“From the beaches of Bournemouth to the industrial heights of Shanghai, one BU student is making the most of her placement year…”

When Yisi Lu first came to BU, she studied and completed an Accounting and Finance bachelor degree. Lu then decided to further her studies by undertaking a Master’s in Sport Management.

Lu chose to study Sport Management because of her passion for sports and was lucky enough to secure a work placement in Shanghai, working as an intern for the globally recognised company Adidas.

Lu said: “As an intern, my main responsibility was to assist and support my team in achieving all their tasks.

“A main part of my role was to choose clothing and shoes from the warehouse for different gym studios, individual personal trainers and contract sport athletes and stars.”

Lu explained how this process takes a long time between checking the inventory for the right sizes and quantities, completing and uploading forms and making cover sheets for each task.

She said: “The first time I completed this task, it took me two weeks. However, when I saw our CEO sign the contract, I felt over the moon! After the first task, I started working faster and more efficiently.”

Lu enjoyed other parts of her role. She said: “I also ordered training, running and outdoor products for each season from the online system named adiPortal.

“I translated documents and took part in making a Rio Olympic 2016 news summary presentation among other admin tasks.”

Lu describes what working at the Adidas Group Shanghai Headquarters is like. She said: “The working environment in was open plan, with some fashion elements. Usually, employees had their group meetings in the rest area, which felt like I was back in the BU library!

“There’s also a small gym provided and a studio for colleagues to exercise or book fitness classes to enjoy sport. Everyone was friendly and I really enjoyed my time there.”

Lu compares her first day at the office to finally feeling settled and successful within her placement.

She said: “I was nervous and completely lost in a new working environment. I have gradually grown up and become a more professional girl in a real business world. Be patient, be confident, be the best!”