AugmentIC interview with Jeccy Sun, founder of the non-profit Dr. X

Where are you from?

I’m from China! My hometown is Baotou City, Inner Mongolia.

After graduating from the Harbin Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, you decided to then pursue a Masters at Israel’s Institute of Technology. Why and how did you make the decision to study there? When did your passion for Sino-Israeli relations begin?

One of the biggest reasons I came to Israel is curiosity. Very few people around me could give me a clue of what this country is like and how people feel living here. I felt that it was my responsibility to come and find out for myself. Another reason is that though the scholarship I was awarded for my study, I saw the importance of study in Israel — students [here] are provided for as well as possible so that they can concentrate their intelligence and energy on their studies. This is a very worthy investment for the whole of society in my opinion.

Regarding my passion for Sino-Israeli relations, I did see a lack of understanding of Israel from China’s side before I came here. After arrival, I fortunately made friends with Israelis who are passionate about and interested in China, including culture, people, career opportunities, etc. As one of the first few generations of Chinese students coming to Israel, I do see hopefully a future opportunity and role in Sino-Israeli relations. In all, the passion started from lack of understanding, and grows with time.

How has your international education impacted the way you approach your professional career as well as your connection to and between Israel and China?

One thing sort of unique in Israel is the close relationship and tight connection between industry and academia. Good, quality education exists in many places around the world, however Israelis are especially passionate about implementing knowledge in technology into daily life. Studying here gives me more exposure to experience how the technology industry collaborates with academia, and really opens my mind.

Have you ever experienced a culture clash between these two cultures (China and Israel) and how did it affect your professional goals? How do you resolve this conflict?

One big difference for example is asking questions in class. In my previous education because of the heavy load of the coursework, we seldom had opportunities to discuss or debate in front of the class with the lecturer or fellow classmates. Therefore, it was a bit surprising in my first few lectures here that students freely interrupted quite often and started to share their opinions.

I would not say this is a conflict, this is more for me like a different way to achieve efficiency in study and work under different environments. But this difference pushed me forward in looking at the world in a different way.

Are there any cultural similarities you notice between Israelis and Chinese which can help promote better collaboration between the two?

I think there are some interests in common for both sides, and this creates not only a loop in these fields but also promotes collaborations in other areas through it. For example, in both Israel and China, people value education very much. Officially, Israeli short term study programs, full-time universities, and institutes attract Chinese students and scholars.

You deal a lot with innovation; do you think China and Israel both define the term innovation similarly? How is each country innovating in its own way in your field? Where do you see each country, as well as Sino-Israel relations, five years in the future?

This is a very interesting question. My answer, for now, is that the definition of innovation in China and Israel are not the same. As I have mentioned, Israelis are more oriented towards implementing technology in daily life thanks to the close connection between industry and academia, whereas China is more isolated in technology innovation in industry and scientific discoveries in academic research. While China is nowadays, in my opinion, strengthening the relationship between industry and academia, there are many things China can learn from Israel in this process. This is also seen in the field of wearable devices. Israel for example developed startups in this field — quite a few among them are from universities, and some of them seem to be scaling up now. In China, to my knowledge, university staff are less involved in companies.

It is always hard to say about the future. In general, I am positive about the relationship between Israel and China. I think there will be more collaborations and communications. Although the process might not be straightforward because of the greater exposure of cultural differences and more time needed to understand and get along. In the long term, I think there will be [improvement] and sincerely wish there will be a bright future.