Pearl Mao: 'We're using entrepreneurial thinking to inspire collective action'

Pearl Mao is the director of Tsinghua University’s x-lab in Beijing, China. With her team, she organises the SDG Open Hack!, the first Chinese open innovation festival aimed at advancing the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Though based on the other side of the world, the project is closely related to Geneva, as it was born from a partnership with the University of Geneva in 2019 and forms part of the Geneva Tsinghua Initiative (GTI). The GTI provides educational opportunities for students and professionals with the goal of developing concrete solutions to address SDG related issues.

Pearl Mao has worked closely with members of the faculty of economics and management at the University of Geneva and Open Geneva president, Thomas Maillart, by applying the entrepreneurial thinking to coeducational projects and to inspire students to make a difference. In the latest episode of our podcast series, Conversations on Resilience, she explains how she seeks to develop new models to engage students to innovate and contribute to a more sustainable world.