Never stop learning. 学无止境。 —— 亚米拉
名字 Name：亚米拉 Jamila
国籍 Nationality：荷兰 Dutch
目前居住地 Current Location：上海 Shanghai
在校时间 Study Period：2013-2015
在校项目/专业 Program/Major in ECNU：从强化班（汉语零基础）开始学习，一直读到了商务汉语班。Start from the Intensive Chinese language program (started from level 1) all the way up to the Chinese Business program.
目前工作 Current Job：成立“能西理亚商务咨询公司”。Work for own consultancy company, Nexcelia Solutions.
Q01. 当时怎么想到来中国学习，并且选择了华师大呢？
Q01. Why did you choose to come to study in China and why did you choose ECNU?
我一直对“语言”着迷，所以我真的很想学习一门与以前所学语言完全不同的语言。我之所以选择华师大，是因为我的一位中国好朋友从这里毕业的。
在做出决定之前，我也拜访了上海许多其他的大学，对比了一下每所大学所提供的中文课程，而华师大的强化汉语课程是迄今为止我认为最好的项目。我从不后悔来到华东师范大学！
I have always been fascinated with linguistics and languages, so I was really interested in learning more about a language that was completely different from any I had learnt before. I choose ECNU because one of my good Chinese friends graduated from here. Before I decided, I visited lots of different universities in Shanghai to compare the Chinese language programs that were offered, and the ECNU intensive language program was by far the best one out there. I’ve never regretted coming to ECNU!
Q02. 对华师大印象最深的是什么？
Q02. What's the most memorable thing at ECNU?
那一定是在华师大结识的我的朋友们！我最感激的就是，在这里遇见的很多人，现在都成为了我的挚友。同时，华师大校园里国际化、温馨友好的氛围也是非常吸引我的一点。
Definitely the friends I made there! I met some of my best friends at ECNU and for that I’ll be forever grateful. The international and friendly atmosphere on campus was great.
Q03. 在华师大时最让你自豪的一件事是什么？
Q03. What's the achievement that you are most proud of when you were at ECNU?
那一定是我通过了HSK6级考试的时候！我当时所在的强化班的老师们都惊呆了！当然，我的老师们都很优秀，他们奉献自己的时间，对学生们抱有无限热情，真的让我们在学习汉语的过程中更有动力。他们甚至为我介绍了我在中国的第一份工作，确保了我顺利从学生过渡到社会人。
I passed HSK 6! The teachers at the Intensive Chinese language program were all amazing. Their dedication and enthusiasm for teaching us really made a difference. They even introduced me to my first job in China and really helped make it a smooth transition.
Q04. 来到中国后，对你来说最有挑战的事情是什么？你是如何战胜这些挑战的呢？
Q04. After you came to China, what's the most challenging thing for you? How did you overcome it?
确实，这是我第一次离开家乡，来到遥远的异国。对我来说，在陌生国度开展新的生活本身就是一件极具挑战的事情，特别是要先从学习一门外语开始。
一直帮助我的中国朋友们，他们慷慨地邀请我去家里做客，对我真诚友善，把我当作自己的亲人一样。也因此，我很快就在上海感到宾至如归！
It was my first time being so far away from home, so what really helped me were my Chinese friends, who opened their house and hearts to me and made sure I felt part of their family. Because of that I felt at home in Shanghai right away!
Q05. 看来你在华师大交往了不少中国的朋友呢！和他们的交流有对你的未来有帮助吗？
Q05. You really made a lot of Chinese friends during your study in ECNU. How did that help you with your future plan?
结交中国朋友很有帮助！中国科技发达，一部手机就能帮助你解决衣食住行各类生活所需。我的中国朋友们经常向我介绍手机上的“必需品”：淘宝、大众点评、京东、支付宝等等。他们随时都能为我提供有效的帮助和建议，无论是中文学习、私人问题还是我的事业。
Making Chinese friends helped a lot! There was quite a big jump in the kind of tech we are using back home compared to in China, so my Chinese friends introduced me to all the essentials: Taobao, dazhong dianping, Jingdong, Alipay etc. I’m so grateful to have them in my life and they’re always ready to offer help and advice, with the Chinese language, personal issues or my company.
Q06. 在华师大的项目结束的时候，你是如何考虑毕业后的道路的呢？
Q06. How did you make decision about your future path before you graduated/finished the program at ECNU?
从华东师范大学毕业后，我很幸运地开始为一家具有全球野心的中国初创公司工作。这个时候，中国公司开始专注于向海外市场提供产品和服务，而这份工作使我获得了在全球营销、商业发展和程序化广告方面的经验。之后，我决定成立自己的数字化战略咨询有限公司——能西理亚商务咨询公司。
我们的重点是，帮助中国品牌在国外市场取得成功，同时也推动建立准确的外国品牌战略协作，从而在中国市场上取得影响力。能西理亚在过去四年中，已经能够为中国和整个欧洲的多家科技创业公司提供帮助。
成为一名企业家并不容易，但是我在华师大获得的跨文化技能，帮助我妥善应对了在中国开展商业服务的复杂性。
After graduating from ECNU I was fortunate enough to start working for a Chinese startup with global ambitions. At this time Chinese companies were starting to focus on offering their products and services to overseas markets. After gaining experience in global marketing, business development and programmatic advertising I decided to launch my own digital transformation agency Nexcelia Solutions.
Our focus is to help CN brands succeed in foreign markets and help foreign brands build the right synergies to make an impact in the CN market. Over the past 4 years at Nexcelia Solutions we have been able to help several tech startups in China and across Europe.
Being an entrepreneur is not easy but the cross-cultural skills I gained at ECNU have helped me navigate the complexities of doing business in China.
Q07. 在中国创业应该是件不容易的事情吧！你认为对你职业和未来发展最有帮助的是哪些因素？
Q07. It must be difficult to start a career in China, what do you think had facilitated you the most in your career development and your future?
老实说，准备创业是一个非常紧张的过程。涉及很多文书工作，因此学习中文绝对是一个优势且必要条件。如果有任何华师大的小伙伴需要帮助或建议，可以随时与我联系！
对职业发展最有帮助的因素，我想一定是——掌握中文！如果我不会说中文，我可能永远不会拥有这些机会。
我在中国初创公司工作的经验当然也非常宝贵。中国创业文化的精髓在于：努力、创新和创造力。我学会了承担很多责任，并迅速适应新的机遇和挑战。此外，灵活的环境绝对是中国初创企业在全球如此具有竞争性的原因之一。
It was quite an intense process to be honest! There was a lot of paperwork involved, so learning Chinese was definitely an advantage, and a necessity too. If any fellow ECNUer needs help or advice, you can always reach out to me!
Speaking Chinese! I would never have had all these opportunities if I didn’t speak Chinese. My experience working for a Chinese start-up has also been immensely valuable. China’s start-up culture is all about hard work, innovation and creativity. I learnt to handle a lot of responsibility and adapt quickly to new opportunities and challenges. I feel that the agile environment is definitely one of the reasons why Chinese start-ups are so competitive globally.
Q08. 疫情对你的生活和工作有很大影响么？疫情期间你都做了些什么？
Q08. How did the Coronavirus influence your life and work?What did you do during the outbreak?
疫情期间，我基本上都是居家工作，并试图为我们的客户提供尽可能多的支持。我们也有机会与中国国际电视台(CGTN)对话，就中国如何应对新冠疫情发表看法，并表示对中国的支持。
全球疫情下最有感触的是，在中国的生活让我亲身体会到，数字医疗技术是如何帮助有效控制疫情的。通过技术，人们能够实时了解疫情动态，从而有效控制疫情传播，这是让我印象最为深刻的。诸如，微信和支付宝上的“小程序”，采用QR码系统，可根据人员的移动记录和其他大数据指标，确定人们所在区域的安全等级、以及是否被允许出行。
I worked from home and tried to offer as much support to our clients as possible. We also had a chance to speak to CGTN, to give our view on how China handled the pandemic and show our support to China.
Living through the pandemic in China I got to see first-hand how digital health technologies helped bring the epidemic under control. I have been really impressed with how well technology has been used to bring people the latest updates and control the spread of the virus. Super apps like WeChat and Alipay have public health mini programs that provide the public with updates on virus statistics and employs a QR code system that determines whether people are cleared to travel based on their mobility history and other big data metrics.
Q09. 那你接下来有什么打算？
Q09. What's your next step plan?
上海和整个中国与日俱增的发展，是我们每一天都看在眼中的。我感觉自己正处在数字化转型的前沿，每天所接触的一些技术很快将在全世界范围内普及，并塑造着我们生活的未来。
在中国，我从不惧怕挑战自己学习新技能或冒险。我的公司仍在发展，但我很期待看到未来的5年会为这座繁荣的城市带来什么。
此外，今年也将和华师大国际教育中心合作，为因疫情无法顺利赴美的中国留学生们开设一门名为“China Global Impact（中文名：中国全球影响力）”的课程，期待与学生们共同探讨疫情时代下中国社会的方方面面、经济转型以及中国对全球的影响。
One thing that I admire most about Shanghai and China as a whole is the pace of advancement I see every day. I feel like I am living at the bleeding edge of digital transformation and some of the technologies I am exposed to everyday will soon be ubiquitous all over the world and shape the future we will live in.
Being in China, I am never afraid to challenge myself to learn new skills or take risks. My company is still growing but I am excited to see what the next 5 years will bring in this thriving city.
In addition, this year I will also cooperate with the Global Education Center of ECNU to start a course called “China Global Impact” for Chinese students who cannot go to the United States due to the epidemic. I wanted to examine in detail China’s global impact in the time of COVID- 19. In the course we do that by exploring different aspects of China’s society, economic transformation and how that is impacting the world.
Q10. 你对想来华东师范大学留学的人有什么建议?你会如何介绍华师大？
Q10. What advice do you have for people who want to attend ECNU? How are you going to introduce ECNU to others who want to come to study in China?
我经常建议学生们来参加华师大的汉语强化课程！我认为这确实是最值得的课程之一。而且，中北校区的校园就在上海市区，周末有空就可以在周围走一走、看一看，享受在像上海这样的国际大都市生活所能带给你的一切。
I always recommend students to join the intensive Chinese course at ECNU! In my opinion it really is one of the best courses out there. The campus is located in the middle of Shanghai, so it’s really easy to see new places on the weekend and enjoy everything that living in an international city like Shanghai can bring you.
来自老师们的寄语 ..
亚米拉同学始终保持着友好的微笑，积极乐观，勤学好问，时隔多年依然印象深刻。如今在沪创业的她依然保持着她的坚韧和执着，衷心祝福她事业蒸蒸日上，生活红红火火！
——王玲老师
亚米拉是一个性格活泼开朗的学生，学习非常认真，乐于钻研，上课也积极回答问题，希望她在今后的道路上，工作顺顺利利，生活甜甜蜜蜜。
——许典珊老师
