David Phu An Chiem (born 15 December 1969), better known as David Chiem, is a Vietnamese-born Australian entrepreneur, author and actor. He is the Founder CEO and Executive Chairman of MindChamps Preschool Limited. MindChamps has over 80 centres globally. He is the first Asian to have a major role in a mainstream Australian television drama series, ''

Butterfly Island ''Butterfly Island'' is a 1985 Australian children's show. The first season cost $1.6 million, the second $3.2 million.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 96 This was the first mainstream Australian TV show wh ...

''. He has written a number of books, one of them, ''

Only the Heart ''Only The Heart'' is a novel written by Brian Caswell and David Phu An Chiem about the Vietnamese boat people. It was first published in 1997. In contrast to Caswell's mainly futuristic style, such as his widely acclaimed Deucalion series, ...

'', has been used as an set text in Australian schools.

Early life

Born in

Rach Gia Rach may refer to: * Random Access Channel (RACH), a feature of mobiles or other wireless devices * Rach, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Sergei Rachmaninoff, the composer. "Rach" () is a colloquial short form of his surname, ...

, Vietnam, David and his family fled

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and arrived in Australia as refugees in 1978. On his first day in school, he couldn't speak a word of English and he remembers been called 'stupid' by another student, because he didn't understand the teacher when she asked him for his name. This experience, and the fact that education was highly prized by his family, would have a major impact on his career choices. He graduated from

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

where he received a BA in communications, and earned a master's degree in film-making from the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

(AFTRS).

Career

When he was 14 years old, he was selected to play an starring role on "''

''" and became the first Asian to be given a starring role on mainstream Australian television drama series. While studying the craft of filmmaking, he had an epiphany. He became fascinated by the idea that there could be another way of teaching children. They faced far greater demands on their education than previous generations, so, instead of rote learning, drilling and memorising content, why not help children to understand ''how'' to learn and more importantly develop the mindset of enthusiastic, life-long learners? As a result, he founded MindChamps, a ground-breaking early learning educational organisation. MindChamps' approach to education is based on strategies derived from research in ‘the 4 Domains’ of Neuroscience, Psychology, Education and Theatre. Since its inception in Sydney, MindChamps has grown from point zero to achieving the number one brand position in the highly competitive Singapore premium preschool space, with a market share of 38.5%.

Published books

David is also a published author, and has written two novels with

Brian Caswell Brian Caswell (born 13 January 1954) is an Australian author of young adult fiction. Biography Brian Caswell was born in a village called Gwernaffield in Wales, on 13 January 1954. His family moved to England, when he was 5 years old. When he ...

, ''

'' and ''The Full Story''. The books have been nominated or shortlisted for a number of Australian literary awards, including

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

. ''Only the Heart'' has been used as a set text for many years in Australian schools. Other books by Chiem include the parenting and educational book ''Deeper than the Ocean'', and its follow-up ''The Art of Communicating With Your Child'' as well as ''Pre-school Parenting Secrets – Talking with the Sky''. He also co-authored ''The 3-Mind Revolution'' an educational psychology book with Caswell.

Awards & Accolades

In recognition of his achievements as a business leader and entrepreneur, David Chiem has received many awards and accolades over the years. * In 2008, he received the Top Entrepreneur-Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Rotary-ASME. * In 2010, he received the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards * In 2014, The Peak Magazine recognised David Chiem as one of ten outstanding individuals to be in their year-end power list. * In 2019, David was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Singapore (AustCham). * In 2022, David was awarded “ASIA’S MOST INFLUENTIAL ENTREPRENEUR” at the 2022 Fortune Times Awards Ceremony.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiem, David Living people 1969 births Australian male actors Australian male novelists