My participation in the Destination China Summer School has enabled me to gain some of the important skills/competencies which employers would like to see from a future talent. International experience, mobility, global awareness and stronger intercultural skills are just to name a few. I believe those are essential attributes to create a global community and strong features to be a global talent workforce in the future. The blend of knowledge sharing and exchange of practices helped me to see things from different perspectives as well as shaping my character to be more aware of international context.
Through this programme, I learned about contemporary China by having a combination of industry visits (including visit to Xiaomi, Foxconn and St. James’s Place Wealth Management), interactive lectures about China’s economy and business environment, very useful language courses and cultural activities; which fulfilled my thirst for knowledge. With my future career goal to be a destination marketer, an opportunity to immerse in Chinese university life topped with the chance to engage with high-profile businesses in China was a highly enriching experience to broad my horizon and enhance my self-confidence of working in this globalised and multicultural economy.
Apart from gaining new knowledge about innovation & entrepreneurship in China and how Chinese companies could utilise their own technology platforms to reach its huge local market, I had so much fun visiting some famous landmarks in China while fostering cross-cultural exchange with Chinese students in BU’s partner University, SIAS International University. I also love the fact that our group leader (Milena Bobeva from BU) always encouraged us to embrace our day-to-day achievement, from as little as mastering chopstick on day one, to new ability to bargain in Mandarin right after the Chinese language class, to having a meaningful friendship and networking with people we met along the way. By the end of the trip, I found inspiration to aim higher and feel challenged to stimulate my creativity in order to contribute a change in my surrounding.
Yeyen Sinarta