Like many students I want to join student clubs. I am studying science and run an engineering startup. I want to join SESA, the science and engineering student association. I want to join entrepreneur clubs to meet like minded people, build teams, and get a Kickstarter project or two under my belt. Unfortunately, joining clubs at Nottingham Ningbo has turned out to be rather difficult.

Student Clubs
As a science student I attempted to join the UNNC Science and Engineering students club but was told, by the president, that I couldn’t because I am not Chinese and this would make it “inconvenient” for other students to work with me.

Later I tried to join a SESA and Challenge Cup 1776 startup competition. SESA ignored my first email, they replied to the second email with this:

I tried to join Enactus several times. They also used the “ignore the problem and it will eventually go away” approach.

So if you’re set on joining clubs at UNNC, you might want to take this into consideration.

Secret Government Business
My team developed a business plan for an automated control system for food waste anaerobic digestion facilities, winning the Nottingham business school business plan competition (go us!). The next day the Enactus people go to the business school with the same idea, claiming they just thought it up. Being the gentlemen we are, we offered to team up with them and work together. They rejected us with this excuse via Wechat:

Hi Alison. I’m Fiona. Sorry for delayed reply. I’ve talked with my board members, and got some negative information. Because we have complex partners including government and school, who have sensitive concerns about data sharing, it tends to be inappropriate to have cooperation involving these information in this period. Thanks a lot for your time and concerns. The meeting with Seth and you is very enlightening. Hope we can keep in touch anyway ^ ^

Needless to say, we weren’t impressed. Especially considering we too were students and recycling bottles and uneaten canteen food isn’t exactly top secret government business.

The winning team, Alison in the middle back.