The PRD business trip was a significant learning trip for all who partook. Starting on the 7
th of December 2016 and finishing up 9 days later on the 15
th it was an extremely gratifying experience for all. The first Wednesday seen the SMU students arrive in Shantou. For all the SMU students, it was their first time in Shantou while some had not even graced the grounds of China. Commencing with a welcome meal in the ACC building the SMU students were provided with a warm welcome to STU. Instantly the SMU and STU students hit it off as friends with relationships being garnered. This highlighted a certainty that the trip was going to be a success.
Starting promptly at 9am the following Thursday morning the students gathered together in one of the classrooms in the D building. For the next 3 hours, all the students were enthralled at the inquisitiveness of the Chinese business environment. Countless new knowledge was passed from the Professor Lee and Professor Tan to each and every one of the students. A short lunch break was had before the afternoon and evening seen the students become knowledgeable about intricate matters such as Mianzi and Guanxi. Each night a debrief occurred with each student and professor provided with the chance to give their thoughts on what was garnered from the day.
Friday witnessed our first trip. In the morning, we travelled to Bang Bao toy factory before then being bussed to Jinpu Taobao village to see how our online orders are distributed. That night at the debrief there was an avalanche of conversation as everyone wanted to debrief such was the amount of knowledge gained from the first visit.
On Saturday, we embarked on the 3-hour train trip to Guangzhou. The journey flew as each of the students interacted with their new friends. In the afternoon after checking into our hotel we travelled to witness the innovative Nansha Development area. There we were provided with an excellent talk about how Nansha planned on pushing themselves to the front of the global economy. That night we had a free n easy in Guangzhou.
On Sunday, we were once again up early to travel to Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. There we were provided with an excellent talk from the dean of the business school. His talk on leadership provided the students with information that they can take with them for the rest of their life. In the afternoon, we visited the PRD beer company. Here we witnessed the complex process of making beer before sampling the product. That evening some of the students went to see the Canton tower in the city centre while others headed home for an early rest.
On the Monday morning, everyone was up early to travel to Shenzhen. After checking into our hotel, we had another corporate visit to attend to. After the corporate visit was over we had free n easy.
On Tuesday, we checked out of our hotel before heading to Qianhai free trade area. Here we were provided with an interactive talk on how Shenzhen plans to grow utilising its links with Hong Kong and the world. That afternoon we began the short hop over the border to Hong Kong. Taking the train and then metros we arrived at our hotel in Chai wan. That evening we had individual presentations on what stood out for each student so far in the trip. Each student was given 10 minutes to talk about a topic they had prepared a PowerPoint on. Over the last few days each student had spent considerable time preparing their presentations. The fruits of all this labour was on show at these presentations as a multitude of excellent and interesting presentations were showcased for all to see.
On Wednesday, we attended an interesting talk at the Hong Kong trade and development council before that afternoon we travelled to the offices of OCBC. Hear we were provided with an engaging talk with Tan Wing Ming, the regional general manager of north East Asia. He was kind enough to provide the students with an insight to his remarkable life. His talk on how mistakes and pure chance lead him to owning a successful business and re-joining the banking world were quite interesting. That night students had free time in Hong Kong itself.
The following Thursday morning seen time for one more trip. We checked out before travelling to the Open University. Here we were given a talk on marketing in China with Professor tan being reacquainted with an old friend after many years apart. After interacting with the OUHK students we went our separate ways. The split seen STU students heading for the train station while SMU students prepared themselves for the long flight home. After an eventful and excellent week, many bonds of friendship had been created between the two sets of students with contact details being exchanged. All in all, an excellent trip with a significant amount of knowledge being garnered.
