In our first pre-departure meeting, I distinctly remember Dr Li going around the room asking each of us to describe China with three words. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I know with certainty it doesn’t match how I answered the same question when asked on the last day of the trip. Now, after two weeks in China, I would describe it with the words massive (we barely saw anything during our two weeks despite seeing new places every single day), smartphone (whether you’re 8 or 80, you use smartphones for everything in China, much more so than in the US), and diverse (we went to 3 cities and each city was vastly different than the other two). My time in China has been extremely valuable and life changing. For one, I met a group of great individuals that I’m sure I will remain friends with when we get back on campus in fall. Past this new network, I have also met contacts in China that I may be able to use should I ever return for business. Exposure to Chinese culture has also helped me to understand how different yet similar people in other parts of the world are. Perhaps the most valuable takeaway from my time in China is my first real world exposure to business and engineering practices.
As an engineer, other people’s lives are in your hands. It is up to you to create products that are safe, effective, and made with the betterment of the world in mind. For this reason, the Engineering Code of Ethics was created. Pitt recognized the importance of this code, and as a result all freshman engineers know about it through Engineering 0011 and 0012. Visiting engineering companies, I observed how this code was (or wasn’t) adhered to during their practices. At Horiba, it was clear that they lived by the code- much of what they design is geared toward environmental preservation, reducing pollution, and working towards providing people with a better quality of life. Nothing was flashy at the factory; it was all about function. One instance where I questioned whether the practices were in line with the code of ethics was at Huawei. Looking back, the main thing I remember was how nice their exposition building was- I have never stepped foot in a nicer building. This made me question if the building’s “niceness” was there to distract guests from the many scandals involving Huawei’s executives and problems that have surfaced in recent years. If that is the case, it would be unethical and against the code. I can not say with certainty whether this was the reason the building was so nice, but it does make me question Huawei as a company. In the engineering world, I feel that products should do the talking, not the room they are displayed in.
Visiting multiple companies during my time in China has made something clear to me. No company can be successful as a purely “business” or purely “engineering” firm. For true success, it is important that the company has a wide breadth of knowledge. What does this mean? It means hiring engineers for engineering tasks, but also having businessmen (or women!) for the business end of the firm. Take Horiba for example. On the surface, they appear to be an engineering firm pushing out new innovations in multiple sectors. However, the reality is they have many people working on the business side of their company to make sure these new products are sold and distributed. In short, Horiba would likely fail if they were solely composed of engineers just like they would if they were solely businessmen.
Lifelong education is crucial for continued success of businesses. No matter what kind of company it is, if the employees live in the past it is impossible to be successful. The world today is changing faster than ever before, and if your education doesn’t keep up, your firm cannot compete in the market. This is especially true for Chinese firms, as China is one of the fastest changing nations on the planet.
In America, professional life and social life don’t tend to mix. Sure, there are work friends, but those relationships tend to feel somewhat forced and artificial. This is not the case in China. In China, coworkers are with you more than your own family. For this reason, Chinese firms tend to act more like a family than workers that all work for the same company. Coworkers form genuine bonds and will gladly go on team building type trips for over a week. Compare that to the US, where mentioning going to dinner with a coworker is enough to ruin people’s moods. I believe that recent success of Chinese firms is a result of this mentality- I feel that genuine connections with coworkers is beneficial to a more productive and therefore more successful firm.
On this trip, I worked with students from a different major for the first time in college. At first, it was a bit strange; I immediately noticed a different approach and mentality with work (not in a bad way, business kids and engineers seem to think different in my experience). However, as the group got to know each other, we discovered each other’s strengths and weaknesses and formed a system that was very productive and left everyone happy. Perhaps more importantly than productivity was the different viewpoints that were offered. I believe that our group’s success shows why it is important to branch out past your major or your profession to collaborate with others. Knowledge is power, and in a diversified group, this knowledge can take you lengths that would not be possible individually.
Just like that, our plus3 China trip is over. Two weeks, two days, or two years? It went by so fast that it felt like two days, however I feel as if I left the country with two years’ worth of new knowledge. Once again, I would like to thank Dr Li, Chris, the Asian Institute, and of course all my peers for an amazing trip. I will cherish the memories and knowledge I have gained for a lifetime.
