Chin Wei Ling

Concerned citizen, Entrepreneur, Startup, Student

Computer Science, Diplomacy, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Public Speaking

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." This quote has resonated with me more and more over the past year with TEDxUKM. As Co-Lead of the Production Team, I had the privilege to be present for every single podcast session, meeting speakers from incredibly diverse backgrounds who brought forward ideas that challenged, inspired, and stayed with me long after the recording ended. Just recently, I wrapped up editing all the TEDxUKM 2025 Talks, and in the process, I realised something: I didn’t just learn from these talks — I was moved by them. I was inspired. Inspiration. It’s a small word with a huge weight, and I call it: underrated. The more I work alongside advocates, debaters, and passionate 'MUNners', the clearer it is to me that inspiration IS the missing piece in how we try to create change. You don’t need excessive data, graphs, or statistics to get the society to change. Facts tell you what to think. Inspiration gives you a reason to want to think differently. Inspire that change, and once ignited, it tends to burn much longer. Over only a single year with TEDxUKM, I’ve been inspired by artists, advocates, leaders, influencers, researchers — you name it. Unlike in a classroom or workshop where knowledge fades away, these stories stick. They shape how I see the world, they push me to reflect on my own choices, and they give me ideas worth sharing forward. There’s a line in the movie Inception that asks: “What is the most resilient parasite?” The answer: “An idea. Resilient. Highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed, fully understood, that sticks.” When I was advocating about refugees during YEC 2024 Finals, my mentors shows me the right way to make the ideas stick. It inspired me, to keep inspiring. In my experience, that’s far more powerful than any lesson plan. So here’s my question we must ask ourselves: In our work, our leadership, our conversations — are we only teaching, or are we also inspiring?