A Chat with VUMBA Melbournian Tyson Murphy

Trailblazing as the first Australian to embark on an exchange with the Victoria University MBA (VUMBA) programme, 37-year old Tyson Murphy from Melbourne is not new to Malaysia. Having been to Penang once for a conference, this 7-week programme is the longest he has stayed thus far in Malaysia. Currently in his final semester at Melbourne’s Flinders Campus for an 18-month, 12-unit MBA programme, Tyson took on this challenge in Malaysia to better his career prospects and embrace a cultural exchange experience.

Tyson enjoys meeting new people and has had a very welcoming and hospitable experience on the Sunway campus. Despite finding the local accent challenging at times, he has made many new friends by engaging in active listening. Picking Malaysia for his last subject was out of the desire to do something different and the opportunity to engage in a new cultural and learning experience. All it took to make up his mind was a visiting meet and greet with Dr Hendry Ng, Head of the VU MBA programme at Sunway College.

Kavitha Ambigabadi, Dr Hendry Ng, Tyson and Wan IIyani

Tyson has enjoyed being able to immerse himself in the Malaysian culture – from its people, lifestyle and amazing food to its diversity. Whilst here, Tyson visited Malacca with VUMBA for a weekend, thoroughly enjoying the heritage and food offerings.

Once his programme ends, Tyson will be returning to work with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that advocates on behalf of Aboriginal Victorians for better health and overall outcomes compared to non-Aboriginals. Tyson’s VACCHO role involves developing a social enterprise arm to support the sustainability of the organisation and its membership base. It involves developing commercial business activities such as cultural awareness training and other means (business activities) to generate additional streams of income that can be channelled back into the Organisation and community priorities.

Tyson’s challenge at Sunway was to give a guest lecture for the VUMBA class. He presented a lecture entitled ‘Linking Work and Organisation to Strategy: Connecting Internal & External Constructs’. His presentation was a conceptual framework linking work and organisation related content to the broader organisational strategy.

For his time here in Malaysia, Tyson thanks Dr Hendry Ng for his kind hospitality, cultural wisdom and insights and for making him feel welcome. Tyson would also like to thank Leslie Lim Xian Loong, President of the VUMBA Club, Cheryl Cheam Shu Yan and Ang Yee Ching; Rehnu Marimuthu, a CIMP lecturer currently taking VUMBA; and Kavitha Ambigabadi and Wan IIyani of the VUMBA Department in Sunway College KL. Finally, Tyson extends a big thank you to all his class mates for their warm welcome and making his study exchange such an enjoyable experience.