In October 2014, the 10th batch of the Executive MBA Program of the University of Zurich had the privilege to visit Shanghai on the occasion of a week-long study trip. Getting an “on the ground” impression of this vibrant city, as well as a first glimpse into the Chinese market was the aim of the study trip.

Various forms of teaching allowed the group led by Professor Xinhua Wittmann and Dr. Matthias Schaub to get a unique insight into this growth market. While participants attended lectures on strategic management in China at Fudan University in the morning, they had the opportunity to take part in inspiring company visits at Sulzer and Sika in the afternoon.

Together with swissnex China, the Alumni of University of Zurich in Shanghai organized interactive workshops on current topics of utmost relevance to everyone keen on “doing business in and with China”. After an introduction on the various activities performed by swissnex China and a presentation on the Swiss presence in the Yangzte River Delta by Isabel Götz and the Consul General of Switzerland, Alexander Hoffet, the workshops were led by experts with profound knowledge about China: Marc Finsterlin, Managing Director at Aquarius Asia introduced our participants to the world of social media and online marketing in China, whereby the various marketing strategies were derived from the online behavior of Chinese consumers. In the area of intellectual property protection, Denis F. Berger, Swiss Attorney-at-Law/ LLM at Eiger provided an overview on the characteristics of Chinese law in the field of trademark protection, focussing on strategies allowing for protection, commercialization, management and enforcement of intangible property rights in China. The concluding presentation was given by Andrea Nessi, Managing Partner at Unitouch China on the topic of "Approaching the 1.4 Billion Market". He developed and described the triangle "Market-Government-Culture".

The participants of the study trip were given the opportunity to network and exchange experiences with alumni of the Executive MBA of Fudan University and other businessmen from Shanghai on the occasion of an aperitif, generously sponsored by swissnex China, Aquarius Asia, Eiger, Unitouch China as well as the Executive MBA Program.

The study trip to Shanghai was once again peppered with highlights, and we are already looking forward to the visit in 2015!

- Contributed by Dr. Matthias Schaub, Managing Director, Executive MBA University of Zürich