Global talents gravitate to Pudong

Graduation season is coming. The New York University Shanghai (NYU Shanghai) at Century Avenue in Pudong is seeing off its third batch of undergraduate students.

Two years ago, Tyler Rhorick from the United States graduated from NYU Shanghai, a Sino-American higher education institute. Now he works as a coordinator of new student programs on campus.

Tyler Rhorick, a coordinator of new student programs in NYU Shanghai [Photo: China Plus]

Tyler says the city of Shanghai, especially the Pudong New Area, has created many firsts for him.

"I am one of the first graduates of NYU Shanghai located in Pudong, Shanghai. And I'm the first person to receive a bachelor's work permit, meaning I'm the first person to be able to legally work in China without having two years of prior work experience and just a bachelor's degree."

The young man from South Carolina landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in 2013. It was his first international flight and his first trip to China.

"I'm from a very very small town in the United States, not a lot of people live there and I knew that when I was applying to colleges I wanted to have the opportunity to go out and see the way the world was developing around me, cause not much changes in my hometown.…It's actually interesting my first impressions when I actually started to think about China and what it meant is that I took a comparative politics class in my high school. I only saw one perspective of what China was and I think by coming here, studying here, living here I've gained a very complex perspective what China is and I appreciate a lot more now because I think back then I had a very simple view about what it was and now it's much more complicated, much more nuance and I think much more interesting."

Driven by his curiosity of the outside world, Tyler applied to the Pudong based university, which is jointly run by NYU and East China Normal University. Founded in 2012, it is China's first Sino-American university operating as an independent legal entity. Half of its students are from China. The others are from the United States and some 70 other countries.

During his four-year course at NYU Shanghai, Tyler got the chance to visit other places in China and meet different people, which gave him a deeper and clearer understanding of the country. He has also made friends with young people from different parts of the world.

"My life in university was one of probably the best years of my life if I'm completely honest. I think university was amazing because it was a time where I think so many people were coming together to want to build something new. Because we were part of the first class. We all had this kind of pioneering spirit that we wanted to really make something impressive of this university and I think Shanghai really supported us in that goal. So I'm arriving very first day at NYU Shanghai and I had a roommate who's English name was Victor. He's from Shanghai, and also one Carlos who's from Mexico. It was kind of doing global politics in our dorm room which was very cool. And having those conversations about our countries, our practices, our cultures and it was amazing just to be able to have those conversations even outside of the classroom. It was a very cool experience.”

Tylor said studying in China has broadened his horizons. The university has also changed him dramatically and made him a much better person.

“I think the way of change mostly is that I've become a much more confident person, not to say I wasn't confident before, but I've also just become much more culturally sensitive and I've been able to have kind of an ability to adapt to difficult situations. I think that NYU Shanghai was a great challenge for me especially being from a small town in the United States to go into the biggest city in the world. So I think that I've been able to see challenges and I'm not afraid of that anymore. I know how to overcome challenges, and I know what I'm able to do as a person.”

Before graduating from NYU Shanghai, Tylor made the decision to stay in Pudong and apply for a job at his alma mater. The bold move was questioned by his parents until they came to China for the boy's graduation ceremony.

“That was in fact a question my parents asked me before they had come to Shanghai, but I think for those kind of people who would ask that question. I think maybe a lot of them haven't been to Shanghai yet because I think that answer became evident to my parents when they came here for my graduation. It was also their first trip abroad to come to see me graduate in NYU Shanghai and as soon as they landed and as soon as they had the experience of seeing what Shanghai was and eating Shanghai food and all those kind of things, they said of course you'd wanna stay in this place. It's a very convenient city. It's a very safe city. It's also a very dynamic city. I think I would miss all of that if I was to go back to the United States. Not to say the United States is boring in any way, but I think that I've just grown to love Shanghai, and Shanghai has really become my home in many aspects. And I was kind of afraid that if I was to leave Shanghai that I would miss those things.”

To Tyler, the Pudong New Area is a fast paced and ever changing place which provides a friendly environment for expats to live and work in.

"The biggest change I've noticed in Pudong is just the rapid speed of development. I would say that a lot of communities have sprung up. And I think obviously you see the big notable changes in the skyline. I remember when we first arrived the Shanghai Tower was under construction. Now it’s fully operating. It’s amazing to see how one of the world’s largest buildings was constructed with my time here. More generally, I think Pudong is just become a more friendly place for foreigners to live. And that's something more subtle, but it's something I've noted. When I was a sophomore living in Pudong, I remember there being a lot of menus that had not the best translations, different translations or maybe no translations. But now you see a lot of restaurants really trying to make it a friendly place for foreigners to live and they really try to have English translations and they really try to make an inclusive environment for us all."

Tyler says he is very interested in education, especially student programs in the university. For that reason, there's no better choice than to continue working at NYU Shanghai.

"I do love the school and I would love to see how I could contribute to the community in other ways. It's a community I love and I still continue to love and so as soon as I found out I could build this career that I was really excited for and stay in Shanghai and stay in NYU Shanghai it was a no brainer choice and I really wanted to pursue that option."

Luckily for Tyler, in June 2017, the Pudong New Area issued new policies and set up its first "overseas talent bureau" to help employers in the Shanghai business hub attract and retain skilled workers from overseas.

Under the new system, international students can apply for a work permit to work in Shanghai's Free Trade Zone or Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park within a year of earning their bachelor's degree.

Previously, anyone seeking to gain a work permit is required to have at least two years of professional experience or a master's degree.

Tyler managed to get his first work permit for overseas students with a bachelor's degree.

“At that time I don't think any of us realized that it was going to be the first application. With being the first application I think it was so great how the exit entry bureau and also the Pudong government supported us to that process. I remember them calling Amy from HR all the time telling them about he'll need this and he'll need this document. And they were very supportive think which shows how NYU Shanghai and the Pudong government have been able to collaborate to make these great initiatives. That also benefits other people as well.”

Tyler says these measures have great appeal for international graduates and also stimulate the innovation and development of Shanghai.

"I think without having to have that two years' work experience you get a lot of young talent that really wants to make their mark and start the career like myself in Shanghai. And I think that's great because whenever you give opportunity, especially to young people, they have a lot of passion to be wanted to create new things and develop new projects. You see a lot of development that goes along with that. So I think that choice to like allow young people to also be able to work here sooner. It's something that's great."

According to statistics from NYU Shanghai, among the first 261 graduates, 11 foreign students chose to stay and find jobs in Shanghai. Some graduates have started their own businesses in the Free Trade Zone in Pudong.

In the past few years, the Pudong New Area has released a series of new measures to woo global talent.

In April 2018, it released 35 measures to support the innovation and entrepreneurship of skilled personnel and promote their development. It allows qualified young foreign professionals to enter China first and find work afterwards. They're also able to apply for permanent residence after working in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone for three years or more.

In April this year, the Shanghai Pudong International Talent Hub opened in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, where visa applicants can obtain work and residence permits by making a single visit.

Previously, foreign professionals had to make at least three trips to government departments to get a work visa.