Before coming to China I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this big and populous country. After having worked at Swissnex China, lived in vibrant Shanghai and explored as much as possible of China, I can’t believe how quickly the last six months have passed. All I know now is that it is hard to say goodbye and that I want to come back as soon as possible.

At the very beginning I was surprised, how easy it is to come to Shanghai and start to live on one side, and how puzzling it is to not be able to communicate. But it didn’t take long to pick up the most important words and find other ways to communicate. If I have learned something, than how pragmatic and innovative Chinese people can be and I will take this with me.

Swissnex China offered an incredible place to work at, with the possibility to participate on a large amount of projects, mainly in the field of innovation and academic relations, and to learn about the extreme speed and high potential of this still much unknown nation. Thanks to my position as a representative of University of Zurich I could also contribute to the bridging between China and Switzerland, and I hope to be able to continue with it in future.

I want to sincerely thank Swissnex China and the International Relations Office of the University of Zurich for this great opportunity, and all my colleagues at Swissnex for teaching me so much about China and helping to make the last six months such a wonderful experience. I will miss all the unexpected occurrences, the delicious lunches and the cheerful laughter I could provoke, by simply using the few Chinese words that I had caught up, and last but not least, my many new friends!

See you soon,

Isabel鲍奕琳