On April 17, we had the great pleasure to welcome the delegation of EMBA students from the ZHAW School of Management and Law here at swissnex China in Shanghai. During the day they attended several presentations about different aspects of the China’s economic development such as intellectual property rights, economic growth in the Yangtze Delta region, technology and innovation, Chinese social media and the entering of Chinese market by Swiss SMEs. In the evening, Isabel and Melanie introduced some of the Swiss EMBA students to Shanghainese “after work” life at Dr. Beer and Bar Rouge where - judging from their faces the next morning - they had a great time… ;-)
The next day, Prof. Prandini invited us to join the group’s trip to Suzhou, the City of Gardens and Water.
Our first destination was the immense Suzhou Industrial Park where swissnex China had organized visits at the factories of two Swiss companies, Unitron (part of the Phonak Group) and Logitech. At both places we were impressed by the efficient organization of the production lines and the way their international locations are connected. At Unitron/Phonak, it was interesting to see how the Chinese management style is concerned about employee health and that workers are given time to collectively stretch their arms and legs to Chinese music twice a day. We would like to thank Peter Zhao at Unitron/Phonak and Anderson Ho at Logitech for their warm welcome and their time.
The afternoon was dedicated to sightseeing and discovering more about Chinese culture. As Suzhou is well known for its numerous gardens, we first visited the Lingering Garden where we enjoyed the unique architecture, the beautiful flowers and rockery, and traditional Guqin music. Next we took a boat ride on the Grand Canal – the more than 1800 km long canal from Beijing to Hangzhou – to the old town and traditional buildings with their white walls and black roofs. Our last stop was the Suzhou “No. 1” Silk Factory where we learned about traditional Chinese silk making, its history and techniques, and had the chance to buy unique silk products such as skin cream made out of baby silkworms. Lastly, we were invited to a delicious dinner at a restaurant where renowned people such as Richard Nixon and George Bush Sr. had dined before us.
Those two days allowed us to better understand the role of swissnex China in the fields of education, technology and innovation, and the importance of international cooperation.
We would like to thank Prof. Prandini and Pascal Marmier for giving us this special opportunity to meet many interesting people from both countries, and discover new and fascinating aspects about China.
Melanie & Lennart
Reported by -
Melanie Boillat 梅兰妮- Acadamic Intern, Research on innovation
Lennart Bolliger 柏狮心- Academic Intern, Research on philanthropy