About Us

Our Mission:
To train young professionals to be successful at work and in life

Institute of Life helps you navigate your career and develop career skills.

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The world has evolved so much yet school education is still pretty much teaching the same thing for the last 50 years. Yes, we still need the maths, science and languages but we also need life skills to live a more interesting and meaningful life. I have this big idea to start an Institute of Life (IOL). You still go to your regular schools but attend IOL online part time and we meet face to face once a year. 

  1. Schools prepares you for jobs, IOL prepares you for life.
  2. Schools asks you what you want to be when you grow up (doctor, engineer, teacher, etc); IOL asks what problems you want to solve, what skills you want to use.
  3. School teaches you how to defend yourself from school bullies; IOL teaches you how to defend yourself from office politics.
  4. School teaches you hard sciences; IOL teaches you soft skills.
  5. School organises story telling competition; IOL wants to hear your personal stories.
  6. School teaches you languages; IOL teaches you body language, how to read what is said and what is not said, how to use photography as a language. 
  7. School teaches you how to write reports; IOL teaches you how to write a blog.
  8. School asks you to read Shakespeare; IOL asks you read Michael Lewis and Malcolm Gladwell.
  9. School teaches you marketing; IOL teaches you personal branding.
  10. School organises sport events; IOL tells you why sitting is bad and gives you tips to keep your spine healthy and your waistline intact so that you can still dance at a nightclub when you reach 50 without pulling a muscle.
  11. School may give you so much homework that you have no time for anything else, IOL shares with you extreme time management tips so that you have time for everything else.
  12. School gives you an environment to network in school; IOL introduces like-minded people to you for networking online. 
  13. School gives you assignments; IOL gives you assignments too – assignment to write a Linkedin post and create a video CV.
  14. School gives you exam and see if you pass or fail; IOL trains you to stand up after you fall.
  15. School talks about work-life balance; IOL talks about work-life integration

 

Services
We offer speaking, teaching, coaching and marketing services.

We will wow your audience with our social media presence and help you attract crowds to your events. We have been engaged by global organisations like Euromoney Conference and CFA Institute for keynote speeches. Other organisations such as the National University of Singapore and Great Eastern Insurance have engaged us to deliver webinars. Our professional set up of lighting, mic, camera and live production switchers ensure attendees are engaged through the sessions. We also have a live production manager, Chris Mattia, to take care of the technical aspects of the webinars.

We coach mid-career to senior executives on their career. We help them build their online presence and personal brand to attract opportunities. At the same time, we work with them on expanding their network and developing public speaking skills. Eric Sim is currently a Senior Career Fellow at Nanyang Technological University coaching masters students including EMBA.

This is a new area for us but we already have great ideas about how we can help some international brands to showcase the value of their products. The selected brands range from Audi, Apple, Adidas, Grand Hyatt, Muji to tourism boards and airlines. Contact us to explore ideas.   

Our Philosophy

SMALL ACTIONS - creating big success in your career and life.

our team

from a diverse background across the globe coming together to bring you the best experience

Eric Sim, CFA

Founder of IOL

With 2 million followers on Linkedin, Eric Sim, CFA, PRM, is one the most followed career coaches and speakers on social media globally. Previously when he was based in Hong Kong, Mr Sim served as a managing director at UBS Investment Bank and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Hong Kong University of Science of Technology.

Mr Sim is the founder of Institute of Life (IOL) In recent years, he has spoken on career and life skills in the UK, China, Bahrain, India and Singapore. He has been described by eFinancialCareers as a star banker helping young professionals with their careers. Mr Sim earned a bachelor of engineering degree at National University of Singapore and an MSc in finance at Lancaster University.

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Chris Mattia

Live Production Manager

Chris Mattia has worked with and guided thousands of educators around the world to improve the quality of their instructional content. As an author for LinkedIn Learning, Mr Mattia has published more than 25 courses over the last 10 years aimed at teachers, trainers, and communicators to help them improve their teaching and delivery.

His courses have been watched more than a million times. As a Producer for both recorded and live content, Mr Mattia ensures presenters are at their best performance on stage and in front of the camera. Mr Mattia has been involved with the audio and video aspects of some of the biggest conferences in the US.

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Ding Shizhao

Social Media Content Creator

Born in China, Shizhao Ding moved to Singapore at 16 and has stayed here ever since. As an individual who has lived a long time in these two countries, he has an insider’s understanding of both cultures and is passionate about meaningful transformations of Chinese business models in the modern context. His article was featured in Singapore Global Network, an agency under Singapore Economic Development Board. 

Shizhao is currently pursuing a Business Administration degree at the National University of Singapore, where he divides his time between study and fulfilling his roles as the President of NUS Chinese Society, Head of Corporate Visits / Case Competitions (BizCare) and Vice Director Outreach the of the Global China Connection (NUS Chapter).

 

 

 

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Simon Mortlock

Writer for IOL Career Guidebook

Simon Mortlock is the Asia Pacific editor of eFinancialCareers and writes news and advice content exclusively for the Singapore and Hong Kong markets. He joined eFC in 2008 and has since been based in both Singapore and London.

Simon grew up in New Zealand and started his journalism career covering court news for two newspapers in his hometown, Auckland. After relocating to the UK, Simon worked as a reporter in the London office of leading American legal website Law.com. He later moved to the publishing arm of City & Financial, where he developed and commissioned a range of new financial and legal titles.

He has two undergraduate degrees from the University of Auckland, in Law and History, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Journalism. In his spare time Simon enjoys gardening, playing tennis and watching cricket.

 

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Kent Choi

Career Coach

Kent Choi is presently a Team Leader with a global private bank. Prior to entering wealth management, he started his career as an engineer in the semiconductor industry. His journey through various roles in two very different industries has allowed him to gain interesting perspectives and outlook to things. 

Because Kent experienced the transformative effects of coaching and how it helped him through challenging professional and personal times, he is now passionate about helping others gain self-awareness towards leading a more considered and fulfilled life.

Kent believes that nothing in our lives exists in isolation – coaching is about the whole person and not just an issue. He has a dynamic style and is keen to work with individuals who are ready to the hard work of self-discovery, self leadership and making considered choices. Kent is a certified life coach; he is also involved in several mentoring initiatives. If he can be anything in the world, he would be a National Geographic photographer.

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Shivendu Nadkarni

Career Coach

Shiv Nadkarni’s passion lies in ‘transformational challenges’ and he focuses his energies on trying to guide ‘force-for-good’ Start-Ups & SMEs on their journey towards full potential.

He deeply believes that the path to full potential traverses a messy-but-meaty ‘middle’ that iteratively connects the macro-&-micro. He is focused on creating a multiplier effect across business, human & social capital – that he hopes can make a lasting impact for decades & across generations.

Shiv has ~25 years of hands-on operating CPG experience across multiple cultures, markets, categories & business contexts in AMEA and is a seasoned ‘hands-on’ practitioner with an approachable & learning-oriented leadership style.

In his most recent previous role, he was Regional Vice President of the Snacks business in Kellogg’s AMEA. He currently serves in a variety of roles – Board member, Advisory board, Adjunct Professor, Consulting Partner & Ikigai researcher.

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John Patrick Mullin

Speaker & Coach

John Patrick Mullin is a FinTech entrepreneur, investor, and educator living in Hong Kong. He’s a Co-founder of MANTRA DAO, a popular Decentralized Finance (DeFi) savings and lending platform. Prior to this he served as the Managing Director of Tritaurian Capital, a FINRA-regulated boutique investment bank focusing on providing financial services and capital raising solutions for startups and SMEs. He also has a traditional investment banking background having worked at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai, China. As an educator, he has spoken at leading universities across the world, including Harvard, London Business School, and Peking University. Additionally, John is an active investor in blockchain and FinTech startups. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, family, friends, and husky named Loki.

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