Imperial College London startups toured China in September visiting Shenzhen, Bejing, Hong Kong and Tianjin showcasing the wide variety of entrepreneurship ventures to come from Imperial.
The delegations first stop was Shenzhen, a megacity with a booming economy and home to some of China’s most exciting startups and global corporations. Here the students were introduced to contacts within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The next stop on the trip was a visit to X-Lab at Tsingua University, Bejing, to share best practise and visit China’s capital.
Next the startups attended the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin. The event, described as ‘the foremost global summit on innovation, science and technology, promoting entrepreneurship in the global public interest’, is organised by the World Economic Forum, which established in 1971 as a non-profit foundation. Imperial has built a strong relationship with the organisers of the World Economic Forum over the last few years but this was the first time we’ve been invited to bring a delegation of startups to demonstrate what we do.
The last stop on the China tour was Hong Kong where the startups showcased their businesses at an Imperial alumni event hosted by Vice President Professor David Gann.
For the Enterprise Lab, the purpose of the trip was to create more international opportunities, facilitate connections and educate the alumni/student startups on the opportunities and networks in an overseas market. China is of particular interest with Imperial being it’s top STEM collaborator in the UK. The College also has more than 2,600 Chinese students and 7,000 alumni in China.
Imperial delegation at the World Economic Forum
