Today, we had our first sessions with some of the large companies headquartered here in Cyprus: Medochemie and Wargaming. After getting up early around 7 am, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and promptly got on the bus for Limassol (about an hour drive from where we were staying). Honestly, I loved the drive because there was beautiful scenery the entire way and plenty of opportunities to take pictures while sitting in traffic. After seeing such a different area, I had a better understanding of Cypriot life outside of the main city of Nicosia.

Our time at Medochemie, a pharmaceutical production company based in Cyprus, was very informative; I find myself understanding more and more about supply chains, specifically relating to global operations being based in a central location like Cyprus. The executives provided real data about their company and encouraged us to ask as many questions as we had. I asked about product recall occurrences and, more specifically, how they can affect a well-established pharmaceutical company’s reputation, along with any other logistical or financial consequences. After questions, we took a brief tour of their warehouse and then left for the lunch at the University of Nicosia.

A few of my friends decided to eat lunch in the mall food court close to campus, rather than the cafeteria. This was my first time being asked to present a Safe Pass (COVID requirement) and also my first time seeing menus completely in Greek… despite feeling a little confused, I ended up ordering some pasta that was delicious!

Around 3 pm, we returned to the main area of the University and met with the second company of the day: Wargaming. This company produces well-known games like World of Tanks. Our session was focused on game development and how an initial idea makes it all the way to a final product; we were even asked to think of solutions to the Positivity Problem, where games go through all stages of production very smoothly only to be rejected by consumers or to produce little profit. We ultimately concurred that assigning a “devil’s advocate” who uses expert knowledge can compete against the developers to find issues with the game and force them to defend their work.

We returned back to the city of Nicosia around 6 pm and I immediately was ready for a nap! It was a long day but definitely one filled with relevant information and useful insights.