In this blog we are going to describe our experience during our business study tour provided by ESIC, which we shared with the different MBM Students from the different cities in Spain.
During this trip, we spent a week in Amsterdam, attending classes and making cultural visits to a museum and the city and also visiting two companies. We will also tell you about our experiences during the free time we had and the different activities we did during the trip.
Moreover, we also had the chance to get to know each other, since there were students from the rest of the masters in Spain, which were basically Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and finally Zaragoza.
MONDAY, MAY 9
On Monday morning we all woke up full of energy and looking forward to starting the course. At 9 a.m. we arrived at the Amsterdam School of International Business where Brechtine was waiting for us to explain the programme schedule. Later, the Dean of AMSIB, Rogier Busser, gave a lecture on Chinese Economic Development in recent centuries. During this lesson we learned the different strategies used by the Chinese Government that have led to the impressive growth that we have been seeing in the last 10-15 years.
In the afternoon, we visited the headquarters of ABN-AMRO, one of the most important banks in The Netherlands. During this visit, we learnt about the bank’s vision, mission and values. Moreover, they explained the opportunities we can have if we decide to apply for a position in the company. Right after that we were lucky enough to listen to Summit X. Ji, who gave us a lecture on Economic Developments of Modern China in a post-COVID-19 World. In this lecture we learnt a lot about the Chinese GDP growth expected in the next few years.
Once we finished the visit, we all went to Brouwerij ‘t IJ, a typical pub where we finally got to know each other properly and had a really good time. Afterwards, we had dinner in the Chinese restaurant FuLu Mandarijn, where we enjoyed a delicious but quite spicy meal.
Brouwerij ‘t IJ
TUESDAY, MAY 10
On Tuesday, May 10, we attended our second Business Study Tour lecture which was about “Building up professional relationships in China. Do’s and Dont’s in China» with teacher Claudio Perotti. During the lesson, which we certainly found very interesting, we talked about Building partnerships in China and Claudio shared his experiences and testimonies with us. One of the things we were told that should be considered when doing business with China are the payment conditions, delivery terms and quality and assurance controls.
Professor Perotti also shared with us the importance of the concept of “face” in China, as for them it can have many meanings and they take it to a whole new level. For example, one can «lose face», «give face» or «save face». Essentially, for the Chinese, the term «face» refers to the amount of “dignity” or “prestige” that’s associated with an individual.
Once this lecture ended, we were lucky enough to have our first Chinese class with Professor Zongyan, and, although it was complicated at the beginning, we had a good time and learned to say some basic Chinese phrases. Below you will find an example of the exercises we had to do.
In the afternoon, we went to visit the Rijksmuseum, the largest museum dedicated to Art and History in the Netherlands, known mainly for its collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and has more than twenty works of Rembrandt. Below you will find a photo we took during the visit with the famous work of Rembrandt’s «Waterloo».
Finally, to end the day, we went for a walk around Amsterdam and had dinner and a drink in a bar all together.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11
On Wednesday, May 11, we had a lecture in the morning with Professor Olivia about «Thinking patterns, open door policy. Economic Development of China». It was a very interesting class and in which we could get to know a little more closely and in depth the Chinese culture. One of the things the teacher explained to us was the meaning of Yin and Yang, two opposite principles in nature, Yin 阴 means feminine and negative and Yang 阳 means masculine and positive. As the teacher told us, the theory of Yin and Yang believes that everything in the universe has opposite and unified yin and yang aspects, which are constantly moving and interacting. This type of movement and interaction is the root of all movement and change.
Once we finished the class, we took a bus to Huawei’s offices located in Rijswijk. In this visit, we were explained the history of Huawei, its main purpose and we learned how to be successful in the business world. We also enjoyed the talk of a Project Manager Director of the company who told us about his experience in Huawei and we could interact with him for a while. As a final part of the visit, in small groups we made a tour around a part of the facilities. Below you can see three pictures that we took during the visit to Huawei, one of the MBM students at the company’s entrance and two others taken during the visit to the offices.
At the end of the visit the bus drove us back to the hotel. To end the day in the best possible way, and since our hotel was in front of the AJAX soccer team’s stadium (Johan Cruyff Arena), we went to watch the game in the immediate vicinity of the stadium because, just that same day, AJAX was playing to win the Dutch league. Sure enough, AJAX won and we celebrated with the fans, first close to the stadium and later in the center of Amsterdam. It was an incredible experience that we will never forget. You can see below some of the pictures we took during this great moment.
THURSDAY, MAY 12
On Thursday, May 12, we attended our fourth and last class before the exam, with Professor Perotti we had a class on Doing Business in China, where he taught us the differences between the Chinese culture and that of the West and how to do business in China, in the slides he showed us images of how to do all of this, for example we learned how to introduce ourselves properly, or how to to toast or even how to treat the boss.
Then we did the last Chinese lesson where at the end of the class we sang a song together in Chinese,it was a very funny moment and we will never forget it.
In the afternoon, we took a boat cruise on the canals of Amsterdam, where we saw different tourist attractions of the city, we saw the house of Anne Frank, the 7 bridges, the highest swings in Europe and many more interesting places, it was a wonderful afternoon full of adventures.
At the end of the afternoon we got curious and went to ride the biggest swing in Europe, when we got up there there were wonderful views, and despite the height we decided to get on and see all of Amsterdam from the swing, it was a great adventure and the best thing of all is that we are alive!
FRIDAY, MAY 13
Our last day started with the assessment, which we did using a tool similar to Kahoot. After that, we answered some questions regarding our opinion about the programme and the improvements they can make for future editions. Later, we headed to the city centre to buy some souvenirs for our families. We visited some local cheese shops and the Flower Market, where we found the perfect presents.
In the evening, we went to Café Fest, a college bar where we had a nice time listening to hip-hop and techno music and playing beer-pong. Furthermore, we enjoyed a typical Amsterdam dinner recommended by one of the chefs.
In conclusion, it was a wonderful trip in which we learned a lot about Chinese culture and about their business and also about the city of Amsterdam, which was an incredible host. And last but not less important, we met wonderful people with whom we had a great time and an amazing experience.