because I only had 2 years there that I made an effort to reach out to as many new people as I could, both Thai and international. And I am still actively in touch with everyone now.
Is there anything you want to say to people planning to study in the UK?
K. Amornched: I wouldn’t call myself a ‘successful person’ yet, but prefer to see where I am now as the first step on a new journey. I’d definitely tell people to prepare themselves, physically and mentally, for a new environment - for example, dealing with an unfamiliar climate and the food. More importantly, you have to be open minded. You might feel too shy to approach someone new at the beginning, and I was definitely like that. But you have to overcome your fears and get yourself out of your comfort zone, because it’ll lead you to great new opportunities.