By Aijing Cao, Junior Project Manager - Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Somehow, I already know the last working day at Swissnex will approach. Nevertheless, at a certain level, I need more time to prepare myself to say goodbye to this excellent organization and my outstanding colleagues. However, on the actual last day, I was still not able to hold my tears.
Swissnex's well-designed public events unveiled an innovative new world to me, which incrementally developed my interest in knowing the frontier research, deep-tech, and related applications. Working at Swissnex is far beyond a dream come true, but also a holy light illuminating the gloomy days during this unstable pandemic period, meanwhile showing me the diverse paths that can be paved and extended from the core of Science to reach a common good and a reciprocal friendship at a national level.
Mar – July 2021 | Wander in the Space of Art
Following my passion for arts and technology, I embarked on my Swissnex journey at the Art-Science department. Art-Science projects broadened my spectrum to observe the distinct technological application in arts and Science as the driving force to elevate societal development further.
My main responsibilities included not only the design and organization of interdisciplinary flagship programs "Café des Sciences" and "Art x Science Dialogues" with key stakeholders and actors in the art scene and innovation ecosystem, but also the project implementation, content creation, and communication. I still remember how excited I were to assist so-far my first French-speaking "diplomatic" event - the special Francophone edition of the Café des Sciences with the Consulate General of Belgium, the Consulate General of Canada, the Consulate General of France, and the Consulate General of Luxembourg in Shanghai and the Embassy of Switzerland in China. In my opinion, working in the Art-Science area is a section I will never get bored by constantly revivifying and enriching my knowledge base to conceive insightful, interactive programs and lectures for the public audience.
Looking back on the events we have designed and facilitated, the range of these events covered a broad domain, such as ESG Green Finance, VR, Montreux Jazz Festival China, arts curation, robot technology, and wildlife management. The Art-Science section is truly a bridge to make the intricate Science and deeptech more accessible to the public and reach Chinese daily lives. Another benefit is that we can actively participate and exchange with respective organizations and partners, to establish collaborative synergy and refresh the art scenes in a global network. As a pivotal connecting point without the language barrier, together with the enthusiastic digital hype, Art-Science is absolutely a realm attracting more attention and releasing more potential.
Through the internship period, I am also overwhelmed by Switzerland's pioneering exploration in this domain and visionary facilitating ecosystem from academic research, innovation, and experimental residency program to cultivate the related talents and catalyst the boundary-less integration.
Aug – Jan 2022 | Foray into Innovation
The severe pandemic resulted in my postponement in Geneva; however, it offered me a fortuitous opportunity to experience Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) 's projects. Switzerland tops the title of the most innovative country 11 times in a row; indeed, it is the preferable country to probe into the secret and know-how of the legendary success story. That perfectly fits the old Chinese saying, "A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. 塞翁失馬，焉知非福)" If the keyword of working at "Art-Science" is "Creativity," then the I&E prioritizes the "Rationality."
I&E section's swisstech China series provided me fantastic opportunity to support a cohort of 21 Swiss startups in diversified fields, such as AI, AR/VR, Robotics, IoT, Health Tech, Lifestyle Tech, and Vehicle Tech. From the beginning step of "Call for Startups" to the successful opening of the expos, in the end, the entire process helped me obtain hands-on experience on two top-trending tech expos in China, Shanghai International Consumer Electronics Show (Tech-G) and China Hi-Tech Fair (Shenzhen) and honed my event management skills. In total, 11 Swiss startups received accolades for their ground-breaking innovations at the Great Tech Awards and Excellent Product Awards from China Hi-Tech Fair. It is critical for us to build a friendly rapport with startups and close coordination among multi-stakeholders to maximize the impact of Swiss excellence globally. On the other hand, innovation scouting and trend reports across China's landscape of Food tech and Cosmetics & Fragrance improved my research ability and triggered my thoughts about the disparity of the market and innovation scenes between China and Switzerland.
Aside from daily work, many unexpected opportunities knocked at my door', which challenged myself stepping out of my comfort zone and strengthen my all-around abilities. I was delighted to be the simultaneous interpreter for the Consul General of Switzerland in Shanghai, Olivier Zehnder, at the China-Switzerland Online Innovation & Entrepreneurship Pitchinar Event in the Yangtze River Delta, and support the Swiss Center at the China International Import Expo (CIIE). These experiences sculptured me with a growth mindset and a grateful heart to embrace every new task and opportunity to learn and improve.
Moreover, besides all these splendid projects, the incredible colleagues from Swissnex in China are another treasure. They are tiptop professionals, as well as supportive team players. There is always a positive and warm vibe penetrating the office as if we are working in a united and amicable family. Especially when we host big-scale events, such as the Swiss Alumni China, Sino-Swiss Energy Innovation Forum (SSEIF), seamless teamwork becomes the defining factor.
Meanwhile, both my supervisors, Cissy Sun and Lijun Zhang, have patiently guided me and shared their accumulated industry insights and knowledge, to effectively help me grasp the whole picture and accomplish each task. Due to the political and governmental touch of being the Science Consulate of Switzerland in China, Swissnex exchanges and collaborates closely with the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing and Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai; therefore, this allows me to have a better understanding of how science functions from the high-level strategy and its practical approaches. Plus, thanks to Swissnex's Private Public Partnership model, we get to mingle with "Swiss" related communities on various occasions, and that provides me a kaleidoscope of Swiss culture and Swiss business. Accompanying the past months, "Switzerland" is no longer limited to a country's name to me, and the word itself got amplified continually with more concrete visualization input from my understanding of Switzerland's innovation scenes, science diplomacy, and my encounter with brilliant Swiss colleagues and entrepreneurs.
Indisputably, what I have harvested over the past 11 months is beyond description. The memorable Swissnex experience imperceptibly and profoundly impacts me and my future decision with an expanded horizon in width, height and depth, in every facet of study, career, as well as life planing. I would like to show my genuine gratitude to Swissnex and all my colleagues from the bottom of my heart. The switch from Junior Project Manager to Swissnex Alumni is never a closing period but an endless "Wuji 無極 " loop as a close bond.
