MAS MTEC goes to China

How will China’s economy develop in the coming years? The phenomenal growth of the Chinese economy in the past 30 years has enabled it to become the second-largest in the world. China is in a transition phase. It cannot compete on costs anymore. Hence, it has to develop strategies and policies to foster innovation. During the study trip, the participants gained unique insights into the interplay of economic, political and cultural factors in China.

The programme agenda featured visits to Chinese and Swiss companies and was developed and implemented in collaboration with external page Swissnex China. The participants visited the facilities of external page Bühler, external page Ctrip (a leading Chinese online travel agency) and external page Roche Diagnostics. They worked in groups to apply their newly acquired knowledge to real-life cases of anonymised Swiss firms that have entered the Chinese market. These cases were developed in collaboration with Michael Lehmann, a Swiss consultant and entrepreneur with extensive experience of the Chinese business environment.

Students also had the opportunity to attend a design thinking workshop that helped them to develop solutions to cases at external page CEIBS, the Chinese Europe International Business School, which is ranked first in Asia for its executive education programmes. Several CEIBS Alumni were integrated into the student teams and shared their experiences of the Chinese business environment.

In addition, the trip included networking events with alumni and experts as well as touristic highlights, such as a visit to the historic area of the city and the waterfront Bund in central Shanghai. On the last day, the students jointly reflected on their impressions and the knowledge they had gained while on the trip.