By Yifan Li, Junior Project Manager - Innovation & Entrepreneurship

I could have never imagined. Nobody could.

It was a rainy night in Shanghai on August 28th, 2020. The rain was heavy enough to delay the schedules of flights. I arrived in Shanghai alone after midnight with a bulky 23-inch suitcase and a clumsy backpack. The time on the shuttle bus felt like forever. After COVID-19 broke out, all of my well-planned future blueprints were gone. But I had to move on.

The Venture Leaders China 2020 Virtual Demo Days, my first big assignment at swissnex China, were set on September 14th and 15th. “Aha,” I thought, “their exciting trip to China had to be cancelled as well. I gotta try my best to help.” With the combined efforts from swissnex China, Venture Lab, and the startups, the event was a success.

Later I had more chances to be involved in programs that facilitate the market entry of Swiss startups to China, including Venture Leaders Fintech 2020, China Agri-Food-Tech Bootcamp 2021, startup success stories and handbook for Swiss startup with information about Sino-Swiss startup accelerators and company registration process for Swiss startups in China etc.

Joining swissnex China in early September was a ‘lucky’ move – two team outings were arranged in late September and late October. It was my first time taking an autonomous car. It was my first time being chased around by a real-human NPC while screaming to death in a horror-themed escape room. It was my first time having raclette. It was my first time cooking with a chef. It felt so nice to be part of a lovely group and meet new interesting people. Though it was a shame that we had to cancel some activities “thanks to” COVID again, this virus no longer bothered me that much.

The Swiss Ball, CIIE 2020, and Christmas fondue brunch should be highlighted, too. Well, there are many others also should be highlighted, but in that case, I will not be able to finish this in days.

I had not had a real smile for months before coming to swissnex China. The pandemic-imposed gap year almost had me undervalue every aspect of myself, but the truth is that I still can prepare for events, write reports, support others, build relationships, contribute to teams, do my own side projects, and enjoy my life!

COVID is terrible but it cannot take everything away from us. With the Spring Festival of the Year of Ox approaching, I think I am ready to embark on new challenges. Though I am not sure how things will evolve, I am sure I will be able to handle them. 