I ran for Student Government President at IE University

and was elected for two consecutive terms.

This has been my most rewarding professional experience. My role was incredibly multifaceted with dynamic and demanding tasks.

More about my Student Government experience here

I was a research assistant for one of my favourite professors

… and took a deep dive into the relevance of the Chinese Electric Vehicle Sector.

I demonstrated how the sector is an excellent representation of the “Dual Circulation System”, the Chinese national & foreign policy currently in play.

On the one hand, the Chinese EV sector shows the persisting challenges the nation faces in boosting domestic demand. On the other, China has clearly established itself as a country highly adept at producing quality products for export and is no longer the “old” China, stereotyped as reproducing low-quality copies of foreign-designed products.

Image from @partrickl from Unsplash

I wrote a thesis for two bachelor degrees…

… and created my own framework for how to foster collaboration between NGOs and businesses.

I identified non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and businesses as critical stakeholders and actors in questions of sustainability. I also found that they don’t work very much together. My goal was to overcome their challenges in collaboration to exemplify how these kinds of partnerships offer clear benefits for each player and the surrounding context.

I interviewed over a dozen people from NGOs, businesses and advisory positions to create frameworks to guide the partnership processes.

Curious about how your organization can implement this?

Let's connect!

See the frameworks I created through my research below.

Swipe to the side for extra visuals and see the caption for extra information.

I created this typology to guide the shaping of Business-NGO partnerships. The most likely real example of a successful partnership will involve a combination of these types for each partner to reap benefits and protect legitimacy.

A proposed procedure for the formation of NGO-Business partnerships. This procedure was informed by existing theoretical foundations and conversations had.

Incentives I identified for Business-NGO Partnerships, from each perspective

Barriers to the formation Business-NGO Partnerships. These can come from each partner as well as third parties.

More about the times I…

My first three years at university, I was a member of our Mentorship Society! First, I had a mentor myself. Then, I was responsible for 3-5 mentees. As newcomers to both the university and the country, I helped to guide their integration into our community and nurture self-assuredness.
In my third year, I also supported one of my Professor's with his younger students. He does a semesterly TED Talk challenge, and I coached his students in lessons and 1-on-1 sessions to structure their talk, refine their body language, and hit their marks.
When Cyclone Winston hit the Fiji Islands in 2016, many schools were badly damaged.
The Fijian Ambassador to China approached my good friend, and together we raised funds to help rebuild the most badly damaged schools.
We hosted a 600-attendee dinner at the Chinese Diaoyutai State Guest House and collected funds through school fundraisers over a five-week period.
Check out the newspaper article here!
And that topic is... sustainability!
After regularly attending our university Sustainability Town Halls as an audience member and contributing with questions and feedback, I was invited to join the judge panel.
This was one of the activities I looked forward to most on campus. The ideas always left me feeling excited and inspired.
Being able to help bring some of these to life was, simply, awesome!

I have also taken the time to learn about:

More information coming soon.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Project Management
Public Relations
Planetary Boundaries
Foundations of Accounting
… and strengthened my ability to communicate in German, French, Spanish, and Chinese!

My dual degree in Business Administration and International Relations set me up with a robust portfolio.

But to get where I am today, I took ownership of my experiences beyond the classroom.