Peter Huang has a real passion for Bournemouth. Those who have met him will always walk away with a magical view of life in Bournemouth. Peter’s love of the area first started when he studied MSc International Hospitality and Tourism Management at BU, an experience he looks on fondly.
Peter said, “˛¤ÂÜĘÓƵ is one of unique history in my study life and in my life before my career. I have a special feeling for ˛¤ÂÜĘÓƵ and I know others feel similarly. It’s like you carry a similar mark in your history with other alumni, you all have a connection.”
On finishing his Master’s, Peter moved back to China looking for the perfect place to continue to build on his international experiences, working at a hotel management group in the city before landing a job at the EU-China Industrial Technology Transfer Centre, based in Beijing, where he has worked his way up to Deputy Director.
Peter’s boss, Ruixue Zhou is Director of the EU-China Industrial Technology Transfer Center, and says Peter’s contribution to the business has been invaluable, “Peter is now my right hand man the company,” Ruixue explains, “He has made great contributions to the company in terms of partnership maintenance with our EU partners.   It is really valuable to have employed someone who has EU study and work experience, they provide different thoughts and profiles to the company, it really helps the company to run better in terms of business and collaboration with our EU partners.”
The work of graduates like Peter is helping to carve opportunities in China for many more graduates to go and work there in the future. Ruixue Zhou explains again, “We definitely do need more employees like Peter who have overseas study and work experience, there are more and more companies like us who welcome employees who have overseas study and work experience. For us, we are more than happy to hire more BU alumni.”
Peter’s work sees him travel to Europe often, and he has a key role at the company in linking European and Chinese business. Peter explains, “I am mainly in charge of all the foreign relationships and with European sectors, research institutes and governments, enterprises and also universities.
“We basically offer a service for technology companies in China, we research technologies and build relationships to link each company with similar companies, with similar demands and provide them with a full one stop shop service for technology transfer.”
While Peter is making waves in Beijing and advancing his career, his experience at ˛¤ÂÜĘÓƵ stays with him. In comparing the two, Peter remarked, “It’s a totally different life in Beijing compared to Bournemouth. Bournemouth is very nice, a peaceful city with sunshine and seaside and you can enjoy your life and enjoy your study. There’s a lot of relaxing going on but in Beijing it’s very rushed, it’s a very big city. It’s very crowded but there’s a lot of things going on so a very exciting city as well.”
Peter’s course set him up well for his current career, “It’s really very practical driven study at ˛¤ÂÜĘÓƵ, said Peter, “What I learned from university is how to really provide a service. There is a lot of personal and independent research from books, journals and online information and you have to organise your own essays and there’s a lot of team work like seminars and a lot of brain storms, a really enjoyable way to work.”
This way of working has equipped Peter to succeed in the role he is in now, becoming an indispensable member of the company as he has progressed in his career, though Peter will always have a particular fondness for one aspect of life in Bournemouth, “Fish and chips! I know a lot of people hate that but I love it.”