UCLA’s Anderson School of Management has teamed up with UC Irvine’s Long U.S.-China Institute for Business and Law and a China-based venture capital firm to host a two-day conference in Shanghai on innovation and the emerging Chinese entrepreneurial market, the Anderson School announced.
Business leaders from around the globe have convened for Innovation China 2013, which is taking place today and tomorrow at the Shanghai Expo Center. Together, these global business leaders will examine China’s advances in areas ranging from IT and consumer goods to clean technology and advanced material – and the influence these advances are having or stand to have on the global economy.
“Shanghai is a city where entrepreneurial interests are exploding,” UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian said in a statement. “UCLA Anderson’s long interest in and commitment to supporting aspiring entrepreneurs and drivers of change bring us naturally to Shanghai, where we can help support tomorrow’s market leaders.”
The conference has been designed to attract both multinational tech companies and aspiring entrepreneurs. The conference’s first day features executives from global companies, corporate venture groups, government entities and start-up companies engaging in candid discussions on a wide array of topics, including promoting and sourcing innovation, making equity investments, forming strategic alliances, engaging in cross-border partnerships and negotiating joint ventures.
Tomorrow, the conference will feature faculty members from UCLA Anderson’s Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and the Center for Global Management giving aspiring entrepreneurs an overview of the business skills and knowledge required to bring potential products and services to market within China and internationally.
Shanghai-based investment and advisory firm China Materialia LLC has helped to host the inaugural conference along with UCLA Anderson and UC Irvine. China Materialia co-founder and CEO Dr. Min Zhou notes that one of the greatest benefits of the conference will be the networking opportunities it provides to companies, entrepreneurs and investors. “It also introduces the business community to UCLA Anderson’s Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and its Center for Global Management, both of which are eager to share their experience and expertise as China grows from being a manufacturing-driven economy to one focusing on innovation and development,” Zhou said in a statement.
The conference serves as a prelude to UCLA’s new Entrepreneurial Certification Program in Shanghai, which is slated to bring in January 2014 and will include modules on strategy, finance, operations, market assessment and other aspects of getting a new enterprise up and running.
