Interning at SZOIL
As a student at the University of Oregon to have the opportunity to intern in the first innovation lab in Shenzhen for two months was an experience I will never forget. All the people I had the opportunity to meet, the work experience I gained, and all the knowledge learned definitely makes my internship with SZOIL life-changing.
I consider myself very lucky to have had this opportunity, because I got so much value out of my time here, since I truly did not know what to expect coming from the United States. I got placed with SZOIL, because I expressed interest in entrepreneurship and was really passionate about sustainability. As a business and economics major I really wanted to know more about sustainability and how to help the environment/society.
When I first arrived in SZOIL, I quickly learned what the company does and all the possibilities for an entrepreneur can do in SZOIL and in Shenzhen. In the first few days, I learned about all the different projects that SZOIL was part of and decided which ones would benefit me. I focused on projects related to helping the environment and society by helping small local villages use their existing resources in order to create a better way of living for the community.
One of the villages I worked on was Shawei, where many local small factory shops produce different materials. I planned a workshop for students to explore the village of Shawei in order to; create a map of the village with all the factories/spaces, design a product of artwork using the resources in the village that would impact the village, and formulate a vision or plan on how the city will evolve in the future. The goal of this project was to start thinking about how Shawei can transform into a productive city with all the resources they already have and be innovative as a village.
I also got the opportunity to travel to other villages for different projects to meet government officials, locals, and other partners for the project. As a company, we attended a Lychee Harvest Festival and got to listen to different proposals on how to improve the village. Had multiple meals with families in different homes that prepared us traditional local food. Additionally, we got to visit a bee farm where the beekeeper shared his knowledge with us about the dying bee population, bee hives, and his farm over multiple cups of tea and honey.
I also met many brilliant people through SZOIL. One of the most influential people that visited was Terri Hardin, a Disney Imagineer, who traveled to Shenzhen with Frank Cohen trying to further develop a product they created together. I sat next to Terri as we were all having dinner and later had the opportunity to attend her and Frank’s talk. Terri helped me out tremendously in guiding me as a young future entrepreneur. I asked her questions regarding my business ideas, future steps to take, and am currently following up with her through email.
Besides guest speakers it was lovely working with the everyone here at SZOIL and the other interns from different countries. Working at SZOIL for two months helped be build my guanxi or relationships with my colleagues. I learned how to effectively communicate and collaborate with people from Ghana, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Spain, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and China to get work done. I had an amazing time in SZOIL, cherishing all the memories and knowledge I gained from my internship in Shenzhen. I will definitely be starting my senior year in college with a different perspective on entrepreneurship and business based on the people I met, had conversations with, and my whole experience I had in SZOIL.
