Updates form IBD: The Future is Here
Working for a huge corporation is often associated with bureaucracy and stifled innovation. Resources are often directed away from R&D and innovation leading to lackluster products and services. SK Telecom is hoping to change all that. This week we had an opportunity to see first hand, the innovations in mobile technology and services coming out of Korea within the next five years.
Mobile Assistant
As guests of SK Telecom, We were invited to experience their mobile innovation center that featured the latest concepts in Smart home, Transportation, Commerce and Entertainment, all seamlessly integrated through smart phone devices being developed today. One of the highlights included a Virtual UI projected through our mobile devices that engages users to interact with the surroundings seamlessly.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwi6xO_niJk]
Future of Mobile
Amazing stuff! We were awestruck by some of the concepts being brought to life and how much of a critical role the mobile platform was playing in countries all across the world. Our tour ended in the afternoon with SK Telecom wanting to briefly interview us and get a Berkeley-Haas perspective on the technology innovations being brought to life across SK Telecom.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrQxrc-4R6U]
Berkeley-Haas Interview
Back in the office we continued to colloborate with SK product managers to understand some of the challenges they were experiencing in serving their US customers. We looked at industries such as local commerce and fashion to determine what were some of the underserved markets and how SK could address them. We also shared research we had conducted in talking with industry experts, focus group as well as our own personal views as consumers. in Just 1 week we had collaborated on brand new product ideas to serve large scale markets in the US focusing on very specific consumer needs.
Hard at Work
But of course we also made some time to experience all that is Seoul. This vibrant city had so many things to offer and 3 weeks hardly seemed enough to cut it. While language was sometimes a barrier, it wasn’t something we concerned ourselves with especially since we had friends who spoke both Korean and English. Thanks to them, we’ve had an amazing opportunity to see and experience Seoul in a way that might not have been possible otherwise.
Korean Dinner
To top it off this past weekend was also our classmate Luke’s birthday. Having grown up in Seoul, Luke made it a point to show us the very best in Night life that Seoul had to offer. All in all a great weekend.
Happy Birthday Luke!
