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The Dado and Maria Banatao GLOBE Center

The Dado and Maria Banatao GLOBE Center

Global Learning and Outreach from Berkeley Engineering

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Alumni Spotlight

Learn more about ENG 187: Global Engineering with Ella Tyler’22

December 9, 2020 By Berkeley Engineering

The class had such an international focus and gave us the opportunity to work on a team project. It provided a very practical and applied experience.

Can You Tell Us a Little Bit About Yourself? 

I am a third-year studying IEOR with a minor in Public Policy and originally from Santa Cruz. I currently do research with the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. In my free time, I enjoy camping and reading. A summer ago, I did a data science internship in Boulder, Colorado about energy use. This past summer, I was working on taking online classes and doing research about energy use. 

Why were you interested in taking the course ENG 187: Global Engineering: The Challenges of Globalization and Disruptive Innovation?

I was drawn to the fact that the class had such an international focus and gave us the opportunity to work on a team project. It was really interesting because we heard from so many speakers. I was impressed with some of the startup companies, like Impact coffee. I felt like they have a really unique way to make a positive social impact.

Shirley Li (left) and Ella Tyler (right) presenting their final presentation

What project did you work on? What‘s your take away from the experience?

I was working with Tai-Ding Biotechnology. Tai-Ding Biotechnology is using data to help create analytics and recommendations for swine breeding. I thought it was interesting to call a lot of people around the country and ask questions about the startup. I talked to everyone from veterinarians to small farmers. I learned there is a lot of demand for analytics in the swine breeding field, a whole market that I previously hadn’t really realized existed.

I feel like some challenges we faced during the course are what our final goals were, deciding what we want for the final project, and deciding what the start-up was looking for. 

I think one thing I learned is how much you can learn from asking questions during the interview process.  It also was really interesting to learn more about entrepreneurship, business, and the start-up world in both Taiwan and the US.

What are your takeaways from the course? What are some impacts the course has left on you?

I would still say it would be helpful in interviewing people and helped me develop a better understanding of business and entrepreneurship. 

I think it helped me to better understand case studies, it prepared me to think about entrepreneurship and the different challenges that they face. I think it helps me have a much better understanding of companies from Taiwan coming to the U.S., I was introduced to the process of companies coming to the U.S.

Would you recommend it to other students?

Yes! I liked the course because I was exposed to people who are founding the startup and working with other students. I definitely recommend it to students who are learning about international business and entrepreneurship. This class is a smaller class compared to other similar courses on campus and we got to work on one big project on international business. Also, on the last day of class, we had our presentation and the Taiwanese style dinner together, that was pretty memorable!

Ella Tyler

Ella is a junior student studying IEOR at UC Berkeley. She is currently doing research with the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory and enjoys camping and reading in her leisure time.

Feel free to connect with Ella via LinkedIn

  • Visit Linkedin account (opens in a new tab)
GLOBE Alumni Spotlight Series
  • Exploring Energy Sustainability: Nadhilah’s Research Journey from Indonesia to UC Berkeley
  • Alex Nguyen’s Summer 2023 Machine Learning Internship at a Swedish Startup
  • Sarah Mehtabuddin’s SERIUS Internship at National University of Singapore
  • Navigating Japan’s Nuclear Landscape with Eric He
  • GLOBE Ambassadors Recount their Summer 2022 Trip
GLOBE 15 Anniversary Special Series
  • Lunch Break with GLOBE Director Matthew Sherburne
  • The Story of GLOBE, Part 2
  • The Story of GLOBE, Part 1

View the world differently from the lenses of GLOBE Ambassador, Abdoul Aziz’21

November 18, 2020 By Berkeley Engineering 3 Comments

It is an eye-opening experience and would certainly push you to do more in your life, build and strengthen your potential as a global leader.

Abdoul Aziz (middle) with cohort of Globe Ambassadors on the MRT in Singapore.

Abdoul Aziz grew up in Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa and moved to South Africa, where he received the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship to come to the US as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. He was selected as a part of the 2019 GLBOE Ambassador Program. Let’s hear about Abdoul Aziz’s transformative experience traveling to Singapore and the Philippines with GLOBE.

Can You Tell Us a Little Bit About Yourself? What made you interested in the GLOBE Ambassador Program?

During the summer, I was an undergraduate student from UC Berkeley going into my senior year, majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in Structural Engineering.

I was interested in the GLOBE Ambassador program because I wanted to develop certain personal qualities, international knowledge, and the technical skills necessary to work effectively in various global settings as a civil engineer. I am a firm believer that engineering is significantly influenced by diversity. The inclusivity of different people and mindsets within a group of engineers contributes to creating a diverse set of ideas that build upon distinct life experiences and relationships with the world. 

This eight-day trip to the Philippines and Singapore had the power to transform me from an “engineering student” into a “real-world engineer.”

Throughout this trip, I challenged the status quo and took the initiative to pursue new ideas. Concurrently, I wanted to build bridges of trust and respect with the communities around me. Broadly, I wanted to learn more about other languages and cultures, further develop teamwork and group dynamic skills, and immerse myself in the business, engineering, and education realms of other countries. This trip to the Philippines and Singapore was also about encouraging the contribution of diverse individuals to empower and strengthen their respective communities. Engineers should embrace diversity, consequently allowing themselves to achieve their full potential.

Furthermore, this trip was a way to solidify my personal development and goals as a civil engineer. I was interested in being a civil engineer who has a global mindset and presence. Yet, whenever I am working on a project, I still approach solutions with a local mindset. I wanted to be an engineer who seeks to create socio-emotional growth by empowering individuals and communities to attain economic prosperity, stability, and advancement. That trip was an opportunity to look at global problems and reflect on some of the best courses of action.  This eight-day trip to the Philippines and Singapore had the power to transform me from an “engineering student” into a “real-world engineer.” 

Where did you go on your trip and how did you engage with the social enterprises or start-ups, or large industries there? Any companies or organizations that caught your eyes?

I went to a lot of places, and I engaged with many social enterprises and start-ups. To name a few, I went to the University of the Philippines, Diliman Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Ayala Corporation, National Engineering Center in the Philippines, and ETH Zurich Future Cities Lab, Micron Technology Corp., Nanyang Technology University, and Venture Corporation Limited in Singapore. 

Lunch with students from University of the Philippines Diliman

Similar to my home country in Africa, the Philippines needs many innovations to help with resources. It was inspiring to see what these start-ups are coming up with to help the community. 

An organization that caught my eye was Phildev, or Philippines Development Social Enterprises Start-ups such as FAME, Cleaning Lady, Gazlite, Bambuhay, and Uproot. I met many extremely open-minded entrepreneurs and practiced a community design-centered approach to come up with a magnificent solution to local issues. Similar to Côte d’Ivoire, the Philippines needs many innovations to help with resources. It was inspiring to see what these start-ups are coming up with to help the community. 

In general, their points of view and endeavors were stimulating as they expanded my horizon, as well as concretized some of my own entrepreneurship thoughts.

Meeting Startups at PhilDev Event in the Philippines

What did you enjoy about the trip? What are some cultural differences? Did those differences have some impact on you?

The Philippines is pretty similar to my country with the weather, the scenery, and the ambiance . . . Singapore helped me picture what the future of human living conditions and standard of living looks like.

I enjoyed the trip to the Philippines. The Philippines is pretty similar to my country with the weather, the scenery, and the ambiance. Yet, their willingness to make the community a better place and entrepreneurship spirit is something I had not experienced before. I also enjoyed Singapore a lot. Singapore helped me picture what the future of human living conditions and standard of living looks like. My time in Singapore somehow completes the beginning of a self-discovery journey I started at UC Berkeley. After my time there, I was guided by one goal: developing scalable technologies that will ensure the structural integrity of infrastructure in developing communities around the world and the African continent.

Has this experience helped you in your academic or professional journey?

When we went to Singapore, we went to the ETH Zurich Future Cities Lab. It was life-changing. For the past year, I was trying to find a crossroads between Structural Engineering and Data Science. ETH Zurich Future Cities Lab introduced me to Structural Health Monitoring. I knew I found my academic niche. The idea of using a Fiber Optic sensor coupled with computational technics to monitor the health infrastructures and building blew my mind. As a result, I had decided to join the Matthew DeJong Research Group at UC Berkeley and focus on my Ph.D. aspirations in this field. Thus, this trip helped me develop a career goal — structural health monitoring (continued on page 2). 

Students are listening to the presentation from ETH Future Cities Lab in Singapore
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Career Advice for Undergraduates from GLOBE alumnus, Zeyuan Lin

October 3, 2020 By Berkeley Engineering Leave a Comment

Zeyuan Lin

Hear graduate school and career advice from GLOBE visiting student program alumnus, Zeyuan Lin’19 who is now a software engineer at Oracle.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I was an upcoming 4th year student at Tongji Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) in Shanghai. I wanted to experience American culture and experience what American campus feels like, so I came to GLOBE for a year-long program at the UC Berkeley Civil and Environmental Engineering and really liked my experience here. When I applied for grad school, I felt like being able to have first-hand experience of Berkeley culture before applying was very helpful. I was admitted to the Master Program in Civil and Environmental Degree here at UC Berkeley. Shortly after graduation, I got offered a position at Oracle as a software engineer.

What is some of your advice for grad school applicants?

A good personal statement is crucial and can help your application stand out. Although I don’t have a high GPA, I feel like my personal statement was well-written since it’s from my perspective, and I am able to point out my strengths and weaknesses. So, I suggest writing your personal statement on your own. As for the letter of recommendation, a good letter is as helpful as your personal statement. Go to office hours often and talk about something you’re interested in, even if it’s just about homework. Then at the end of the semester, when you ask for the recommendation, I’m sure they would be happy to help you if they think you’re impressive! For the language test and GRE, don’t be too worried about that. You don’t have to score too high, you simply need to reach a threshold.

What is some of your advice for job hunting?

Job hunting is pretty tough, especially during the pandemic season. Apply early! The summer is a good time. The recruiting season begins in September. Having career connections is also essential for referrals. If you know someone, you can reach out to that person and see if he/she can help you. Just get prepared, get to know the company culture. My roommate and I applied for the same company but different positions: I was applying for a software job, she was applying for human resources, but our interview questions were somehow similar. Get prepared for the 5-Whys questions like “why did you choose this company”. You can always google some common job interview questions and prepare for them beforehand because they are likely to be asked.

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Zeyuan Lin

Software Engineer at Oracle

Zeyuan Lin is a GLOBE and UC Berkeley alumnus, and he is currently working at Oracle as a software engineer. You are welcome to connect with Zeyuan on LinkedIn! 

  • Visit Linkedin account (opens in a new tab)
GLOBE Alumni Spotlight Series
  • Exploring Energy Sustainability: Nadhilah’s Research Journey from Indonesia to UC BerkeleyMarch 11, 2024
  • Alex Nguyen’s Summer 2023 Machine Learning Internship at a Swedish StartupJanuary 23, 2024
  • Sarah Mehtabuddin’s SERIUS Internship at National University of SingaporeDecember 19, 2023
  • Navigating Japan’s Nuclear Landscape with Eric HeNovember 14, 2023
  • GLOBE Ambassadors Recount their Summer 2022 TripApril 21, 2023
GLOBE 15 Anniversary Special Series
  • Lunch Break with GLOBE Director Matthew SherburneFebruary 26, 2021
  • The Story of GLOBE, Part 2December 18, 2020
  • The Story of GLOBE, Part 1October 7, 2020

Ding-Yuan Chen, Berkeley-Taiwan Biomedical (BTB) Scholar ’20

October 2, 2020 By Berkeley Engineering Leave a Comment

Ding-Yuan (left) stands next to his advisor, Prof. Liwei Lin (right) in front of The Berkeley Faculty Club

To help new GLOBE Entrepreneurship Visiting Scholars navigate their experience here at UC Berkeley, we spoke with Ding-Yuan Chen ’20, a Taiwan Berkeley-Taiwan Biomedical fellow, about his one-year entrepreneurship experience in GLOBE.

Why are you interested in participating in the GLOBE Program, and what are your startup ideas?

My undergraduate and graduate education provides me a background in genetic engineering, medical material science, stem cell therapy, and polymer science. I also have working experience in biodegradable design. So, I am interested in the global industry for medical devices, and that’s why I want to explore the medical devices area under the mentorship of Prof. Liwei Lin at Berkeley Engineering.

My first idea is how to predict cell activities for cancer cells. If you can stimulate the cancer cell system, you can use a drug delivery system to kill the cancer cell in the location you want. This helps physicians to predict where cancer cells are. My second idea is to build a mind device to help patients see where their brain injury areas are. Patients with brain injuries lost their actions, and their neurons are dying, so it’s important to locate their injuries effectively.

What did you like about Berkeley/the Bay Area?

UC Berkeley is the top public university in the world, and UC Berkeley and UCSF have strong connections, so it was a good place for me to learn about medical devices, designing software, and hardware here at the same time. The program introduced me to not only resources at UC Berkeley, but also resources at UCSF which includes one-on-one courses.

It was helpful for me to learn about the culture of biomedical start-ups. And it was also an exciting experience to see patients, start-ups, and new technologies. I was connected with faculty and physicians from clinical and engineering programs, so it’s a fantastic system.

What advice do you have for future GLOBE Scholars?

Don’t be shy, just communicate. During my first month at UC Berkeley, I often stayed in the coffee shop, listened to people’s conversations, and eventually joined them. First, learn, then make friends, lastly, chat with them. Through this, I learned how to speak with students, physicians, and professors. Also, attend a wide range of activities, not just from your backgrounds. I attended computer science and biological-related events to expand the scope of my knowledge.

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Ding-Yuan Chen

Co-founder of Advanced Biomedical Technology

Ding-Yuan Chen is the co-founder of Advanced Biomedical Technology based in Taiwan. You are welcome to connect with Ding-Yuan on LinkedIn!

  • Visit Linkedin account (opens in a new tab)
GLOBE Alumni Spotlight Series
  • Exploring Energy Sustainability: Nadhilah’s Research Journey from Indonesia to UC BerkeleyMarch 11, 2024
  • Alex Nguyen’s Summer 2023 Machine Learning Internship at a Swedish StartupJanuary 23, 2024
  • Sarah Mehtabuddin’s SERIUS Internship at National University of SingaporeDecember 19, 2023
  • Navigating Japan’s Nuclear Landscape with Eric HeNovember 14, 2023
  • GLOBE Ambassadors Recount their Summer 2022 TripApril 21, 2023
GLOBE 15 Anniversary Special Series
  • Lunch Break with GLOBE Director Matthew SherburneFebruary 26, 2021
  • The Story of GLOBE, Part 2December 18, 2020
  • The Story of GLOBE, Part 1October 7, 2020
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GLOBE News

  • Exploring Energy Sustainability: Nadhilah’s Research Journey from Indonesia to UC Berkeley
  • Alex Nguyen’s Summer 2023 Machine Learning Internship at a Swedish Startup

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