Tun Tun Oo

I was born in a rural area in northern Myanmar. Sahmaw village is a two-hour ride from Myitkyina, the capital city of Kachin State. As a child, I would go to the library in town, which had the third greatest number of books in Kachin State. This library was the one and only place where I had access to seemingly limitless information. I was so proud of having the library in my village – this was the beginning of my inspiration to become an educated person and bring knowledge back to my community.

In 2010, I joined Myanmar Aerospace Engineering University to study aviation and electronics. Student life at MAEU was a wonderful; I was an active member and volunteer for the Student Union and an organizer of the Avionics Project Show 2015. In my final year, I became involved in MAEU Magazine Committee and took the Secretary General role to issue the very first annual magazine at my university.

In 2016, I graduated a bachelor’s degree in avionics while learning English at Campion Institute. After graduation I worked as a fibre optics installation engineer for Barons & Fujikura EPC, where I learned to give project presentations to Kachin State’s cabinet, liaise with local officials, and gained technical skills such as optical time-domain reflectometer testing and material usage calculation.

After working almost two years in the field, I realized I must acquire management skills in order to move forward. I decided to apply for a Hinrich Foundation and Lai Yih Group (an Adidas subcontractor) scholarship because of the opportunity to study in the GPEM program, and because I was drawn to the lifelong commitment of: Aspire, Learn, Grow and Lead.

In 2018, I received the scholarship. Studying at Vietnamese-German University was a turning point of my life – I now believe I can make a positive impact on my country through trade by sharing what I have learned at VGU.