Lennart Wölki (HRD-A) worked at Shanghai Huf from March to June 2017. For his bachelor’s thesis, the 23-year-old KIS (cooperative engineering) student visited the Huf China Electronics Development Center (HCEDC) and worked together with local developers. During his three-months stay, he got to know all kinds of aspects of everyday life in China.
From Velbert to the megacity of Shanghai – an exciting change of pace for the student in his eighth semester, who has since submitted his bachelor’s thesis. The city on China’s eastern coast, which has a population of around 23 million, impresses visitors thanks to its sheer size and its skyline boasting some of the world’s tallest buildings. Wölki, who chose to specialize in electrical engineering and information technology as part of his cooperative engineering studies (KIS) in mechatronics and information technology, took the opportunity to do research into capacitive sensors for his thesis as part of development projects at the HCEDC at Shanghai Huf. The topic of his thesis: »Development and evaluation of a gesture-controlled vehicle badge for contactless tailgate opening using capacitive measuring processes of the Huf Group.«
Power napping at break time
»Already in Velbert, the HR development team prepared me for my time abroad with the ›Ready for working in China‹ training.
That helped me a lot, because there are certainly some cultural differences,« Wölki notes. He found himself enjoying Chinese food which, as he puts it, »is completely different to what they serve at Chinese restaurants in Germany.« Working with local developers gave him an insight into the Chinese way of life and work. »My colleagues took excellent care of me. We often took trips together and they invited me to come and cook with them,« Wölki says. He soon got used to seeing colleagues taking a power nap at their desks during their lunch break. As well as his daily work, he used the weekends to get to know China better. He attended the »Auto Shanghai« trade fair, visited the neighboring cities of Souzhou/ Hangzhou and experienced Chinese public holidays. Colleagues showed him the sights, including the »Bund« waterfront promenade on the Huangpu River and the Pudong skyline, the Jing’an Buddhist temple, the Shanghai Museum, the Yuyuan Garden and the Old Town, and took him to a barbecue in the Gucun Park. The KIS student also visited the Sino- German University of Applied Sciences (CDHAW) at Tongji University, which allows students to complete some of their studies in China as part of an exchange program with Bochum University of Applied Sciences. Looking to the future, Lennart Wölki says: »I gained a great deal personally from my time abroad. Once I have completed my studies, I can well imagine visiting China again as part of my new position at Huf. I am fortunate to now have personal experience of how things are on the ground, as well as personal contacts.« Christian Qual (C-HR): »It is great to see how well the KIS program is developing. The trips abroad for KIS students are especially valuable – including for our new organizational structure, One Huf. This summer we welcomed three new KIS students to their studies. They will spend three days a week at university and two days in their respective departments at Huf.«
