The Philosophy Interest Group and the Philosophy Department will be organising a discussion forum on the Relevance of Philosophy in the Corporate World on Friday, 13 Jan 2012 (Week 1), from 5.30pm to 7.30pm at AS7 Seminar Room A-C. Two philosophy alumni, Ms Kris Teo and Mr Shaun Oon, have been invited to share their experiences in the corporate world.

Kris Teo first joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs China Desk. Deciding that politicking was not her cup of tea, she went on to SATS (then under the Singapore Airlines Group) to HR Learning and Development. She then made a move again in early 2010 to A*STAR, first handling scholars and scientific leadership development, then to HR Policy and Planning. Having trodden the corporate path earlier than the audience, Kris would be sharing candid experiences of making the transition from studies to work, expectations of “what is” versus “what ought to be”; from a philosophy graduate point of view. She would also be glad to offer career advice from a HR perspective.

Shaun Oon is currently working as a Policy Officer in the Arts and Heritage Division of the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA), under the Management Associate Programme. He is assigned to oversee policies involving our libraries, language campaigns, arts education pathways (including SOTA, NAFA and LASALLE), and arts infrastructure (including the Esplanade). He is also involved in the formulation of the new arts and culture Masterplan, the Arts and Cultural Strategic Review, which aims to lay the foundations for our arts and culture development until 2025. Between the time of his graduation and when he first startedwork in the civil service, he spent months unemployed. Shaun hopes to share with you how you might avoid that experience.

Dinner will be provided for attendees. To register, please mark your attendance on the Facebook event (please visit: http://goo.gl/SVawA) or by contacting Jonathan (e-mail: jsim@nus.edu.sg / handphone: 81571575).

There will also be a question and answer session. We will be compiling questions in advance so that our invited speakers can prepare the necessary information for you. To submit your question, you can either post them on the Facebook event wall, or send them to Jonathan (in the contact details above).

This event is open to everyone – even non-philosophy majors/minors who are interested to know how relevant philosophy can be in the corporate world. So mark your calenders and see you guys there! Come and discover the various career possibilities that philosophy can provide.