The opportunity to come to Shenzhen and work at SZOIL has been a hugely memorable experience. SZOIL’s history as the first innovation lab and its intimate knowledge of the business and technological ecosystem of Shenzhen made it the perfect place for myself to expand my knowledge. Despite not having a huge background in either science or technology, I am very grateful to both SZOIL and the city of Shenzhen for opening their doors and allowing me to meet new and influential people. My interest in China stems from my independent research on the “One Belt One Road” Initiative and how Chinese innovation and co-operation with Africa, Asia and South America has benefitted the global economy, and the city of Shenzhen has played a huge role in that.

A slightly dishevelled me

I first landed in Shenzhen in the middle of August, and what struck me most about the city was both the speed and scale of development. The skyline was not only huge, but constantly changing, and the city was expanding with every passing day. As you walk down the streets, you can feel the energy of a city built on business and innovation, and this energy can often drive you to do great things yourself. SZOIL is a company founded on this energy, and it most definitely embodies the Shenzhen philosophy of open collaboration and innovation.

Highrise buildings are an ever-present feature in this constantly growing city

My main project was with the Global Open Science Hardware, a movement to make open science and open hardware ubiquitous by 2025. As SZOIL was a local partner, I had the chance to work with other GOSH organisers to organise the four-day Gathering of Open Science Hardware, which was held at the Shenzhen campus of the prestigious Tsinghua University. We used the Design+ Space and the Bio-X Lab of OpenFIESTA, a Masters programme at Tsinghua dedicated to knowledge creation, exploring social and scientific problems, and nurturing students with a creative spirit.

A selection of photos from the four-day gathering at Tsinghua University

During these four days, a group of up to 100 of the most active global thought leaders, developers, researchers, community convenors and other actors participated in a series of themes discussion groups, practical workshops and trips to local Shenzhen businesses that can offer lessons and support for scaling Open Science Hardware. Practical workshops included PCB design, particle detection with natural radioactivity, KICAD circuit design and soil chromoatography. The pre-GOSH activities included visiting the famous Huaqiangbei electronics market, the largest of its kind in the world, to learn about how Open Source Hardware can be scaled to benefit innovators globally.

Pictures from the GOSH Open Event in Liuxiandong

Bright lights at Huaqiangbei, thought to be the biggest electronics market in the world. This is just one of many buildings located here

The event happened during Shenzhen’s Maker Week, where the open spirit and collaboration of makers in Shenzhen gets to be celebrated, and SZOIL of course was a key participant. SZOIL’s Belt and Road International Maker Forum was centred on African innovation, with various innovators from the African continent highlighting the opportunities for collaboration with China on the Belt and Road. In particular, David Li made sure to highlight Shenzhen’s unique ecosystem as “the best fit” for African technological development and innovation. Furthermore, as a local partner for GOSH, SZOIL hosted a special event with several key “GOSHers”, highlighting the importance of the Open Science Hardware movement and how Shenzhen is a great example of this in action.

Some of the major events held during Maker Week. From left to right: GOSH Open Event; GOSH Maker Week open forum, hosted by SZOIL; SZOIL Belt and Road International Maker Forum.

To effectively prepare for these events, I was given complete freedom for the project — for which I have Vicky Xie to thank! Despite not having a background in design, being situated in the Sino-Finnish Design Park gave me both great inspiration and reference points for designing GOSH guides, name badges and other images for GOSH. I managed to learn the basics of Inkscape, an open-source vector graphics editor, within the space of a day, to produce these designs. In China, you always need to be improving and innovating, so someone as competitive as myself can thrive in this environment!

My first time designing! You always learn something new every day in Shenzhen

Myself and Nael Hailemariam presenting for SZOIL regarding the first Fab Village in Ningde. Nael is also the initator of the “Designed in Ethiopia” project, of which SZOIL is a partner

I had many more opportunities to explore the landscape of Shenzhen and the various industries that make up its ecosystem. I had opportunities to explore the fashion industry, finance, blockchain, artificial intelligence, industrial design, agricultural technology and green technology (to name just a few!) and meet key individuals from these industries. The crucial word of SZOIL is “open”, and the help of David Li, Vicky Xie, Seth Li, Sebastian Yu, Carbon Sun, Ben Chen, WeiWei and everyone else at SZOIL allowed me to really establish my contacts and enlargen my “guanxi” in Shenzhen, as well as giving me a constant stream of advice and knowledge. I am truly grateful for this openness from both SZOIL and Shenzhen, and within the space of three months, I have definitely become a “Shenzhener”!

Links to Global Open Science Hardware:

GOSH website: http://openhardware.science

GOSH forum: http://forum.openhardware.science

GOSH 2018 photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/goshcommunity/albums/72157674579730208