Our first company visit set the bar extremely high. Huawei was amazing! My pictures do not give the showroom justice (photo creds to @katieking!!). Huawei seems to be ahead of their other tech company competitors in almost every way. They pioneered 5G, which is ten times faster than 4G. Huawei claims they are 12-18 months ahead of their competitors in expanding artificial intelligence. They provide network for car companies, including Audi, Mercedes, and BMW. They created a base station that is only 20 kg, which saves about $10,000 in costs and is easily installed to provide undeveloped areas, like Africa and South America, a network. Basically, they are the company predicting the world’s tech future. The staff was intelligent, welcoming, and had a passion for the expanding business. Huawei’s building was modern and unique as it elegantly displayed all of Huawei’s products, from their smart phones to future cars and hospitals. They had 7 star bathrooms with heated toilet seats and toilet paper in each stall (a rare occurrence in China bathrooms). I will never forget this visit and cannot wait to see how the company will grow.
After Huawei, our next company visit was at VIPKid. We went to their sales and corporate office in Beijing. Interestingly, a Pitt Alumni (H2P!!) who works in the corporate office gave us a tour of their company. The idea behind VIPKid started in 2013. Soon after, they won the Chinese version of shark tank and started on PCs. Now, they connect with their customers through mobile apps. After four rounds of funding in roughly five years, they have become the largest K-12 online education platform. VIPKid is an online platform where American and Canadian teachers teach English to Chinese students. The company’s main focus is to inspire and empower young children. VIPKid is used in Chinese cities and villages in rural areas. Their brand has grown drastically in five years and they have had recognition from all over the globe. It has been the best place to work on Glass Door two years in a row and they had praise from Forbes magazine, among other well-known sites. This company helps to reduce the inequality in education. VIPKid will expand their students’ possibilities for future educational experiences.
Tonight, we took a 30-minute subway ride to the Olympic park. The director of New York City public transit should really visit Beijing. There were sliding glass doors to separate the tracks from the platform, preventing dangerous accidents from occurring. The subway system was also very clean and easy to understand. I learned that over 7 million people use the Beijing subway system daily!
The Olympic park was massive and very pretty at night. The lights lit up the main walk way and my favorite buildings were the Birds’ Nest and Water Cube. I remember watching the 2008 Olympics, so seeing the park in person was surreal and inspiring.
When we got back from the Olympic park, a group of us went to the grocery store because I desperately needed Chapstick. I can’t read Chinese so I hope I bought the right thing!!
Today has been a great learning experience and I am so thankful for this study abroad opportunity.
Goodnight from Beijing!
Ttylxox,
Ali <3
