PLACE 2026

On the morning of 10 August, I sat in a lecture hall in Guangzhou with around 145 students from about 47 countries. I was in China for the first time and knew almost none of them, so for a moment Frankfurt felt very far away.

The programme was PLACE 2026, the Playshop for Language and Cultural Exchange at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), or HKUST(GZ). It ran from 9 to 21 August. As part of my Master's studies, Frankfurt School had selected me as one of its candidates and supported me with a scholarship for the programme fees and a travel grant.

No Head Start

The first days threw us straight into a laboratory fair, team challenges and hands-on workshops. In most of them, my finance studies gave me no head start at all.

In one craft workshop, I spent the whole session hunched over a desk covered in tufts of white fluff and scraps of dark blue fabric. Every technique was new to me. There was no shortcut and no way to fake it. You slow down, watch closely and make something with your own hands.

Somewhere in those first days, I stopped trying to be the person with the answers and started asking better questions. With 47 countries in one cohort, even simple instructions could be read very differently, so listening mattered as much as speaking.

Asking Why in Foshan and Guangzhou

Between workshops, we left campus. In Foshan, we explored the Ancestral Temple, first built in the 11th century, and the same day brought dim sum and a lion dance workshop. On another trip, Guangzhou's planning exhibition laid out the city's plans for 2035 on one of South China's largest city models.

I had arrived with a picture of China pieced together from headlines and articles. It didn't last long. I kept asking local students and instructors why things were done a certain way, and every answer made the country feel less abstract.

Eighteen Years, One Bridge

Before this trip, much of my understanding of China came through news, articles and conversations. Experiencing the country in person added a perspective I could never get from reading about it.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was one example. From a distance, it is an impressive infrastructure project. Seeing it first-hand made me think more about what infrastructure actually does: connecting cities, people, businesses and economic activity across a region.

I was not only learning about China. I was experiencing parts of the culture myself and speaking with people who could give those experiences context.

Four Questions for Every Idea

The next day was all about start-ups. We toured HKUST(GZ)'s Innovation and Technology Transfer Base, home to companies spun out of the university, and played a start-up game. Teams used AI tools to dream up products, pitched them on posters and invested virtual coins in the ones they believed in.

Every idea had to survive the same four questions. Who actually needs this? What problem does it solve? Why should anyone believe we can build it? How does it get from the lab to real users?

On other days, groups visited technology companies such as Tencent, OPPO, RoboSense, Tesla, APT Electronics and ARIDGE. These visits made me more curious about the operational side of technology businesses: how a technical capability becomes a product, how quickly it can be scaled and what kind of ecosystem is required around it.

The People Changed the Experience

The moments outside the timetable were as memorable as the ones on it. Over dinners on campus and bus rides to field visits, I made friends from China and many other countries.

Conversations started everywhere: during activities, over food, while travelling or simply spending time on campus. We spoke about our universities, careers, countries and what we wanted to do next.

Some perspectives felt familiar. Others challenged assumptions I did not realise I had. Friendships also formed surprisingly quickly. By the end, we had shared workshops, cultural activities, sports, jokes and countless conversations.

Back in Frankfurt

I returned to Frankfurt School of Finance & Management with a very different impression of China from the one I had before the programme. Reading about a country and spending time there are two very different things. Being in Guangzhou, meeting students, travelling around the region and experiencing everyday life gave me a far more personal understanding of the country and and its culture.

More than anything, I came back with new friendships, memorable experiences and a much stronger curiosity about China and the region.

For me, that is what made PLACE 2026 valuable. It gave me the opportunity to step outside my usual academic and cultural environment and experience something completely different for two weeks.