News and Events

IBCE Students Learn About Business Culture and Technology Development in China in the Orientation Trip

Contributed by Micah-Rafael Pontiveros Hall (International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE)) – University of South Carolina (USC) student

To kick off a new academic year, 30 Batch 10 IBCE students embarked on an orientation trip to Mainland China. Together with their batch mates from USC, students enjoyed the opportunity to travel to two business-centric cities, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and explored what it meant to do business in China while learning about the complexities of China’s culture and its business culture. During the trip, students were able to expand their business and cultural horizons through corporate visits and cultural site exploration in these two dynamic cities.

Hangzhou, an emerging city for digital advancements and the home of the e-commerce giant, Alibaba, was the first city that the IBCE students explored. The first corporate that they visited was New H3C Group, a joint venture between Unisplendour Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. New H3C Group is currently the market leader in the digital industry, focusing its business on IT and cloud solutions. Students were able to learn more about the company’s hardware and software development foci with new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. Participants were also introduced to the manufacturing and development businesses of New H3C through a visit to the company’s reliability labs as well as a product test center for IT hardware.

Students then visited one of Hangzhou’s most enduring business entities, Geely Holding Group, to learn more about the development of the automobile industry in Asia, and the advancements made to improve environmental sustainability and efficiency among current and future automobile models. Additionally, during a visit to Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd, participants learned about the importance of steam turbines to modern China, and attended a guided tour in the assembly plant.

Besides business visits, cultural visits were arranged to allow IBCE batch mates and USC counterparts to form a stronger bond and develop lasting connections, while understanding cultural influence in an evolving society. Two of the most insightful and exciting experiences were the boat tour of West Lake and the visit to Lingyin Temple. Students got the chance to appreciate nature amid the modernity of different business settings.

Having transited to Shanghai, IBCE students immersed themselves in one of the most dynamic and modern cities in China. Technological advancements in automobile manufacturing techniques, lift operation modernity, and voice application technology were highlighted during corporate visits. One of the most intriguing parts of the trip was the visit to the company 1cloud, which combines app development, social media, and voice recognition technology through the multitude of different applications developed within the company. In their development of apps for the modern society, 1cloud adopts an innovative approach to thrive in international markets and the visit inspired students to envision a future career in the technology field.

This orientation trip highlighted the business culture of China and left lifelong memories for USC and CUHK members. After the trip, all participants are now professionally and culturally prepared for the ever-changing business world.

NEWS & EVENTS

Why Join Us