(1) Academic Course on Corporate Social Responsibility
This past week in class we discussed the Civil Action movie that we watched in class last week and also debated a case study involving Apple. The discussion surrounding Civil Action was focused on the environmental impacts major corporations can have and their corporate responsibility to their neighbors and consumers when considering that impact. In the movie, we saw two major corporations were being sued for contaminating drinking water which caused multiple children to get cancer. While the movie focuses mostly on the lawyer taking on the case for the families, it was interesting to see the lawyers for the companies portrayed, as well. The way companies try to throw money around to cover misdeeds like this one was depicted well in the movie, and it led to a healthy discussion in class about major corporations needing to both pay their shareholders while also being socially responsible. This led well into our discussion on Wednesday involving the Apple case study about Apple’s suppliers who have come under heat for poor working conditions for their factory workers. This discussion became pretty animated when the whole class joined in, and I felt as though everyone had pretty strong opinions on the way Apple should have treated their suppliers after the media exposed the conditions in the Asian countries where the suppliers are based. Overall, both discussions this week had the class using most of our knowledge thus far in this course, and we all have begun to form our own opinions on the social responsibility of corporations which we defended strongly in debates this week.
(2) Practicum in Milan with an Italian Company
In my internship this week, I began doing a competitive analysis of the NIRVANA system for the product management team. BTS Bioengineering is visiting North Carolina this upcoming week for a conference involving biotechnologies, so while they prepared material and packed hardware to display there, I was completing the analysis for them to consider when marketing to distributors at the conference. I also helped plan a couple of logistical things for them in America such as finding a location to print posters and the best place to ship the materials for the booth. The competitive analysis I worked on involved researching direct competitors for NIRVANA and writing notes involving each product before comparing them in a competitors table and then producing a competitive map. While I still found NIRVANA to be the most immersive and advanced rehabilitation device, it was good to see what other companies were adding to their technology and what NIRVANA could mimic to become a stronger competitor.
(3) Social and Cultural Immersion through Travels in Italy and Europe
This week my parents and family visited Milan before heading out on some of their own travels. With my birthday coming up next week, I also was able to celebrate with them a bit early at a Milanese restaurant my mom discovered. It was great to show my family around Milan and so exciting to feel like more of a local.
Later in the week, the Lehigh group also decided to explore the nightlife around Aparto a bit. We went to a bar right behind Aparto called Officina, and they ended up giving us a private room for our big group! We had a lot of fun being able to hang out all together outside of a work or academic setting and enjoyed exploring Milan at night a bit.
This weekend, a group of the girls took a girls trip to Portofino. We stayed at an Airbnb in Rapallo and visited the beaches at Santa Margherita. After a minor train issue on our way to Santa Margherita, we were able to relax and swim at the beach before heading to our Airbnb in Rapallo. The apartment had the most amazing view of the town and the sea, and we took full advantage of that for photos! After our photoshoot, we headed into town to find a seafood restaurant and had a three hour long dinner. The girls had a great time bonding and we are already planning a reunion girls trip for next year!
