Academic Development Summary

This blog will be the last blog as a student. It will be a discussion on my academic development summary.

Blogging started as a compulsory academic module of FutureProof Personal Development Planning for one-year to write at least nine blogs every term. It has been 11 months since I started this blog. I used to hate blogging. At the beginning of this year, I remembered when I was clueless on what to write, scrolling through the web to find any sources to discuss. Yet here I am writing my last blog of this term. It seems unreal how I managed to write all these blogs. Looking back to all my assignments, blogs, and portfolios that I have developed throughout these past 11 months, I realized I'd learned many things, and I've been improving in terms of hard skills and soft skills, knowledge of the industry, and many more. In other words, it has helped me to take records of my significant improvement.

The FutureProof Personal Development Planning module helps me paved my way to be ready for my future career. I was able to research the desired industry and analyze the crucial points that are beneficial to me. I used to dislike reading, but this module has helped me be more resourceful. I did all my best to learn more by reading articles and books, listening to podcasts with aspiring people in the industry, interviewing the experts, and many more. I also developed multiples portfolios relevant to my career and have improved my skills a lot. I watched many interesting designing tutorials from YouTube and TikTok that I have employed to all of the portfolios.

This module has helped me to decide which career I would be taking in the future. Looking back, I could see my passion and what my strengths are. I could now positively mentioned that I want to work as a content strategist and to freelance as a fashion stylist from time to time. Without this module, I would have never figured out and confused which career path suits me the best.

These past terms, I've developed mainly my creative and brainstorming skills from the modules. This includes developing brands, creating interesting and engaging marketing, and other details related to my future career.

Starting from the first two terms, I decided to sharpen my skills in creating and developing a campaign for the Future Fashion Innovation modules. I put interest in an Indonesian beauty brand, Esqa Cosmetics, that is vegan and halal. In this module, I learned more about Indonesian market trends and developed campaigns that will suit the brand personality and pick up the audiences' interest. I also created an online event with my classmates. We plan, developed, and executed an event and its marketing. Despite the struggle and effort, I had a lot of fun on these modules as it correlates to my passion.

Moving on to the two last terms, the moment where I felt most nervous yet excited of all the years. These six months felt so fast but unpleasantly. The main module was Future Fashion Project, which is my final bachelor's degree project. This module required us to create a business plan for the Singapore market, which I chose to analyze the childrenswear industry. It was not easy. I was struggling and was depressed at that moment. I was not familiar with the childrenswear as I am not a parent yet. I started to feel unsure of every decision made and hit rock bottom. I just thought that the business plan does not go with my expectation. I remembered crying in the last class of the third term.

It was then my teachers advised and supported me. I was able to bounce back my confidence and performance. I worked double times harder during the term break and managed to develop PIP&JO, organic cotton childrenswear with eco-friendly dyes. Although nervous about the results, I put a lot of effort and completed the business plan on time.

In this module, I learned how to create a brand that resonates with the customer's needs and demands—knowing their interest and personality also becomes another crucial aspect. I learned to put my ego away and always stay optimistic about whatever I do. I also learn to develop a crowdfunding campaign, which I had never heard of the term before. The brand's goal is to gain USD 6,600 to be able to create the brand to live. I did promotions through social media ads, press releases, and email multiple Singapore influencers, but it did not get a great response. The crowdfunding campaign managed to garner three backers with a total of USD 22. Despite the unsuccessful funding, I was excited with the process and thrilled to gain new knowledge that I might not find anywhere else.

Global Experience module has helped me know more about the country that I've been putting much interest in, South Korea. I enjoyed doing the task. I learn more about the authentic culture, trends, and industry, where I have never gotten from K-dramas and YouTube. This made me want to go and work in a Korea event more.

This academic progress has made my eyes open to all the incredible skills, knowledge, and experiences I have gained. I realized working as a marketer, or in my case as a content strategist, is not an easy job. I must have critical thinking skills and better stable personal emotions. I must be an optimist and make mistakes as a stepping stone to get closer to my endless goals. Although this is my last blog, this will not be the end of my learning journey. I promise to keep on learning new things to broaden up my horizons.