Three students selected from the Facultad de Economía y Negocios of the Universidad de Chile are spending a semester abroad in Beijing at Peking University, participating in an exchange program sponsored by the Luksic family.
In 2018, a new Luksic Scholars program was established: the Chile-China Undergraduate Exchange, between the Facultad de Economía y Negocios of the Universidad de Chile, Peking University and Fudán University, some of the top business schools regionally. This agreement allows both Chinese and Chilean undergraduate students to study abroad for a semester.
Juan Martínez, Alessandro Campos, and Camila Rebolledo (in the photo, along with their exchange partner from PKU, Gavin Wang) are three Chilean students of Commercial Engineering and Computer Engineering & Management Control from the Universidad de Chile who are currently at the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University. We caught up with them in Beijing to hear more about their experience.
What has most impacted these young Chileans is the multicultural environment in which they find themselves living at Guanghua, considered one of the most prestigious business schools in China, where the student body is made up of Chinese students and young people from all over the world.
“We share residences with both Chinese friends and expats. We have had to learn to overcome the language barrier, and we even communicate with signs,” says Camila. “But the personal enrichment of sharing with other young people from all over the world has been great.”
The students also emphasize that they have learned to navigate the peculiarities of Chinese culture and admire their customs. They claim that Beijing is a very safe city, and conclude that academically the biggest challenge has been so far the level of rigor in the classroom.
“We are happy and we still have elements that remind us of Chile… from the cherries and apples and the good wine that we find in the shops, to the Latin music that our Chinese friends listen to much more often than one would imagine,” they say. “It’s a great experience.”