Qingpu plant, China!
Manli Yang has completed her graduate programme in China. Learn more about her motivations, impressions and experiences as a JIG in the Qingpu plant.
Before starting the JIG Programme, I had no prior working experience and therefore was not sure in which area I wanted to work and specialize. For this reason, I felt that it was a very attractive opportunity to start my career. After several rounds of interviews, I was thrilled that I had been selected.
My first assignment was in Research and Development (R&D) in the Qingpu plant in Shanghai. Not only did I start learning the product development process in an industry-leading company, I also learned about the business component that comes with that. Come to think about it, I learned so much during that assignment because the technical understanding of our products had to go hand-in-hand with the business and strategy understanding and development. All these aspects are very important in the development of new products.
My second assignment was related on one hand, but also completely different on the other because during this time I was involved in one of the biggest development projects of the Qingpu plant. Being a project coordinator here allowed me to apply a lot of the knowledge I had acquired in the previous months. That assignment was exactly what I had hoped to gain from the JIG Programme: it helped me determine what I wanted to work on afterwards. Experiencing the daily operations of such a large project, I gained an even deeper and better understanding of the development process and knew that this was where I wanted to go and develop.
I am now working as a project manager in the R&D department at the Qingpu plant.
One of the aspects that I appreciate most about being a JIG is having the opportunity to try different things and get an overview and understanding of the company. Getting the chance to work and develop our strengths by working with colleagues and successful leaders from different departments gave us invaluable insights.
I still have a sticky note posted on the front page of my working notebook with the statement "Tough and Competent!" My last assignment owner wrote it on my first day in my current position. It describes my JIG life perfectly and has become my motto as a project manager, encouraging me in my working life.
