Yunn Chua (MEng Chemical Engineering 2013) learnt how to work through complex problems quickly during her studies at Imperial, but emphasises the importance of her experiences out of the classroom, too, in preparing her for the demands of her role in digital marketing. We caught up with her at a recent reception for alumni and friends in Malaysia.

Tell us about your time at Imperial?

"I did a Masters in Chemical Engineering and if I’m honest it was a struggle at first! In my studies up until that point I was basically taught to memorise things, but at Imperial I learnt to really interrogate the problem. My years there were a bit of a dreamland really. I learnt that if you work hard, then anything is possible and that it’s ok to fail as long as you pick yourself up again."

What did you get up to outside of the classroom?

"I really went out of my comfort zone at Imperial - I joined both the debating society and the belly dancing society! As English isn’t my first language I thought debating would be good; we’d debate political and economic issues, and I now have no problems presenting to very senior people at work. Belly dancing was actually relaxing - and I actually performed twice in the OCS."

What have you been up to since you graduated?

"I was a recipient of a Maxis scholarship, which is the biggest telecommunications company in Malaysia, so I returned to Malaysia and began working as a management associate. I’ve been rotating through different departments, starting in data analytics, learning all about data architecture. I think one of the things I learnt at Imperial was how to pick up complex things quickly, and that’s been really helpful in my job. I’m now actually working in digital marketing but still with data - we have far more data than banks do! Through the analysis of customer behavior, I do effective targeting and segmentation that translate into ROI. It’s exciting to be part of the 'big data' movement."

What’s your message for current students?

"Be aware of what else is happening. Think global. Studying is important, but it’s not everything - at Imperial you can meet people from all around the world!"