The Collaborative Project module allows our students to address a brief provided by a real business or organisation. As part of the Collaborative Project, current student, Chloe, had the opportunity to work alongside one of our corporate partners, Samarkand.

Samarkand is a cross-border eCommerce company focused on connecting Western brands with China, aiming to make Chinese eCommerce simple, accessible, and profitable for brands and retailers of all sizes.

Since undertaking the Collaborative Project with Samarkand, Chloe has been offered a Summer Internship at Samarkand and has even featured in the latest Samarkand annual report.

In this blog, Chloe has shared her experience working alongside Samarkand and provided some advice for students who will be undertaking this module in the future. Check it out below.

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Why did you choose to collaborate with Samarkand?

“Samarkand is a forward-thinking company focused on connecting Western brands with China. I believed my understanding of the China digital marketing landscape would make me a bridge between Samarkand and Chinese audiences, which was particularly well-suited to the project brief.”

How would you describe your experience working with Samarkand?

“It was an incredible experience. During the Collaborative Project, Samarkand’s Strategic Project Manager Eoife was highly supportive, and she provided lots of helpful suggestions for us to improve our work.

Also, it was satisfying to have an opportunity to showcase my original ideas to the company and received positive feedback.”

What did you enjoy most about working with Samarkand?

“After the Collaborative Project, I got an opportunity to work as a marketing intern at Samarkand. I’ve been working closely with Eoife on some exciting company projects. We work as a team to solve problems and create new ideas to reach our team objectives, which I found enjoyable.”

What would you say to any students who will undertake the Collaborative Project module in the future?

“The Collaborative Project is an amazing platform to network and meet potential employers. While working with real-world business partners to discuss and resolve recent issues, I’ve improved my ability to work with different stakeholders, which will be beneficial to my personal and career development.

Any students who will participate in this module should seize the opportunity to explore your career path.”

Anything else you would like to add?

“Comprehending various values and becoming a more efficient communicator will help to gain our teamwork performance, not only in academic projects, but also in the future work environment. I used to see teamwork as an ability that we were born with it. However, after undertaking the Collaborative Project, I realised there is a lot of knowledge that needs to be absorbed, and I will not be able to master it unless I practice.”

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We would like to thank Chloe for sharing her experiences and congratulate her on securing a summer internship at Samarkand.

We would also like to say a big thank you to Samarkand for working with our students on the Collaborative Project and for providing a real business problem for our students to solve. You can find out more about Samarkand here.

The Collaborative Project is a module that gives students from across the University the opportunity to form interdisciplinary teams and use their individual experiences and expertise to solve a real business problem, provided by one of our corporate partners. You can find out more about the Collaborative Project here.