2017 NTU EMBA West Coast Program, attended by 24 Fudan Program students, led by Prof. Chen Hong-Ji, took on a 6-day visiting course at the Stanford University and the Silicon Valley. With the topic of “Entrepreneur Innovation”, the students experienced the liberal culture at the Stanford and the entrepreneur-friendly environment at the Silicon Valley. The students first started with four days of classes taught by, among others, celebrity professor Jerry Porras, and discussed in depth on eastern and western business management strategies. These classes included innovation and sustainable development challenges for leadership; optimization of corporate management and operation innovation; longevity for global enterprise; big data application and business intelligence; new ideas and new momentums in the global trend; and innovation ecology in the Silicon Valley: innovation and financing strategies for start-ups.

This year a special field trip to the D-School at the Stanford was arranged for our students to appreciate first-hand their teaching designed to inspire ideas, relaxed and comfortable learning environment, and Eliciting Teaching that cultivates students’ capacity in innovative entrepreneurship. Corporate field trip included several top-rated companies, such as Google, Founders Space, and IDEO; our students were able to observe in close range about innovative operations and entrepreneur practices at American companies.

Thanks to the collaboration between NTU EMBA and Stanford’s SDGC（Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness), our intensive but fruitful West Coast Program this year had not only inspired new ideas among our EMBA students, but also expanded their global vision for business management.