Let’s meet Camila Saenz, a Guatemalan ed tech entrepreneur

Let’s meet Camila Saenz, a Guatemalan ed tech entrepreneur

2023-05-24

Today we meet Guatemalan entrepreneur, Camila Saenz. She is the CEO and co-founder of a platform that connects foreign language tutors with Taiwanese students.Most recently, she has also launched a new platform that connects people all over the world with experts in a variety of fields so that they can learn new skills. FTV reporter Stephany Yang met Saenz for a chat.

Camila Saenz introduces herself in fluent Spanish, English, and Mandarin Chinese. She is the co- founder of a platform that connects foreign bilingual language tutors with people in Taiwan.

This can take place either virtually or in person so that they can learn a variety of languages. The tutors either teach in the students’ bricks-and-mortar homes or virtually via social media. The teachers are all bilingual and can teach several languages like French, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.

Camila Saenz
Founder
Tuteemi is a platform that aims to connect foreigners and Taiwanese. All of our tutors are mostly foreigners that are bilingual. We are teaching different foreign languages like French, English, Spanish. The thing is they go to different people’s houses or offices because in Taiwan I realize there are already so many online learning platforms, that I wanted to do something different so that we could connect better with Taiwanese.

Saenz has traveled to over 40 countries around the world. Through her experiences examining different education systems, she noticed that many Taiwanese were good at memorizing vocabulary and grammar, but lacked opportunities for conversation. Therefore, she decided to launch the platform to allow Taiwanese students to speak without being afraid of being judged by others. Her platform now has around 100 tutors across Taiwan.

Camila Saenz
Founder
When I first came to Taiwan, I realized that the education when it comes to languages was a bit different from my experience back home. I have traveled alot. I have been to more than 40 countries and I realized that language are mainly to have a conversation, but in Taiwan everyone is about the cram schools kind of environment to memorize and pass exams. Taiwanese have been learning English for so long but when it comes to having a conversation, they will get a bit nervous. I wanted a way to solve that.

Saenz moved to Taiwan in 2014 after receiving a scholarship to study for her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees. She is currently studying for a Ph.D. in business management and expects to graduate next year. She’s also an adjunct instructor at Ming Chuan University. Due to her love and gratitude for Taiwan, she hopes to give back to Taiwan with her education business.

Camila Saenz
Founder
My goal has always been to give back to Taiwan because Taiwan has given me two fully-funded scholarships to study my bachelor and Ph.D. degree. So I wanted to find a way to have an impact in education as well. When I found out about the initiative for Taiwan to be a bilingual country by 2030, I was like, okay, how can I actually have a little impact in this? The thing that I am most proud of is that slowly we are changing the mentality and stereotypes of only native English speakers can teach English. I think in the very beginning, it was a huge challenge for us because most of our tutors are not native speakers, like myself. My first language is Spanish. But changing the mentality and telling Taiwanese that other people from other nationalities can also teach English.

Now, Saenz is launching a new platform connecting people with experts in different fields to learn new skills. Whether it’s design classes, photography, boxing or something else, the platform helps people easily find professionals that teach needed skills in their area. Saenz hopes to create more jobs for foreigners and locals in Taiwan -- and by doing this help bring different cultures together.

Camila Saenz
Founder
I really hope that more foreigners can share their skills and their knowledge with Taiwan so we can have this little impact on helping Taiwan become more international. The idea is for foreigners or even Taiwanese to be able to share their skills. When it comes to yoga, painting class, or even DJ class. Whatever they can share with Taiwan, they can do it either offline or online. I believe that with this, people that are even abroad, not specifically only in Taiwan can they can also share their skills with Taiwanese.

Saenz has been living and working in Taiwan for eight years and she calls Taiwan her second home. She hopes to continue to give back to Taiwan and make Taiwan more well-known in the international community.

瓜地馬拉博士生來台八年創業成立外師家教媒合平台

2023-05-24

來自瓜地馬拉的蜜菈，創立了語言教學平台，串聯外籍家教老師和台灣人。最近，她還推出了一個新平台，媒合世界各地的人們與各個領域的專家，學習新技能，一起來看看。

用流利的西班牙語、英語和中文自我介紹，她是語言教學平台的創辦人蜜菈。

學生可透過線上或實體課程，學習多種語言。老師會講兩種語言，教法語、英語、中文和西班牙語等多種語言。

[[創辦人蜜菈]]
"這是一個連接外國人和台灣人的平台，大部分是有雙語能力的外籍老師。我們教授不同的語言，像是法語、英語、西班牙語。他們會去學生家裡或辦公室上課，因為我發現目前在台灣已經有很多線上學習平台，所以我想做一些不同的事情來與台灣人交流。"

蜜菈去過40多個國家，經歷不同教育體系，她發現很多台灣人很會記詞彙和文法，但缺乏交談的機會。因此，她決定推出這個語言教學平台，讓台灣學生不用顧慮別人眼光，好好練習口說能力。現階段平台在台灣有大約100位家教老師。

[[創辦人蜜菈]]
"剛來台灣的時候，我發現語言教育和我在國內的經歷有些不同。去過40多個國家，知道語言主要是為了交談，但在台灣，學生去補習，為了考試死背。台灣人學了這麼久的英語，要對話時，就會有點緊張，我就想解決這個問題。"

2014年，蜜菈獲得獎學金，來到台灣念書。她目前正在攻讀博士學位，也在銘傳大學兼課。出於對台灣的熱愛與感恩，她希望自己的教育事業可回饋台灣。

[[創辦人蜜菈]]
"我的目標一直是回饋台灣，因為台灣給了我兩個全額獎學金來攻讀學士和博士學位，所以我想在教育這塊發揮一點影響力。當我得知台灣目標在2030年成為雙語國家的時候，我就思考，我能做點什麼？我最自豪的是，我們正慢慢地改變只有母語為英語的人才能教英語的心態和刻板印象。一開始，這對我們來說是一個巨大的挑戰，因為我們大多數的老師都不是母語人士，就像我自己一樣。我的第一語言是西班牙語。但是換個心態，告訴台灣人，其他國籍的人也可以教英文。"

現在，蜜菈還推出一個可以學習各種技能的新平台，媒合大眾與不同領域的專家，從設計、攝影、到拳擊，讓人們可以輕鬆地找到各領域的專業人士。蜜菈希望為外國人和台灣人創造更多的就業機會，並以此幫助融合不同的文化。

[[創辦人蜜菈]]
"我真的希望有越來越多外國人能分享自己的技能和知識，讓我們能夠幫助台灣變得更加國際化。這個想法是讓外國人或台灣人分享他們的技能。瑜伽、繪畫，甚至是DJ課程。無論他們能分享什麼，他們都可以面對面，或線上教學。在國外的人也可以與台灣人分享他們的技能。"

蜜菈已在台灣生活和工作八年，台灣是她的第二個家。她希望繼續回饋台灣，讓台灣在國際社會更有聲量。

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After 51 years in business, Far Eastern Taipei Baoqing Store is planning a grand closing auction. In August the building will be knocked down and rebuilt.

Local resident
It’s been there so many years. It’s the oldest department store. It’s not as big as the others. If there were lots of tourists, it would be doing great.

Ximen’s Far Eastern is the first department store to get a makeover as part of the government policy to reconstruct unsafe, old buildings. When the 6,000 ping block has been knocked down and rebuilt, it will have a new floorspace of over 10,000 ping with an estimated value three to four times that of the current building.

Lin Yung-chin
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It’s been officially announced: Taiwan’s oldest Far Eastern department store, located beside exit 3 of MRT Ximen Station, will be knocked down and given a huge makeover, in a bid to attract tourists and younger consumers from the commercial district over the road.

The store lies outside the typical pedestrian circuit of Ximen’s commercial district. Its current clientele are mostly public servants aged 45 to 55. But after its makeover, it will have a new look and more new restaurants and brands aimed at younger demographics.

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With the position of Far Eastern Baoqing Store itself plus its subsidiaries, it really does seem that the crowds at Ximending might not be able to deliver a very clear upswing. If in the future it is remodeled into a new, large-scale department store, then certainly it could link up with the crowds which already exist in the Ximending commercial district.

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The majority of department stores now are concentrated in Xinyi District and the East District. Their external design is more up-to-date, more fashionable. Older stores find it harder to attract younger customers or clientele with more consumer power, so they are being forced to face this transition.

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This is Gaoshu Township in Pingtung – one of Taiwan’s major pineapple producing regions. Nguyen Thi Chinh, a Vietnamese resident of Taiwan, moved here after marrying a Taiwanese man. She’s been growing pineapples here for more than 20 years. Cutting a path through these thick rows of leaves facilitates work in the fields, but it has another benefit too.

Nguyen Thị Chính
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Her neglect of rat poison was perfectly in line with the hopes of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. Its Bird Ecology Lab has a project to protect birds of prey. They asked Nguyen to go even further, setting up nesting boxes and perches for the birds in her fields, and helping them research the farm’s ecosystem.

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Birds of prey are poisoned by the rat poison, so this is actually quite a large ecological crisis and problem.

They use an automated camera to record the comings and goings of many species of birds, including owls.

The small step of avoiding rat poison has brought enormous ecological rewards.

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When a customer spotted the scene they immediately snapped these photos. A macaque sits up on the top shelf of the store with a bag of bananas.

The monkey found its way into the grocery store in search of food. Onlookers were amused, but the store owners are more blasé.

Voice of Ms. Hung
Member of public
The store owner said the monkey has been in there three times. My mom said the monkey grabbed a bag of bananas and jumped on the shelf. She went and told the store attendant – if she hadn’t, nobody would have noticed.

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