China's 36th Antarctic Expedition and Xuelong 2 were invited to leave Shenzhen's Shekou Cruise Port on November 15th, 2019 for Antarctica, according to the press confernce. This expedition carried out the tasks across two vessels and four sites. The first independently built polar icebreaker in China, Xuelong 2 will make her maiden voyage to the South Pole, along with Xuelong, opening up a new pattern of Chinese's polar expedition. Tony Hu, a participant of emlyon Global DBA 2019, also made his contributions to this magnificent feat, as part of the submarine cable community.

Tony HU -emlyon Global DBA 2019

Vice President and Chinese Chief Representative

S. B. Submarine Systems Co., Ltd.

A Builder and Maintainer of Submarine Information Highways

Ever since TAT-8, the world's first transoceanic submarine cable system, was built in 1988, the construction of global submarine optical cable systems has been accelerating with the rapid boom of the Internet. Submarine optical cable boasts the benefits of long-haul transmission stability, high bandwidth, economy and confidentiality, which makes it the most dominant communication infrastructure in the world, currently accounting for more than 95% of the global intercontinental cross-ocean traffic. As an infrastructure critical for economic development, national defense and living quality, it is widely known as the "Submarine Information Highway" or "Information Silk Road".

Showing nearly 25 years of successful evolution, S. B. Submarine Systems Co., Ltd. (SBSS) was a joint venture between China Telecom and Global Marine Systems Ltd. based in UK, in order to implement the national strategy, break the Western monopoly and become one of the few countries with sea-aircraft and submarine installation technologies. Over the years, SBSS has been contributing to the communication and Internet infrastructure construction business in China and the world and has concluded many outstanding achievements. It is the only Chinese company that can compete in the international market and has participated in the construction of international optical cable networks. Capable of the installation and maintenance of deep-water submarine cables across the world, it broke the world record in the Mariana Trench in the depth of nearly 10,000 meters, which makes it one of the essential players in the global submarine system industry.

Today, SBSS runs a world-leading dynamic positioning cable construction fleet, spanning four oceans. Almost all the Chinese sections of international communication networks are installed by SBSS, in addition to installations in Alaska, Sakhalin, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Bay of Bengal and more locations. At the critical moments of the earthquake in Taiwan and the tsunami in Fukushima, in the dangerous areas of the Gulf of Aden and Crimea, during the G20 and China International Import Expo (CIIE), the figures of our cable ships always show up. We are a builder and maintainer of the “Submarine Information Highways”, fostering the rapid development of the communication and Internet industries.

As Vice President and Chinese Chief Representative of SBSS, I assume the responsibility and mission of communicating with international shareholders, ensuring knowhow transfer and cultivating a professional team in China. I actively drive the business expansion into telecommunications, power, oil and gas, clean energy and other related fields, contribute to the rise of a network and maritime power, and realize our vision of “Connecting the world and lighting up the future”.

How Submarine Systems Empower the Antarctic Expedition?

Beyond the traditional demands of communication and data transmission, submarine cable also shoulders other roles. For example, with the integration of offshore oil platforms, offshore wind power and the "Internet+", submarine electrical and optical cables will be merged into a composite system with the features of both power transmission and remote control, while offshore oil platforms will serve as maritime relays for communication cables. In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), submarine systems will also connect undersea observation and research facilities to form a submarine observation network for the establishment of an open and shared scientific platform of China’s marine research in China, which will serve the comprehensive needs of national security and rights, marine resources development and marine disaster prediction.

Xuelong 2, China's first independently designed and produced polar research ship, uses the Dynamic Positioning (DP) System for the first time, supported by the technical guidance and personnel training provided by SBSS. The DP System is a closed-loop control system that uses thrusters to provide environmental forces against wind, waves and currents, so that the vessel remains at the required position on the sea as far as possible. Thanks to our technical advantages and rich experience, SBSS offered outstanding technical supports for Xuelong 2, with SBSS captains and electrical engineers taking part in the maritime and research expedition. Furthermore, additional supports were furnished in the domains of underwater robotics and positioning.

In fact, the shortest route connecting Asia and the Americas is across the Arctic Ocean instead of the Pacific Ocean. Given the communication delay, an optical cable system in the North Pole has long been yearned, yet which has not been realized due to technical limitations. Therefore, it will become one of upcoming research focuses in the partnership of SBSS and the Polar Research Institute of China.

Call of the Heart: Learning is part of life and emlyon DBA is just there

While my career is flourishing, the inner desire for continued learning upgraded and thinking tells me, “Let's set off again!” I remember a famous quote from a mountaineer. When someone asked him why he climbed a mountain, he replied, "Because it’s there." I chose to register emlyon DBA Program, because "it’s there”.

A doctorate degree has always been one of the dreams ever since my childhood. I learned about emlyon DBA Program when I was studying in Antai EMBA Program at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. After graduation, I naturally enrolled in the program. I hope that learning can become part of life. By constantly pursuing for the peak of knowledge, I will reach a new height, ascend to the horizon and see a landscape beyond the vision of the others.

My job resides in a cross-disciplinary domain between networking and marine engineering. In the world of communication, technologies are changing with each passing day. It is widely believed in the market that a company runs on two wheels of innovation, one on business model and the other on technology. In contrary, the marine engineering industry is quite traditional, often paying more attention to technical problems than management. Through study and research, I intend to gain a deeper understanding of the selected topic and solve some challenges encountered in practice, including the sustainability of the joint venture and the cross-border integration of the marine industry, so as to make my contributions to the development of management theories applicable to marine engineering organizations.

I seek new ways and ideas of thinking, analyzing and solving problems in order to deal with specific problems in reality. During this learning journey, I want to calm down, review extensive literature and enrich my knowledge base. I will learn to use multi-dimensional analysis, critical thinking and empirical research through the guidance of the tutor and the discussion with my peers and in turn accomplish the transformation of personal abilities and expertise.

When a Natural Boy Feels Lonely, He Will Create a World

By enrolling in emlyon DBA Program, I hope that after a day of trivial and complicated routines, I'll be able to develop a number of rational habits of research and upgrade my way of thinking in a theoretical level, in a scholarly environment with a group of like-minded people who are better than myself. Thus, I'll further enhance my company and my industry.

With a group of passionate and ambitious peers, through the exchange and collision of ideas, we enrich the dimension and depth of problem solving, broaden our horizons, enhance the way of thinking pattern and harvest a more fulfilling life.

In this world, there are always people

Whose hearts are connected to the vast world,

And whose "home" does not refer to a specific place.

Pursuit itself allows them to perceive the essence of existence

Therefore, departing is also returning.

We look forward to meeting you at emlyon DBA

To start a new journey tailored for becoming scholarly business leaders!