On our last day in Ireland, we had a guest speaker, Ellie Doyle, who gave us a talk on “Where is Innovation Going?” In her lecture, she touched on how COVID-19 has prompted innovation to reinvent itself and become a necessity for many businesses alike. She also prompted how innovation in terms of the way we think as well as in the form of products or technology has changed a lot over the past few years. To my surprise, she mentioned how collaboration and innovation thrived during the pandemic despite the physical restrictions. People were forced to find creative solutions to tough challenges. One example Ellie mentioned during her lecture was OnlyFans. When I first saw this business on her presentation I was a little taken aback since I had only heard it was used for adult content. While the website does get that wrap, Ellie mentioned that that is actually only a small portion of the site. Instead, people use it to post makeup tutorials, cooking step-by-step recipes, etc. A chef who had to close down his business due to the pandemic decided to post videos teaching people how to cook. To access content, people have to pay via a subscription. While this is just one example of how the pandemic has altered innovation as well as changed the way we do business, there have been many businesses that have had to adopt a different way of thinking as well as innovating to survive.
After Ellie’s lecture, I was thinking about how I’ve had to innovate myself these past few years. Not just with the way I think about things, but also the way I view the world as well as businesses. Whether that being ways to put myself out there for job opportunities to even stepping outside of my comfort zone and go abroad, I’ve been able to transform myself and learn and grow through the good, bad, and tough things I’ve encountered. With participating in this study abroad program, I can say that I have had to “innovate” how I do everyday life here. With many changes in play, being flexible as well as adaptive was key these past few weeks. As someone who loves a good schedule and routine, I was really tested to the max. At times, I wanted to give up due to frustration, but in the end, I was able to figure things out, even if they weren’t always what I expected. So for that, I am grateful for not only this experience and what it has taught me, but also giving me a chance to really go beyond what I knew I was capable of.
During much of COVID-19, it facilitated change and accelerated innovation in lots of different ways. For example, some of the innovations that really impacted me was Zoom as well as Instacart. For me, Zoom was a large part of my everyday life as I used it for just about every interaction. Many of my classes were solely offered through Zoom. I also used the application to participate in club meetings as well as chat with friends. In terms of Instacart, I used it a lot during the pandemic and even to this day. There were many times I was afraid to go out to the store or was exposed to COVID-19 regularly. With being able to order my groceries online, it made my grocery shopping experience not only more convenient but was a way to keep shoppers and businesses afloat. Even outside of technology, myself and the entire world had to innovate and wear masks as product of the pandemic. With COVID-19 being a highly infectious virus, masks became a regular part of everyday life for the past few years. While mask restrictions are lessening, it makes me wonder if we will ever go without them completely? However, I am thankful we do have these types of innovations in place that provide us with means of protecting ourselves. In terms of high tech and low tech societies, I think both have experienced major changes in the way business is conducted. In regards to both, I think it was a matter of finding ways to connect virtually. With COVID-19, I believe we have had to move to a more technologically advanced age at a quicker pace. Due to the nature of the pandemic, low tech societies most definitely were put at a disadvantage compared to more technologically advanced places. With COVID-19 forever impacting our lives, I think it has not only changed the way we look at the world, but also how we define innovation as well as how we do business.
As I close out this chapter, I wanted to revisit the time I have spent before and after my trip here to Dublin, Ireland. Every time I work with a team I have gained valuable experience. I can say that coming into this experience I thought I knew what working as a team would be like. I thought, how much different can it be working outside of the classroom? I was wrong. I learned so much from working not only with my team, but my fellow cohort while abroad. Not only did I learn to become more flexible and adaptable, but I also learned a lot of patience. As my time here is shortly coming to an end, I want to leave you with some key insights that I will be taking away from my team on this program. While I came in only knowing one group member, I slowly got to know my entire team on a personal and professional level. Even with all of our different personalities, I really enjoyed getting to work with my fellow team members. Taking the time to bond with them while here in Ireland was really a turning point in where I found it to be easier to connect and get work done together. I’m glad to say that they no longer feel like strangers, but friends that I can recognize on campus. Lastly, I could not be more thankful for a better group of people to end this trip with as well as Pitt Faculty who made this trip worth it!
Well, I can say this has been a wild ride and I am sad to see it end. Farewell Ireland!