For the third year in a row, Innovation Origins has organised the annual Expat Top-10. Over the past years, Eindhoven has welcomed thousands of internationals, many of whom have done a great job for the city. Through this top-10 we say Thank You to all of them. This year’s theme of the Top-10 is ‘Jobs and Entrepreneurship’. Every day we offer you an interview with one of the winners. In this interview, you can read about how they ended up in Eindhoven, what they are doing in and for the city, and how they get around in their new community. Today: Cindy Shen. Here’s the whole series.
“Shops in Eindhoven close quite early!”
In Eindhoven since: the end of 2015
Originally from: China
Do you speak Dutch with the people in your neighbourhood? Yes, I do speak Dutch with my colleagues every Friday morning and with family in law sometimes.
What was the reason for you to move to Eindhoven?
“I moved here because I fell in love with a Dutch guy :)”
What makes Eindhoven an attractive place to live and work in?
“Eindhoven is in the transition to be an International City in the Netherlands, and it is very exciting to grow together with the city and to witness the change. Plus, most of my colleagues tell me that people in the South are nicer than the North.”
What should Eindhoven do to make itself a better place to live and work in, especially for expats?
“Personally, I missed the culture part. It’s getting better, however, if we could have more international experiences (the international exhibition, music, food) that would be even better.”
Tech companies in and around Eindhoven have a huge shortage of employees. What could they do to attract more technicians from China?
“For tech companies, it’s a good idea to set up innovative recruiting programs for 2 reasons: Innovation brings the awareness, and awareness attracts talents. And innovation is the only way to compete with big cities who have more appearance in expats’ top choices.”
How would you describe your role within the Eindhoven community?
“I think probably the main reason I got nominated is that I’m part of Stichting Fight Like a Woman, mainly focusing on getting women with a career gap back to work. With my partner: Patricia Plantinga, we aim to bring this HR innovation projects into companies in Eindhoven.”
What is it like to start your own business in Eindhoven?
“We don’t really own a business, we have a Stichting which is non-profit. We do get a lot of support from great people here in Eindhoven, so it’s relatively easy to start.”
What is the worst and the best thing about Eindhoven?
“The best thing: I made a lot of friends here within a short time, that proves: People in the South are nice! The worst thing: shops close quite early :P”
Photo (c) Israël Nunez-Hernandez
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