Interview conducted and edited by Sarah Layton, YTF Communications Lead
Let’s start with your story. Can you tell us a little about yourself, like your background growing up in China?
I have been interested in social impact for a long time. In China, there are a lot of people who are in regions that are not so developed, and lots of young people who don’t get an education. The situation has improved, but there are still lots of people who need help. I have business knowledge and an engineering background, so when I was in China, I was able to help those people who really needed help in terms of money or education. This was the biggest motivation for why I wanted to work with YTF.
Tell me about what you’re doing now – you’re in school? Studying what?
I’m from China, I did my masters in Korea, and then worked for Samsung Electronics for four years as a research engineer. I’m currently in Chicago at Northwestern University, at Kellogg [School of Management]. I’m a second year MBA here. After school, I want to become a product manager, ideally in a software firm.
What similarities or differences do you see between youth growing up in China today and youth growing up in Nigeria or Africa today?
That’s an interesting question. I can speak from the perspective of my generation in China. Before I came to college, I didn’t know anything about computers. When I first got introduced to a computer, I found that many people in my class were already proficient – they could do programming and they could write code. That was back in 2003, but nowadays I know some people in developing areas still don’t have the resources to do that, and that could be a huge problem with their development and future careers. They are lagging compared to their counterparts in the city.
In Africa, I would compare conditions to rural regions in China. I know income is not so high, and people might not have instructions or resources to advance technology, especially technology that is very new.
I think youth from both regions need opportunities to learn the latest technology to match people who are from more developed regions and countries.
We know part of your internship included research and analysis directly that impacted the lives of real people. What drew you to jump into an internship with a nonprofit like YTF?
First, I think what I loved about the work I was involved in at YTF was the clients. I got to work with a very creative group of people. I know often their potential is not fully discovered by anyone outside Africa. That’s what I loved about the project, and I was very glad I could help.
For instance, YTF leverages massive open online courses (MOOCs) and the program introduces online marketplaces to them, like Shapeways.
The program, 3D Africa, is a great opportunity for them to learn by both designing and actually making products. YTF also teaches the students how to monetize their creations to increase their incomes, become employable or start their own companies. It’s a good opportunity for them, for Africa and for local communities to uncover their talents and help the economy..
You mentioned MOOCs. Can you give us a little more insight about MOOCs and what you think is going on in the tech world, particularly as it pertains to the developing world?
MOOCs are fairly recent, but it’s a great way to distribute knowledge to the developing world that in the old days was taught only in colleges. MOOC is a model that could be used for developing countries, or people to get access to the most advanced and latest knowledge in the developing world, without having to invest a lot of money either in their education or in travel to a developed country, like the U.S. To me, it is a revolution that really helps to distribute knowledge.
That’s why what YTF does is great. The program actually helps bring content in, but it also allows people to gather in locally in the classroom to discuss a problem, to learn from each other, and to really know each other and help to establish networks for the future. [Editor’s note: 3D Africa leverages the power of MOOCs and support from very qualified teaching assistants]
YTF helps to combine the many advantages of MOOCs and improves the shortcomings of the model. And YTF does really a good job to help communities. [Editor’s note: We really do try to inspire people to design the world they want to live in!]
What advice would you give a young person growing up in the technology world today?
Technology in recent years has been expanding, including the ability for people to share resources and to learn more about each other. For the younger generation who are living in this world of booming technology, as I see it, it’s really important to pay attention to others.
This is relatively easy compared to other generations. This generation can know what’s happening across the world and leverage technology to understand and help others.
What did I miss asking you? Do you have anything else to share about your work with YTF?
The team at YTF is great. I worked on a super exciting project [Editor’s note: with demonstrable impact!] and everyone, from senior leadership at YTF to the program managers in the field, inspired me to do more.
