In early January, Fudan University IMBA student Yang Xinran was invited to Silicon Valley, California, to participate in this year’s SVB Trek to experience the entrepreneurship of the world’s most active innovation hub.
Every January, Silicon Valley Bank invites a select group of university students around the world to come to the SVB Trek. It aims to be an opportunity for students from across the world to build a network of peers and advisers, while gaining unique insights to propel them to the next stage of their career development.
Yang Xinran was among 26 students who were invited this year. During the four-day Trek, they dived headlong into the innovation ecosystem through an immersive learning experience featuring salon-style events, interviews with industry luminaries and hands-on workshops.
“It was an amazing experience to meet so many world-class peers and mentors in such an intensive manner,” said Xinran. “Many of these participants are entrepreneurs and have already started their own company. Everybody is full of passion of what they are doing and they want to introduce you to somebody else. It’s such a different culture.”
Xinran was greatly inspired by the creativity and innovation there at Silicon Valley. She felt honored to have this unique opportunity, merging with people who are able to understand even the craziest dreams and talking about the most cutting-edge technologies.
Xinran has learned a lot from the experience of the students and mentors during the four days. She believes it will serve as the foundation for their networks as they become founders, investors, and industry leaders themselves in the future.
