JEWELS
TALK

It's hard to believe it's over. The five days flew by in a flash, and honestly, I'm left wanting more — there was so much stimulation and so much I still wanted to absorb.

I feel exactly the same way. Time seemed to race from the very first day. What I also noticed was that the program struck just the right level of difficulty — challenging, but never overwhelming. We were divided into teams and spent the five days developing our own original shipping route to present at the end. There was plenty of time for discussion, and we received solid guidance from ONE’s mentors throughout. It's a rare kind of experience. My team placed first in the final presentation, which made it even sweeter. And the scenery of so many vessels anchored offshore when I first arrived in Singapore — I think I'll carry that image with me for the rest of my life.

I'm studying abroad, and I'd never participated in this kind of program before. But coming here to Singapore, meeting so many different people, debating for five days straight, and building our own shipping route from scratch — I genuinely think that this kind of experience is hard to come by. I went away with a deep sense of gratitude for having this opportunity.

I'm originally from Ehime Prefecture, and a shipyard there actually builds ONE’s container vessels. I'd even seen them featured on a TV program once. So one day, while scrolling through a job listings site, the moment I spotted that magenta vessel, I thought, "That's the one!" — and before I knew it, I'd already applied. (laughs)

A senior from my seminar participated last year and told me, "You absolutely have to go." That's what got me started.

One of my professors introduced it in class. When the announcement came up in a course I was taking this year, I knew immediately I had to apply.

I wondered what kind of challenges we'd be given, and since it was my first time participating in a program like this abroad, I wasn't sure I'd be able to hold my own. But looking back, there was nothing to worry about. My flight was delayed on the day of departure due to snow, but another JEWELS participant at the airport came up to me and said, "Let's head there together." That one moment started to ease all my nerves.

I tried to prepare in advance by reading the book about ONE, and I felt fairly well-informed going in. The book itself was genuinely fascinating — but actually being there in person was a completely different experience from anything I had read.

Honestly, I was full of anxiety and self-doubt. My major is chemistry — my day-to-day life involves being in a lab mixing reagents. I was glad to make it through the selection process, but I kept asking myself: what can I possibly learn here, and what value can I actually contribute?

I study business and commerce, and there were several moments where I tried to apply frameworks and theories from my classes to real business situations — only to find that what worked in theory didn't necessarily work in practice. Logically it should have made sense, but it just didn't translate to reality. That gap was a huge eye-opener for me. The other thing was the experience of actually working in an office for a week — pushing hard, stepping away to recharge over lunch, then getting back to it. I feel like I got a small but real taste of what it means to be a working professional.

Earlier I mentioned feeling anxious about what I could learn here. But once I actually got into it, I realized that my background in science — specifically my knowledge of manufacturing processes — turned out to be surprisingly useful for understanding container shipping supply chains. Containers carry such an enormous range of goods, so understanding where, say, electric vehicle batteries are manufactured or where the raw materials come from — my major actually came into play in ways I never expected. That was a real discovery for me.

Speaking of ONE itself — I came in having read the book and feeling fairly prepared, but there was one line from it that stuck with me: "becoming the world's best company through its people." What struck me was that ONE actually lives up to that. Talking with employees in person, I could feel that those weren't just words on a page — this is a company that genuinely means it.

My parents work in maritime-related fields, so I already had some interest going in. But visiting the port and seeing the scale of the vessels and containers up close, I realized this industry has a much stronger on-the-ground, people-facing side than I had imagined — it's far more than desk work. And there's something magnetic about the containers themselves. You don't know what's inside, but someone out there needs it. They're like Pandora's boxes carrying something precious to someone — I find that really wonderful.

Before I came, I thought of shipping as somewhat similar to the airline business. But in reality, they're completely different, and the sheer number of things you have to account for specifically because of containers is staggering. It's a genuinely demanding industry — but I found that the complexity is exactly what makes it compelling.

Containers carry the essentials of everyday life, don't they? When I imagined goods being transported along a route that my team had designed, I felt a simple, genuine thrill. There will always be difficult days on the job, I'm sure — but knowing "this is the world I'm part of" would be a powerful source of motivation. The social contribution is immense, and I came away feeling this is truly meaningful work. I was already interested in the shipping industry before, and that interest has only grown stronger.

The diversity felt really comfortable. People from all different nationalities, all different languages filling the room — I naturally felt like I belonged there too. What also stood out was that everyone seemed forward-looking. Even when we brought up a slightly unconventional idea, the response was always "I like it" first. And on a personal note — I've always loved pink, so I fell for the magenta the moment I saw it. (laughs)

Same here on the color. (laughs) Beyond that, I loved the office itself. It was open and airy, and I could genuinely picture enjoying working there. I tend to do my best thinking in open, spacious environments, so it felt like a place where I could thrive.

That magenta corporate color really makes a statement — once you see it, you don't forget it. And the name itself works so well: Ocean Network Express, distilled into "ONE." There's a real coherence to it. A company with Japanese roots that has embraced such bold branding and built its global headquarters here in Singapore — as someone who feels connected to that story, I find it genuinely inspiring. I think whenever I spot an ONE container or ship abroad in the future, it'll feel like running into something familiar and reassuring.