Curtin Malaysia students donate earnings from competition to animal welfare organisation

Miri – 5 June 2018 – Four business students of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently donated RM1,000 they had made from sales of local delicacies during an entrepreneurship competition at the university to local animal welfare organisation Zero Strays.

The students, who formed HeroStrays, the winning team in the competition, were Lee Jun Heng, Chow Hai Lun, Lim Shia Jing and Ting Wei Wei.

They said they had pledged to donate their earnings to Zero Strays in their business plan for the Student Entrepreneurship Challenge 2018 and were pleased to be able to raise quite a substantial amount for the cause.

The Entrepreneurship Challenge was part of the annual Curtin Malaysia Entrepreneurship Carnival 2018 organised by Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Business in collaboration with three student groups – The Founders Club, Institute of Marketing Malaysia (IMM) Student Charter and students taking the MGMT 3005 Event Management unit.

Aimed at promoting and fostering entrepreneurship amongst students, it provided a platform for students of Curtin Malaysia to develop their entrepreneurial ideas, enhance their understanding of successful business practice, and showcase their creativity. It required students to form business entities, formulate business plans, and execute them by conducting business during the carnival.

In teams of between four and six members each, they competed to see which teams had the most sound and dynamic business plans. The top three teams were rewarded with cash prizes of RM1000, RM500 and RM300 respectively.

HeroStrays was cited by the competition’s judges as being a very well structured business entity, as well as a highly creative one, particularly in its marketing efforts. The team was sponsored by Homelite Development and Furry Kid Pet Grooming Salon.

Members of HeroStrays presented the funds to Stella Chin, Vice-President of Zero Strays, at a cheque presentation ceremony at the Faculty of Business, witnessed by Acting Deputy Dean Dr. Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah; Tourism, Marketing & Management lecturer and organiser of the Curtin Entrepreneurship Carnival Dr. Fidella Tiew Nga Huong; and Administrative Officer Reni Azmi.

Zero Strays is a non-profit organisation in Miri that aims to reduce the population of adult stray dogs and cats through its animal-friendly ‘Trap, Neuter and Release/Rehome’ (TNR) programme.

Members of HeroStrays and Faculty staff presenting mock cheque to Vice-President of Zero Strays, Stella Chin (centre).