Bosch Alumni Network - Driving Change

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Eva Xiao
Our network members
live in more than 900
different cities around
the world. Connections
often begin at a local
is a freelance tech reporter
based in Shanghai. In 2016, she
received a scholarship within the
program “Media Ambassadors
level. Alumna Eva Xiao
China-Germany.”
explains how she got to
know a whole new side of
her home Shanghai after
participating in a Bosch
What is a Meet-Up?
An informal event that brings local network
The group of Bosch alumni
in Shanghai.
Alumni Network Meet-Up.
Like many of us in the group, I thought
I knew Shanghai. I have had soup dumplings
and strolled the tree-lined streets of
members together across various thematical
or interest areas. The agenda can vary
from a simple getting to know each other in
a bar or restaurant to a moderated talk or a
walking tour like in Shanghai.
Connect in a relaxed atmosphere
2–3 hours
During a guided tour, we inspected shikumen,
traditional lane-houses combining
Western and Chinese elements, and their
varying brickworks and styles, which — like
rings on a tree — revealed differences in
age. While passersbys stared at our mixed
the French Concession. However, while
5–50 participants
group of Chinese and foreigners with curio-
participating in a Bosch Alumni
in March 2018, I discovered the distinctive
architecture and lifestyle inside the winding
lilong neighbourhoods. Led by German
architect Fanny Hoffman-Loss from the
well-known agency Shanghai Flaneur, we
explored these typical Shanghainese residential
quarters where the buildings are
a mix of English terraces and traditional
Chinese houses with a courtyard.
Venue, program
Do you want to organize a Meet-Up in your
region or city? The interactive graphic on
p. 32 guides you through the process.
sity, our guide Fanny pointed out details
like the underground lobby of the Jinjiang
Hotel, which had slowly sunk into the soft
and muddy ground of Shanghai.
I was surprised to find out how diverse
the alumni network of the Robert Bosch
Stiftung was after chatting with the participants:
journalists, lawyers, academics,
photographers and more. Over a Sichuanstyle
dinner, discussions in a mix of Ger-
“I have been in Shanghai for more than
man, Chinese and English flowed easily.
ten years and appreciate the beauty of
“I learned about the gaming industry in
Photos: Eva Xiao, Jan Zappner
these historical buildings. Still, I always
saw them as just roadside scenery,” said
media ambassador alumna Jiang Yan.
However, through the lens of an architect,
she learned how the construction materials
of a building can reveal stories
about Shanghai’s past.
Peter Hergemöller is alumnus of the
“Lectureship Program in Asia.” Since
spring 2018, he is the regional coordinator
for China.
China and possible methods of meaningful
gamification in education,” reflected
Peter Hergemöller, one of the organizers of
the Meet-Up. “I collected at least as many
restaurant recommendations as business
cards. It is not just a professional network.
This is synergy in action.”
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