By Libing Gu, Head of Academic Relations with contribution from Stone Shi, Manager swissnex China Guangzhou Office

A number of delegations visited swissnex China in the past month. Here are some highlights:

EMBA SUPSI China International Outdoor

On July 4th, we welcomed 9 students from the EMBA program of University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI). Danli Zhou, Head of Communications & Co-Deputy CEO of swissnex China presented the mission and activities of swissnex China. He shared with the delegation insights about the innovation landscape and social media in China.

From July 1st to 5th, SUPSI EMBA delegation visited Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou, Shanghai and Suzhou, having the opportunity to live a direct on-site experience of the Chinese manufacturing and service industry. While remaining a challenging and complex environment, China offers huge market opportunities, world class expertise in production and supply chain as well as a competitive talent pool. As Chinese economic growth is shifting to an innovation-driven model, China International outdoor program aims to learn about the innovation eco-system in China.

*SUPSI EMBA delegation visited Winnington Metal & Plastic Manufacturing Co., Ltd.*

Sino-Swiss Summer University in Business Administration HEIG-VD

15 Chinese and Swiss students from the Sino-Swiss Summer University in Business Administration visited swissnex China on July 18th. Rahel Gruber, Head of Operations & Co-Deputy CEO gave an introduction on swissnex and its activities in China, followed by a presentation on innovation landscape in China by Frans-Emmanuel Bengtsson, Junior Project Manager - Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The half-day program gave the students the opportunity to have an overview of the innovation ecosystem in China and insights into how culture matters for doing business in China and Switzerland.

Launched in 2014 by Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et de Gestion du Candon de Vaud (heig-vd) and Shanghai University, the Sino-Swiss Summer University is a 4-week course delivered to Sino-Swiss engineering and business students with focuses on cross-cultural perspective in doing business and innovation and entrepreneurship in both countries.

Summer School of Confucius Institute of University of Basel

On July 19th, swissnex China received the visit of 19 bachelor students attending the Summer School of Confucius Institute of University of Basel. The students were on a two-week cultural trip led by Prof. Dai Lan, Chinese Dean of Confucius Institute of University of Basel, founded in 2013 in cooperation with East China Normal University.

Rahel Gruber, Head of Operations & Co-Deputy CEO introduced the mission and activities of swissnex China, followed by a presentation on innovation scenario in China with interesting case studies by Simin Yang, Project Coordinator - Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The presentations helped the students have a better understanding of the innovation ecosystem in China. During the Q&A session, they raised a lot of questions about the opportunities and challenges in youth entrepreneurship.

MSE China Module SUPSI-ZHAW

On July 22nd, 41 students from MSE China Module visited swissnex China. Olivier Zehnder, Consul General of Switzerland in Shanghai introduced the presence of Switzerland in the Yangtze River Delta. Rahel Gruber, Head of Operations & Co-Deputy CEO of swissnex China presented swissnex and its activities in China, followed by a presentation by Frans-Emmanuel Bengtsson, Junior Project Manager - Innovation & Entrepreneurship on Innovation Landscape in China. The students appreciated the half-day program which provided them with deep insight into the Chinese innovation eco-system and asked many questions about the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China.

In the afternoon session, Prof. Stefan Dingerkus from INE Institute of Sustainable Development of ZHAW gave a lecture on Lean Logistics Management in Manufacturing.

“MSE China Module - Engineering Practice within Chinese and Swiss Culture” is organized by Department of Innovative Technologies of University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) in cooperation with University of Applied Sciences of Zurich (ZHAW). At its 11th edition, the course gives MSE students the opportunity to live a direct on-site experience of the Chinese manufacturing and service industry, by showing the challenges and opportunities for the Swiss industry to enter the local market and by highlighting the possibilities to successfully deal with these opportunities. It is composed of 4 days in Switzerland and 13 days in China (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, Changzhou etc.)

The delegation had the opportunity to visit Chinese and foreign owned companies, covering different sectors such as electronics, hardware, medical instruments, machine tools, textile machines, plastics, logistics, etc.