My trip to China gave me the opportunity to visit four higher education institutions across three Chinese cities to deliver workshops. The workshops were a mix of enterprise education pedagogy and enterprise curriculum design workshops, both of which were designed around practical participation and input.
I had only once previously been to Wuhan to visit the Chinese University of Geosciences, so it was nice to get the opportunity to visit the city again, this time to visit the Wuhan City Polytechnic. It was great to see the support and development of an enterprise agenda at the college, having recently opened a state of the art entrepreneurship and innovation school. Luckily my worries of visiting Wuhan, a notoriously hot city in June did not play out. The new entrepreneurship and innovation school had great facilities and great air conditioning. Whilst, there was not too much time to explore Wuhan itself, it was great to see many of the bridges and urban development being created around the numerous waterways.
The second stop was Qingdao, which is a city despite being told many times I should visit, I actually never have had the opportunity to do so previously. So it was great to be able to visit the city and the China University of Petroleum and Qingdao Technical College. The trip finally offered the opportunity to drink Tsingtao in Qingdao and also the opportunity to explore the coast. I learnt that Tsingtao produced in Qingdao can be identified by a slightly different label compared to Tsingtao produced in other regions. The China University of Petroleum as well as having wonderful facilities, was located adjacent to the beach so it was possible to walk along the seafront and explore the bars along the seafront. I also found time to have a quick swim at the beach on the final morning before we left, which I think is actually the first time I have ever gone swimming in the sea in China.
After leaving Qingdao we flew to Wuxi and then drove to Changzhou in a terrible storm. The flight from Qingdao to Wuxi was delayed and very bumpy, although after my early morning swim I managed to sleep through most of the flight, so only heard stories of terrible flight. It was the first time I had ever been to Changzhou, excluding passing through it on a train. It is located between Shanghai and Nanjing; two cities I have been to numerous times. Although Changzhou itself, as could be expected is a lot sleepier than its loud and busy neighbours. Its city centre and ubiquitous tower does not have the same impact and lasting impression as Shanghai. However, it does have some nice parks and a Buddhist temple (Tianning Temple).
After the workshop in Changzhou the fun started. Our flight from Changzhou to Beijing was first delayed and then cancelled and rescheduled for the next day. Booked on the early morning flight out of Beijing to Zurich and then on to London meant that I missed this flight and had to be rebooked on to a later evening Air China flight to London. With an already tight schedule before heading to the US for the OBTS conference, it meant only a McDonalds at Heathrow and a few hours’ sleep before heading out again. As always, I seem to never accurately know when I will go to China and when I leave.
Robin Bell 