It seems like I arrived yesterday in Shanghai and it’s already time for me to leave swissnex, after two short but intense months. When I left Shanghai in 2012 after one year, I’d never have thought that I would be back so soon, and this time to get work experience. I was really excited about it and I was right: from the first day on, I felt very comfortable thanks to the warm welcome of the team and I got to work on different interesting projects. I learnt a lot regarding swissnex but also about working in a dynamic and multi-cultural environment (and in an open space listening to Shanghainese conversations), with its advantages and challenges. Being involved in such an organization from the inside probably taught me way more than reading a million books on business administration. This internship confirmed my interest in international relations and opened my eyes on other fields, which I am looking forward to explore further during my studies.

For my second time in Shanghai, I found everything I had been missing for so long (friends, ECNU, the skyscrapers,… and of course COCO) but also experienced many new things. One could spend 10 years in China and still be surprised every day; Shanghai is the perfect example – I was impressed how many places had changed in only one year… I’m already looking forward to coming back in a few years!

I’ll keep many memories from these two months and I would like to thank Pascal Marmier as well as everybody else for welcoming me at swissnex and allowing me to participate in the many ongoing projects. I enjoyed it a lot and I hope to stay linked to the swissnex network and to the great people I met here!

谢谢你们, 祝大家顺利和愉快!

Claire