Haoran Guo

Haoran Guo arrived in Ireland in 2003, having studied the first year of a BSc in Computer Science in Harbin Institute of Technology, near the Mongolian border in China. He transferred to the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) for the final two years of his course as part of an ongoing agreement between the two colleges.

Although taught English from a young age in the Chinese school system, Haoran found it difficult at first to adapt to third level education in Ireland and he was not taking any extra-curricular English classes.
Happily, he found most of the teachers in DIT to be very patient and now feels his English has improved greatly since arriving in Ireland.

In comparison with the Chinese college education system, Haoran found the Irish system to be of a more practical value, concentrating less on the theoretical method of study.
“It was great there (DIT), we got a lot of hand-on practical experience, like the work-placement, what you learn in college is very useful when you go into the industry”, he says.

The work placement that Haoran refers to was a six-month stint at successful AMT-Sybex subsidiary Marrakech, an e-business company specialising in developing a commercial transaction network online. Indeed, his time there went so well that Haoran was asked to stay on once he graduated. He turned the offer down as a fresh experience and a full-time career awaited him at another company.

Datalex are software developers who use the JAVA system to run booking engines (hotels, insurance, car rental, etc.) for customers such as United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.
“It’s very good, paid well! It’s a great experience here”, says Haoran of his time so far at Datalex.

On the subject of his future, Haoran is quite relaxed, “I think I’ll stay here for the next three to five years. I like living in Ireland, that’s why I decided to stay here and my English is improving. Maybe I’ll do a part-time masters course during the evenings. A lot of my friends are working and doing part time courses in the evening”.

If Haoran decides to return to China, he knows that his work experience in Ireland will stand to him when seeking work. Chinese employers place great value on work experience in an English-speaking country; for them “it’s the most important thing” that a candidate for a role could have.

Asked to pick his three favourite aspects of living in Ireland, Haoran replied with the following;
“Irish people are nice, easy-going and warm-hearted, this makes it much easier to live here.
The green island with fabulous scenery and beautiful music is another reason to make me like Ireland.
The growth and strength of the Irish economy is also an important reason. I feel I could have a bright future here.”

So goes the tale so far of the man seeking to be his hometown’s most successful export since the world famous Harbin beer!