Shiva Kafil comes from Iran, a country considered to be one of the oldest civilisations in the history of time. She is currently enrolled under the Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship programme.
Choosing Limkokwing University
Before Shiva pursued her tertiary education she majored in Physics and Mathematics, and was amongst the top at her school. At the age of 16 she realised that what she truly loved was Arts and Fashion.
“Once moving to Malaysia was final, I got in contact with a few of my friends who were studying in Kuala Lumpur at the time. They told me about Limkokwing and how it is Malaysia’s leading university in terms of arts and creativity. They sent me the brochures, pamphlets and booklets of the University and in my heart I knew I was destined to study here.”
Invaluable Life Experience
When she first joined Limkokwing University Shiva mentioned she had a hard time adjusting to the new environment, because she was shy.
“As time passed by I got to know myself and the ones around me better. Making friends with people whose countries didn’t ring a bell for me at first, taught me a lot. Brainstorming and working in groups with students from different regions of the world was the highlight of my time in class.”
Student Ambassadorship
“I was honoured to represent my country as a student ambassador of the University for 3 consecutive years. Our ambassadors’ family consisted of 50 students from various parts of world.”
During her time as a student ambassador Shiva took part in organising charity bazaars, cultural festivals, freshies nights, exhibitions, independence day celebrations and also worked backstage at every single event the University organised.
“This period of my student life gave me the most exposure. Picking up different skills and improving myself through doing so much practically gave me a glimpse of the real world.”
She added that learning about other countries’ languages, cultures, traditions and customs made her realise how much people have in common.
21st Century Learning / Unparalleled Learning
“Limkokwing’s learning approach is very hands-on. It gives you the opportunity to learn not only the theory of something, but experience it through practicality as well. And that is a bonus we have as compared to others.”
Apart from what she was taught in the classroom, Shiva learned how to better her presentation in terms of speaking her mind and communicating with people, which she believes are some of the most important skills in any career.
Marketable Final Project
For her final project, Shiva had to design a product and come up with a full business plan on how to market it.
“I designed three sets of handmade jewellery using hand-painted leather and semi-precious gemstones. I also designed the packaging, created promotional ads and videos, designed a store, created social media accounts and did the full business plan. I got the chance to showcase my designs in Starhill and Times Square.”
When asked about her future plans Shiva mentioned that her ultimate plan is to design her own apparel line, but now she is focusing on expanding her horizons and learning more.