How do Chinese innovation pioneers organize for their Day After Tomorrow? Which Day After Tomorrow technologies are they investing in? What are their business models for the Day After Tomorrow?
Our tour will open your eyes to the rich possibilities of the East, shift your perspective and showcase tangible answers to the questions described above. Prepare to be blown away.
So sorry! This Innovation Tour is unfortunately over. Check our agenda for all our upcoming tours!
China is well on its way to becoming one of the top innovation nations in the world. For the last years, top pioneers in China have been outnumbering – and even out-innovating – the top companies in Silicon Valley. Alibaba, Tencent and Youku Tudou are just some of the most well-known examples. But the region is also a true hotbed for fresh and leading edge start-ups and scale-ups like Xiaomi, Didi Chuxing and Lu.com. One of the most striking differences with the West is the scale & speed of their endeavors. Chinese organizations do not just 'Think Big'. They 'Think Huge': beyond their company, beyond their products, their services, their country, their target market, and their competition. We have a lot to learn from their ambition.
Join us on an eye-opening innovation tour to Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Shanghai, three of the fastest growing innovation hubs in the world. Together we'll experience how Chinese organizations are able to innovate on such a mind-blowing scale, which role the government or the national culture have to play in this and what the latest tech and business trends of the East are. This tour will literally turn your perspective upside down.
Welcome to the Chinese ecosystem
Steven is an expert in customer focus in a digital world and in how our customers will behave in the Day After Tomorrow. He is a popular speaker at home and abroad. In his keynote presentations, Steven takes his audience on a journey to the world of modern customer relationships in a clever, enthusiastic and inspiring way. So far, he gave more than 750 keynote presentations, reaching more than 200.000 people in over 30 countries around the world and received several best speaker awards.
More about StevenPeter is a serial entrepreneur, Forbes contributor, LinkedIn Influencer, best-selling author and one of the most sought-after thought leaders on organizing for the Day After Tomorrow, radical innovation, leadership and the impact of all things digital on society and business. He has given numerous keynote speeches around the world, among which those for Google Think Performance, Nimbus Ninety, Gartner, NEXT Berlin, Tedx, PayPal, MasterCard, Microsoft, CIO City, SAS, Accenture and Apple. He lectures at renowned business schools like the London Business School, the MIT Sloan School of Management and the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine.
More about PeterWith more than 15-years of experience in the big 4 consultancy firms and as a former Director of Technology Consulting, Annick has a true passion for bridging business and IT. Her in-depth knowledge of IT strategy, roadmap design and creative pragmatism are a perfect match to detect our clients’ challenges and transform them into actionable “Day-after-tomorrow”-plans. Annick is a motivating business speaker. She has energized many workshops, roundtables, boardroom sessions and corporate events with eye-opening presentations and workshops about Customer Centricity, Customer Engagement, Customer Service and other technology-related business subjects.
More about AnnickFilip Caeldries is Professor Strategic Management at TIAS Business & Society in Tilburg. He focuses both on company specific Executive Programs, as on the Global Executive MBA. Having worked all over the globe & with a focus on competitive strategy, strategic change, organization development, and competition in transition markets, Filip has won numerous best teaching prizes.
More about FilipPeter, Annick & Steven are happy to welcome you on The Day After Tomorrow Tour in China.
Welcome to one of the fastest growing cities on earth!
Shenzhen has known exponential growth since it was labeled as SEZ or Special Economic Zone. Join the most populated area in the world & explore between the skyscrapers how innovation ignites.
We will show you Made In China 2.0. You'll discover that China is no longer a copy machine solely in search of economies of scale. They are reinventing companies, installing thriving networks (WeChat) & establishing a new service economy. And they do it extremely fast.
Buckle up!
Tencent has not one, not two, but three platforms with over 1 billion registered users! It doesn't stop there, they are also the largest gaming company in the world! At their offices in Shenzhen, you will hear about their relentless user focus, how they are organizing internal and external platforms and the culture needed for such an operating model. You might even get a peek into the future of digital services and technology!
Prof. Xu Hongbo is the Founder and CEO of InnoHub. He will share his insights as an angel investor with more than 20 years of experience in the field of Internet, strategic planning, product development, market development and angel investment. He will also invite some start-ups to present their products.
Is there a buzzing in your head, has the innovation driven you mad? No, we just arrived at DJI. They are manufacturing the technologically most advanced drones in the world. Growing at an almost unimaginable speed, they also started applying Artificial Intelligence. We can't tell whether you will be testing out the drones, or whether the drones will be testing you. Watch out, here they come!
We will walk around in Huaqiangbei guided by Filip & Dora.Huaqiangbei is an area and subdistrict of Futian, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. The area's status as a major electronics manufacturing hub, and sprawling electronics marketplaces have earned it (and Shenzhen) occidental nicknames such as "China's Silicon Valley", and the "Silicon Valley of Hardware"
Ready for innovation hub Hangzhou?
On Tuesday, we conclude visits in Shenzhen before we hop on a flight to Hangzhou. This flight is included in your trip.
There is no greater example of the story of Shenzhen than BYD. Starting out as a battery manufacturer competing on price only 20 years ago, today they are hailed as one of the most innovative companies in the world. They manufacture complex (components of) mobile phones. Even more impressive: they are a global leader in electric vehicle manufacturing and sales!
Don't be confused, the Beijing Genomics Institute is headquartered in Shenzhen! 15 years ago, they impressed the world by sequencing the genome of rice. Today they are working with all major pharmaceutical companies to better our understanding of the human genome. Digital technology won't get any more personal than this!
Refuel in Hangzhou, Diaoyutai Hotel and prepare for the next sprint
Ready for a full day in thé city of trade?
Hangzhou, the traditional capital of Chinese commerce, is where e-commerce is reinvented. We go and dive deeper: what is the warehouse magic behind this? How is entrepreneurship, investment & innovation nurtured & encouraged within this megalomaniac business center? And also: How does China cope with urbanisation? What is the new building on the block about? How does this system facilitate the enormous pace?
You might not know the mayor of Hangzhou, but you certainly do know Alibaba founder, Jack Ma. The company offers B2B, B2C and C2C platforms. Alibaba managed to sell for 17.8 billion USD on Singles' Day in 2016, beating many countries' yearly e-commerce numbers in a single day (pun intended)!
Dubbed “Hangzhou’s Silicon Valley”, Dream Town has attracted more than 500 venture projects and now houses 400-plus companies employing 4,000 young people, most 30 or younger. Here you will get a better view on how both venture capital and startups are operating in China.
Formerly known as Alipay, Ant Financial is part of the Alibaba Group. It operates the Alipay payment platform. The majority of online payments in China are handled on their platform. It's so easy they allow you to pay with a smile!
Ready for innovation hub Shanghai?
In the morning we conclude visits in Hangzhou before we head further East to Shanghai, the biggest city in China. It's one of the 3 biggest metropoles in the world after Tokio & Guangzhou (Shenzhen).
We'll discover how money works in the East & meet Western fellows gone East. Meet, share & explore! Be ignited for your own future because your inspiration trip is nearing the end & YOUR reinvention journey will start.
You might wonder how China manages teaching over a billion people the necessary skills to survive in these disruptive times. There are many answers. Mistong is one of them, specializing in providing an online education ecosystem, it is aiming to provide the biggest Chinese online study platform to middle school students.
Shanghai time
Last time we visited Youku Tudou, we saw our favorite action hero have a drink on the big screen. The amazing thing was that the drink we saw was tailored to each of ou individual tastes. It's been over a year now, and we are looking forward to explore what they have been up to since!
Enjoy your last supper in Shanghai with Westerners gone East.
Endulge in the stories brought to you by our network of Belgians and Europeans in Shanghai and beyond.
Last day in future paradise
Today we will experience the last company visits together. Expect Fintech, new technologies & how giants are getting innovation done in China before you return home.
At WPP, you'll hear about the 100 Chinese brands you didn't meet this week. Chirantan Ray, the managing director of Kantar Millward Brown will tell you all about the Chinese brand that will be coming our way. China is going West!
This visit was organized together with LDV United.
Chinaccelerator is the leading startup accelerator in Asia. Their mentorship-driven program helps internet startups from the world into China and from China to the world. They will tell you all about their program! You'll also get to meet the most impressive startups in their portfolio.
China is the country with the most supercomputers in the world. We wouldn't want you to miss out on meeting one. They do all kind of calculations. Among which weather forecast, drug design, life science, auto design, new material, civil engineering, physics, chemistry, aerospace, ...
CELAP is the place where the future leaders of China are being educated. Since the government plays a major role in the Chinese innovation ecosystem, it will prove to be very insightful to take a look at the source of Chinese lawmaking and policy. Beware, it's not only about regulation. There are, for example, extended studies being made about the potential of smart cities.
We wouldn't want you to miss out on all the blockchain activity happening in China, and more specifially in Shanghai. Wyre recently acquired the Chinese Remitsy, now it can send money around the world faster than e-mail!
Returning home with a inspiration fueled mind requires a moment of reflection. Expect to be challenged on your next steps. We are excited to learn how you'll act upon your Day After Tomorrow as of ... today!
138 Fuhua Third Road, Futian District
Shenzhen,
Guangdong
518048
China
65 Wuxing Road, Jianggan District
Hangzhou,
Zhejiang
310020
China
20 Nanjing Road East, Huangpu District
Shanghai,
200002
China