Dear R&D Working Group Members,
The European Chamber is pleased to invite you to the next R&D Working Group meeting Corporate-Startup Collaboration: from R&D to Business at 14:00-16:00, 5 July 2017 at the Unilever R&D Centre.
The collaboration between corporates and startups, as well as early-stage scaling businesses, has never been so crucial. Executives who wish to tap into this innovative startup DNA will realise that having a big checkbook is not enough, as reports indicate that many of this collaboration are merely superficial and few have made it through the experimental stage.
Where is R&D innovation heading in China? What should MNCs keep in mind while engaging with startups? What are the key factors for a smooth transition from the R&D to businesses? What are the current roadblocks for startups on their journey to successful collaboration? In the next R&D Working Group Meeting, the European Chamber is delighted to welcome Mason Wang, Director of Open Innovation at Unilever, and Xing Zhang, Vice Director of Industrial Technology Research Institute at MetaLab, to share with members their observations and insights of technology business incubation and commercialization in China with case studies. Tao Lin, Partner at Intebridge Capital will also offer his perspectives as a high-tech venture capitalist in panel discussion session.
Agenda
14:00 – 14:10: Welcome Remarks by Denis Bortzmeyer, Chair of the R&D Working Group
14:10 – 14:35: Foundry: Unilever's Platform to Collaborate with Startups by Mason Wang, Unilever
14:35 – 15:00: New Ways of R&D Innovation in China by Xing Zhang, MetaLab
15:00 – 15:50: Panel discussion + Q&A
After 15:50 : Closing remarks by Zhonghua Xu, Vice Chair of the R&D Working Group + Networking
Panelists
Mr. Denis Bortzmeyer, Director of Changshu R&D Center at Arkema
Mr. Zhonghua Xu, Chief Science Representative at Total
Mr. Mason Wang, Director of Open Innovation at Unilever
Ms. Xing Zhang, Vice Director of Industrial Technology Research Institute at MetaLab 迈科技
Mr. Tao Lin, Partner at Intebridge Capital 英智资本 (High-Tech Venture Capital)
Our Speakers
Mason Wang, Director of Open Innovation, Unilever R&D Shanghai
Mason was trained as a Biochemical Engineer with a PhD degree from East China University of Science & Technology at Shanghai in 1998. He started his career in Unilever in Apr, 1999 as a scientist in natural products research in Unilever R&D Shanghai. In 2005, he was appointed as the Head of Unilever Foods & Health Research Institute in Shanghai, leading Unilever tea and functional foods research in China. In Oct 2007, Mason became the Director of Research, Unilever China, looking after research programs on naturals, synthetic chemistry and new materials. From May 1st of 2011, Mason is the Unilever Open Innovation Director in Unilever R&D Shanghai, working to build Win-Win partnerships with corporations, SMEs, startups, research institutes, universities and individuals to deliver bigger, better and faster innovations.
Zhang Xing, Vice Director of Industrial Technology Research Institute, MetaLab
Zhang Xing graduated from National University of Singapore with master and bachelor degree in Environmental Engineering. She has worked for the largest foundation in Southeast Asia - Lien foundation based in Singapore focusing on enabling sustainable access to clean water and sanitation for Asia’s rural poor. She has successfully brought in water treatment technology to Myanmar, Vietnam, China and totally solved drinking water for 1 million people. She has worked for TUV Sud as a building engineer in Singapore. In 2016, she joined MetaLab as a professional technology transfer broker and has successfully worked out and scaled up the industrial& internet model to help MNCs to decrease cost and gain benefit from technology innovation.
To attend this meeting, please register here or by contacting Ms. Sio-Mei Ng at smng@europeanchamber.com.cn.