MIT's Global TIES 2004: India and China's Entrepreneurial Trajectory

A two-day MIT Global TIES (Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Series) annual conference was held on December 2 - 3, 2004, at the Stratton Student Center of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts. Over 200 participants, including leading executives, entrepreneurs, investment professionals, as well as students and alumni from top universities, attended this first annual event of MIT Global TIES, discussing the investment and entrepreneurial environments in Asia.

At the opening ceremony, Bob Suh, the chief technology strategist and senior partner of Accenture, briefly reviewed the current market and investment environments in Asia. Following the opening speech, Mr. Suh, Neil Hirshman, a partner of the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP,  Jag Dalal of Jdalal Associates, and a number of other top executives, consultants and academics from China, India and the US, led a series of workshops that cover topics including how to gain maximum value for offshoring/outsourcing operations in Asia and how to develop new international markets in developing countries.

Speakers on the second day of the conference include Robert Mao, CEO of Nortel Networks (China), Kevin Chen, President of Shanghai South Gene Tech, Bill Huang, CTO of UTStarcom, Shujin Li, CFO of Shanda Interactive, Xiaoge Xiong, a Managing Director of IDG Ventures, Andrew Kau, a Managing Director of Walden International, Professor Lester Thurow, former dean of MIT Sloan School of Management and others. Through showcases of highly successful Indian and Chinese companies, those speakers shared with the audience their experiences and lessons as well as their understanding of the entrepreneurial environments in mainland China and India.

This MIT Global TIES 2004 conference was co-organized by five student organizations at MIT, including Venture Capital and Private Equity Club, Asian Business Club, Indian Business Club, the Indians Student Association and the Chinese Students & Scholars Association. The main purpose of the event was to build bridges between clusters of entrepreneurship, innovation and technology around the world and to provide entrepreneurs with new ideas and information.

This article appeared in its entirety in the  World Journal.