Ngoc Nguyen

What's your story before Skåne Startups?

I came to Sweden in 2020 to pursue my higher education dream in Strategic Communications, with a desire to broaden my knowledge and improve my expertise in a field that I had worked in for more than 2 years but was not academically trained in. Many people say that sometimes, the career chooses you, not you choose it. My bachelor's program was Linguistics, however, since my early days at the university, I had opportunities to touch on aspects of Communications when participating in some extracurricular activities. I then obtained my first internship in the second year as a Marketing intern in an event management process, and before I can realize that I had a passion for this field, I slowly settled down a firm portfolio which strongly related to Communications, Marketing and Project Management. 

I graduated from university in 2018 and started my first professional position at ISEV Office - a national program to support the innovative startup ecosystem in Vietnam. This is my first connection with the world of “startups”. We heard a lot about “startups” but barely know who they really are and why they should be supported. I took a footstep in building the community for startups in Vietnam. The time working there really opened a new door for me. I was entrusted to take responsibility for 02 national campaigns funded by UNDP in Vietnam and was also involved in national-level events such as TECHFEST, in which I not only utilized my expertise in social media, content creation & management - things were my strengths before, but also further myself in multiple new aspects including visual design, digital marketing, project management, project strategy & planning and community development. I also shape my ideal during that time: I want to be a communications consultant who will work and contribute to the development of society.

After 02 years of working, I felt that I reached limits in some expertise and I wanted to break them through a knowledge base. Therefore I seek opportunities in higher education. Sweden is among the countries which provide Communication master programs that are focused on different and specific orientations, and I decided to start a new journey in this country. I graduated from Lund University with a master's degree in Strategic Communications in June 2022. Being equipped with academic understanding in the field, I have been looking for new opportunities to apply my knowledge and sharpen my skills and this is where fortunately, I found out about Skåne Startups.

Why did you want to work for Skåne Startups?

Skåne Startups is coincidentally a similar but new beginning to me, like when I started my career at the age of 22. When I was in Vietnam, I also worked to develop the startup ecosystem there, and I think my experience and understanding during that time will not only benefit me but also help the organization Skåne Startups. I am also curious about the difference between the ecosystem of two countries - two regions - two different economies. 

I look for positions where I can work in Communications & Marketing field but also expect that I can contribute to a meaningful vision that benefits the community. It is the reason why when Arlon offered me the opportunity, I agreed. 

What is your advice for other talents?

As an expat coming to the EU during the pandemic and graduating when the recession started, I fortunately and unfortunately went through a lot of ups and downs. People will have different ways to cope with the situations and my advice is to always keep faith in yourself, even when you feel discouraged and disappointed about yourself the most. Keeping faith in yourself is something everybody may mention about it, but not everybody can really do that. In the most hardship period, family, friends and beloved ones can be supportive of you, but in the end, the only one who can persuade you is yourself. Standing in front of turning points, people may consult you with wise advice, but the only one who can encourage you is yourself. I know many Millennials and Gen Z people have to face identity crises and I am not performing better than my own generation, however keeping for yourself even a little belief in yourself, is the best treatment that can help you stand firm.

If you feel like you did your best, but the world has not responded yet and the results have not shown yet, always remember that you still did well and you will find a way to do better. And I promise that it might sound cliché, but it is important to keep your own for yourself, in a fast-developing world where there are thousands of social paradigms about you that you even don’t realize. 

What are you unreasonably passionate about?

When I was a child, reading and writing were how I found out about the world. But I am kind of a daydreaming person, so I always feel as if letters are not enough to express all my imagination and emotions. I explored photography at the age of 20 and since then, it has always been a part of my identity. Images and visuals are effective ways to tell stories and ideas, that is why I learnt to do graphic design as well. Recently, I also develop a hobby of filming short films and editing them on topics and themes. I like describing myself as an ordinary one, but the world through my eyes is an extraordinary one. And I like to show them to people through photos and short videos.