Week 2 began with a trip to a Buddhist temple. In China there are many Buddhist temples mainly in the mountains. As we are walking through the temple I noticed all of the bright colors and the figures on buildings. There were many pictures depicting dragons various other animals, and of course Buddha. After the temple we went back to the lake we were at week 1. We wanted to take taxis to get home, but didn’t want to pay for them, so we devised a plan to get across the lake with the boats you could rent, but once we got to the other side the worker wasn’t having it and turned us back around right where we started. Two hours later we ended up spending the money for the cab. Looking back on that whole situation I can’t help but laugh because in our heads it was a great idea and it failed.

On Sunday we went to Doctor Sun Yat Sens Mausoleum. Doctor Sun was a very important man in Chinas history who treated many of the sick and eventually became the president of China. It was 95 degrees outside and the walk was long. Once you get to the mausoleum it’s another 400 steps to get to the top, and the reasoning for this is to show the people of China that the journey is long and nothing comes easy. Once I got to the top I realized it was long journey and there will be a long road ahead of me as a person to grow and learn.

On Monday we did not go to class and instead visited some companies. The first one was China Unicom and China Unicom is one of the largest telecom companies in China. When we toured the facility, I was impressed with all the work they have done. They are also in the process of bringing 5G to life. We went on a bus that had 5G on it and were blown away by the speed of the technology.

The second half of the day we toured an incubator where people with the proper resources gather to work on different projects. Half way through the tour guide brought us into a room with over a hundred tea kettles. We sat down and he said the problem with todays society is that everyone is in a rush and no one sits down to enjoy the simple things. He showed us how to brew Chinese tea the traditional way. We then enjoyed a cup of black teas, which was phenomenal. We then discussed his journey and his experiences and how he got to where he is today. He was probably one of the most interesting people I have ever talked to because when he speaks he uses philosophy to explain his logic. He would say things like slow is faster, which looking back at it he is probably right. Rushing through things and getting them done quickly makes you miss so many points  

In the class room we began to really work on our project that we had to present at the end of the class. Our project was called Life Pod and is an emergency shelter that can be set up by four unskilled laborers during times of crisis and natural disaster. For the project we really began to dig deep into the specifics like the business model canvas, competitors, and the overall market for our product. We had our presentation Friday and I felt we did well as a group and that Life Pod can be a useful product.

I learned a lot of new things from my group members and the students themselves. It’s interesting to think that a group of strangers who have never met before can just become so close and create close friendships in such a short amount of time. I think one of the greatest lessons I learned after completing this project is that life is all about adapting to certain situations and being able to overcome certain obstacles that can be very challenging. The most difficult part about this trip has been the language barrier. Communication is an important part of our daily lives and for the past two weeks I have had to really try hard to get by. Pointing at items to shop keepers using my body to communicate it’s been a challenge however at the same time it’s been fun, watching people’s reactions and getting excited when we finally get what we want. The people of China are probably the friendliest I’ve ever met and for that I am grateful for being able to study in a country where the people are accepting.

Next stop Beijing!!!

Top of the mausoleum

While on the train now to Beijing I felt very inspired to reflect on the class and group experience that I took away from these past two amazing weeks. At the beginning of this whole thing there was a lot of questions buzzing around in my mind. Things like the language barrier, our age differences, and our cultural differences. I was worried it would be difficult being the group leader to navigate this new territory for me and still help everyone in reaching for a common goal.  When we first started out we were definitely trying to figure out how to best communicate with one another. It was difficult because for the Chinese students all the new business terms being taught they knew in Chinese but not so much in English. So, this put more stress on the fact that we needed to learn how to best overcome the language barrier and fast so that we all were getting the most out of the class! I found however that the Chinese students when asking me to clarify some things from the lecture that day actually helped me in thinking about each step of entrepreneurship and the business process in a different way. I no longer could use the comfortable buzz words that we are taught, I had to find different words to describe each thing that they asked and this helped solidify my knowledge even more.

It is amazing how eager the Chinese students are to learn and I would say the same for our Indian student in our group (It was his first business class ever)! I am happy to say that this class brought out not only the best in my but my team as well. I feel I grew so much professionally and also grew personally. These connections and the learning curve were a great experience and showed me that even with someone who maybe doesn’t fully speak the same language as you that it doesn’t mean you can’t learn a lot together. With the world we live in and the technology that we have at our finger tips there is nothing that you can’t do. Professor Mehta also was incredible in helping us think critically and openly to new ideas and broadening what we thought was possible. I can say I feel much more open and confident to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur one day!

After a long 15 hour plane ride to Hong Kong. Stepping off the plane I did not know what to expect. I knew that I was going to experience a completely different culture, but I really was not ready for it. When we first landed in the airport in Hong Kong, I was taken away by how large it was. The terminals seemed to stretch for nearly a half mile, so far that you could not even see the other side. We landed around 5am in Hong Kong and the airport was nearly empty so I was confused as to why it was so massive. This quickly changed a few hours later when thousands of people flooded the terminals from all different parts of the world. Everyone was going on about their business and had their own agendas. One of the most interesting stores I found when exploring the airport was a shop selling all sorts of dried goods. Some of these items included chicken wings, fish, scallops, and chicken feet. I later found out that you can put these dried items in soups.

After another 3 hour flight to Nanjing, we finally had reached our destination. We left the airport and got into a van which took us to the hotel. The weather was extremely hot and humid and I was not used to it on the first day. The road from the airport to the hotel was where I got my first views of Nanjing. I was impressed by how clean the highways were and how much nature was spread throughout the city. When you think of large metropolitan cities, you do not tend to think there will be trees and flowers everywhere. There are large parks and lakes throughout the city that give it a very green and beautiful appearance. They have managed to place large modern skyscrapers in with parks which is what I found most impressive.

Once we reached the hotel, we decided to take a walk to see what the streets were like. There was so much life in the streets as people were walking everywhere and having conversations. Many people ride electric scooters to get around the city. These people seem to be natural at driving them with the way they are able to weave in and out of traffic and around the sidewalks, sometimes having 2 or 3 people on the same scooter. At one point I even saw a man with a small dog on the back of his scooter! The most interesting sight I saw was a man on a bike selling goldfish and plants. This is nothing I would have ever expected to see, as I did not think fish takes would go well with a bicycle. Somehow he managed to pedal around the streets with goldfish in the back. Lining the streets were shops that were selling all kinds of goods from food to cigarettes, even pets. Outside of the shops were vendors selling fruits and vegetables. It’s as if the city never sleeps because something is always going on at some hour.

Salt Lake

            The second day we went to a reconstruction of a classic Chinese town around a salt lake. There was about a 45 minute drive as we left the main city and traveled into the mountains. Once we got off the bus you could see a real Buddhist temple far off in the distance. This temple was at the very top of a large mountain and looked like it was straight out of a movie. As we headed into the park we could see from the distance a full city filled with ancient Chinese buildings. This combined the style of ancient Chinese buildings with modern interiors. The town was very beautiful and when you walked down the streets you were immersed in the town. It was as if you traveled back to ancient China. They had actors preforming shows and dressed in traditional Chinese attire. You started to imagine what life would have been like in the ancient world and how difficult simple tasks would become. We had a great tour guide on this trip who explained a lot of the history of China and how it evolved into what it is today. I enjoyed this trip because I was able to learn a lot about China’s deep history.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

When we got off the plane and into the van to take us to the hotel I knew that this trip was going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Once we got off the van into the hotel we regrouped and relaxed for a little bit. After about an hour or so a member in our group suggested we go to the bank to grab Chinese currency. We asked the lady at the front desk where the nearest bank was, her response was walk 2 minutes then take a right. We listened to her directions and immediately got lost. We began walking down a busy street with many small shops selling fruit, meat and all types of fish as well as restaurants. To our left there was a women selling live shrimp in a bucket jumping around with a bowl of eels right next to it, and to our right a man selling goldfish out of the back of his bicycle. We all looked at each other and were taken back by the daily life of the residents in Nanjing. The next day we went to a lake, which was more of an amusement park than a lake. The park had many gift stores, and small sops that sold clothes food, and other trinkets. There were performers acting out skits and plays in traditional Chinese garments. Overall I enjoyed my time at the lake, and learned a lot about Chinese culture and tradition.

FOOD

When we landed in Honk Kong I was amazed by all the different types of food that were in the airport. Dried scallops, dried fish, exotic candies, and beverages that I have never seen before. Our first meal in Nanjing consisted of bamboo, which was soft tender and tasted like beef there was also Tibetan cabbage, a beef dish, Chinese pumpkin, broccoli, and a chicken, head and feet included. When walking on the streets you will notice small tubs filled with crawfish, when I asked one of the Chinese students why there were so many shops selling them she said that it was the season. In the states crawfish are a popular dish down South in Louisiana where there is an abundance of the tiny Lobsters. I suggested to the group that we try them and everyone agreed, so we went into a local restaurant near the campus. The meal began with barbequed meat, pork, and whole mackerel on a stick. After we finished with the first course the crawfish came and it was a lot of fun just to take them apart to get the tiny little bit of meat that is edible on the tiny crustacean. They were delicious and I was very happy I got to experience that. We also had hot pot, which consists of a pot in the middle with different types of broths. The objective is to cook your own meat. We ordered squid, chicken, beef, potatoes, noodles, quail eggs and threw everything into the pot. When the food is ready to be eaten it floats to the top and absorbs the flavor of the broth. I will say this was the most laborious meal we had due to the intensity of the heat and having to fish for food with chop sticks, but it was delicious.

CLASS

The class began with the introduction of each groups team members. We were quickly broken up and did a quick ice breaker. The following day is when the class really started. We were introduced to the project and given a few challenges we had to complete. One project started with one of the professors from NUJPT giving us one hundred dollars and trying to make as much money as we can with that initial investment. Our group decided to teach English classes. We made only thirty Yuan because we couldn’t find enough people to join, but it was a fun exercise. The class itself is very interesting, because I want to apply what I learn here in China back in the United States to potentially create my own business. Professor Mehta gave very informative lectures on how to put your thoughts together and create something.

Mackerel on Stick

View of Nanjing from the Lake

Crawfish

Back in February when walking to class, I saw a poster at UML that said “2 Week China Trip” worth 3 credits for undergrad and graduate students. That night when making conversation at dinner I just brought up to my Fiancé how cool I thought it was that the school was offering a trip like that and could you believe the opportunity that would be for the students. Before I could say anymore, he replied: “well, you’re obviously applying right?!” I looked up at him a bit surprised by his enthusiasm and said: “do you really think I should?” He said, “you have been looking for a way to expand your network, right? And I know that you’ve always wanted to go to China since we started dating, this is perfect!” I thought about it for a while and said: “you know, your right, I will apply!”  

Fast forward to hearing back that I was accepted to be part of the program, I was absolutely thrilled and of course a bit nervous. What would China be like? Would I fit in even though I was the only grad student and about 5 years older than every else? How could I survive being away from my home and Fiancé for 2 weeks? Will I be able to adjust to the 12-hour time difference? Well, luckily, I didn’t let these questions stop me from making one of the best decisions of my life! I got on that plane and after about a days travel wound up in a totally different country ready to make the most of every opportunity that I could.

The first day of class, when I first meet my team, I was wondering how it would work out with an Indian student, three Chinese students, and me? Would we get along? Would we be able to work together well? How will we be at communicating with one another? Luckily, I believe I was assigned the best group of students I could have asked for. We became fast friends, even opting to forgo the free dinners at the hotel and decide to go and continue to spend time together outside of the classroom. It is incredible even though sometimes we need a little extra time for us to type sometime into google translate to understand what the other person is trying to say. I feel that this trip has opened up my eyes to international relations and the fantastic people who can live half a world away from you! 

Oriental Salk Lake City tour on our first day!

After a long flight of 15 hours to Hong Kong and then after a 5-hour layover, arrived in Nanjing, another 21/2 hours flight, excited to be in Nanjing again! & 7 UML students started their journey to learn entrepreneurship and explore China, its people, culture and history. On first day in Nanjing, went to Cheng Zhou about an hour and half from Nanjing to visit Oriental Salt Lake city. A wonderful site with many side shows of Chinese tradition & culture, recreation of old town going back 1000 years, took a wild boar ride (!), experienced great food, and did shopping (of course). Overall a great first day to quickly get into new world!

Taste of real Chinese food!

Kind of tired at Hong Kong airport? But anxious to get started!

New experience and all smiles!

Travel and study entrepreneurship and innovation with UMass Lowell’s Manning School of Business in the Spring & Summer of 2019. Undergraduate and graduate students are welcome!

Students travel to Nanjing, China with Professor Ashwin Mehta to Nanjing University of Postal and Telecommunications (NUPT) to learn alongside NUPT and KLE Technological University (Hubli, India) students and immerse themselves in entrepreneurial mindsets and cultural influences on decision-making.

This course is worth 3 credits and is designed to help students understand the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in today’s global economy and to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among the students in the Manning School of Business. It will cover different forms of entrepreneurship such as small businesses, growth ventures, corporate entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. The course will focus on innovation types, turning innovation into reality and the process of entrepreneurship. Innovation and entrepreneurship theories and concepts will be discussed with real life examples and cases.

Read about this award winning program:

• Global Entrepreneurship Exchange Garners National Recognition, Manning School of Business Program Wins Institute of International Education Award, February 5, 2018
• International Program Captures Award for Innovation, UMass Lowell Global Entrepreneurship Exchange Honored, April 24, 2018
• Study Abroad Best Practices Resource 2018 Winner: UMass Lowell Global Entrepreneurship Exchange

Learn More

• Learn more on the UMass Lowell Study Abroad and International Experiences website.
• Read the program brochure and more on the Study Abroad website.

• The Manning School of Business website has information as well regarding other  summer and winter programs.
• Video of 2014 program
• Video of 2015 program
• Read Blogs from past trips:
  • 2018 Blog
  • 2017 Blog
  • 2016 blog
  • 2015 blog
• Check out student testimonials from 2014.