From Engineers to Innovators
and Entrepreneurs
Yang Yang
ShanghaiTech University
www.ShanghaiTech.edu.cn
The 2012 Workshop on Innovations in ICT
Education, 22-23 Oct. 2012, Beijing, China.
Entrepreneurship: why and what
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Frank Huband: “Society needs engineers who not only
solve engineering problems, but who can participate in
bringing ideas and products to market.”
Peter F. Drucker: "Innovation is the specific tool of
entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change
as an opportunity for a different business or a different
service.”
Thomas Edison: "I never perfected an invention that I
did not think about in terms of the service it might give
others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed
to invent.”
Bill Gates: "We were young, but we had good advice
and good ideas and lots of enthusiasm.”
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Chinese Student Entrepreneurs
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China’s Reluctant Young Entrepreneurs, The
Wall Street Journal, 19 June 2012
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Entrepreneur: 1% four-year college graduates and
2.2% vocational-college graduates in 2011
Innovation: “Some start-up programs by Chinese
students are simply copycats.” angel capital investor
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Business: mostly restaurants, pig farms, e-commerce,
transportation and storage in less developed areas
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Funding: 80%+ from parents and relatives
Source: “2012 Graduate Employment Report”, Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences and MyCOS Research Institute, June 2012.
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Chinese Students in the US
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Annual Report on the Development of China’s Study
Abroad, Center for China and Globalization, Social
Sciences Academic Press, September 2012.
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In 2011, 22%+ overseas students in the US
are from China, totally 157.6K.
More young-age high-school students are
choosing undergraduate programs in the US.
Chinese Applicants Flood U.S. Graduate
Schools, Wall Street Journal, 3 April 2012.
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China contributes about 50% international
graduate applicants to the US in 2012.
2012 is the 7th consecutive year of doubledigit gains from China.
Source: Council of
Graduate Schools
Life is a game: a success story in the US
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City King, Funton, launched 2 May 2012
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By two 25 y/o Chinese student entrepreneurs,
Wu and Lan, graduates of USC and CMU.
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It transforms local hot spots into battlefields by creating
game maps around the city based on players’ actual
geographic locations (using iPhone's GPS).
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Most popular location based games on iPhone.
Why be the mayor of your city when you can be the king!
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Our Challenges in China – 1
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Economy: according to the IMF and the World
Bank, GDP per capita of the US and China are
USD 48.4K and USD 5.4K, respectively, in 2011.
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Policy: local governments and taxes still favor
foreign investments and international companies.
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Most Chinese graduates need quickly find a stable job
for making money and resolving their daily needs.
New enterprises face huge competitive disadvantages.
Culture: rooted in the Confucianism, Chinese
society values stability, harmony and conformity.
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The spirit of cautious and modest is a traditional value.6
Our Challenges in China – 2
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Society and Family: a hierarchy with regulators
and parents usually making the final decisions.
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People still need time to gain knowledge and experience
of capitalism, entrepreneurship and wealth creation.
Education and Student: rote learning, but lack of
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Knowledge in finance, management, market, business
Ability of independent, creative and critical thinking
Skills in communications, interpersonal/public relations,
leadership, solving problems and learning quickly
Funding from angel investors and public resources
Characters of curiosity, ambition, passion, courage of
taking risks and overcoming failures, spirit of adventure
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Questions
How should we address these challenges in
future ICT curriculum design?
How should we provide better ICT education
for students, industry and society?
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Responses of China’s Higher Education
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Private liberal arts college, Tianjin, 2013 (by Fujia Yang)
ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 2012
New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, 2012
South University of Science and Technology of China,
Shenzhen, 2010
University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Joint Institute, Shanghai, 2006.
Xi’an Jiao Tong – Liverpool University, Suzhou, 2005
The University of Nottingham Ningbo, Ningbo, 2004
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With Eye to Innovation, China Revamps its Universities,
Science, 10 August 2012
Daring Experiment in Higher Education Opens its Doors,
Science, 8 April 2011
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ShanghaiTech: Vision
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With people-centered development as the core value
of the university, ShanghaiTech will create a dynamic
hub where research, education, and innovation
meet to provide a multi-disciplinary approach for
learning and solving challenging problems facing the
society. The university is designed to be small,
focused on pursuing excellence and promoting open
collaborations with those share the same vision.
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Founding Members: the Shanghai Municipal
Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
endorsed by the Ministry of Education in April 2012.
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ShanghaiTech: R&D Facilities
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12 state key laboratories at local research institutes of CAS
State-of-the-art scientific equipments and platforms
Engineering centers and commercialization bases
Shanghai Synchrotron
Radiation Facility
National Center for
Drug Screening
ShenGuang-II
Laser Facility
Chinese National
Compound Library
National Protein Science
Facility-Shanghai
Shanghai Chenshan
Plant Science
Research Center
65m Radio Telescope
Shanghai Engineering
Center for
Microsatellites 11
ShanghaiTech: Campus Master Plan
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Architect: Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners
Award: 2012 Merit Award for Urban Design,
American Institute of Architects, California Council
Keywords: open, interdisciplinary, interaction, exchange,
communications, local engagement, global collaborations
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ShanghaiTech: Goal of ICT Education
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To promote economic growth and social progress
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Research: Science Masters  New Knowledge
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Innovation: Creative Engineers  New Technology
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Entrepreneurship: Business Leaders  New Economy
James Clerk Maxwell, Electromagnetic
Theory, The 1st permanent color photograph
Guglielmo Marconi, Inventor of Radio
Entrepreneur of Wireless Telegraphy
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ShanghaiTech: ICT Curriculum Design
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Objective: to transform our graduates from
engineers to innovators and entrepreneurs
Approaches:
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Time: students could suspend and resume their study
Knowledge: business-focused college courses on
entrepreneurship, finance, management and market
Ability and Skills: problem-based learning, group project,
business competition, seminar, workshop, study exchange
Funding: university, and close partnerships with venture
capital, local government and high-tech companies
Culture and Environment: Shanghai Pudong Science and
Technology Park of CAS, Zhangjiang high-tech industrial
development zone, Yangtze river delta economy district 14
ShanghaiTech: ICT Faculty Members
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龚惠兴
Full-time Professors: we are recruiting active researchers
with exceptional track records or strong potentials
Adjunct Professors: 50+ leading researchers from different
research institutes of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Visiting Professors: leading researchers from world-class
universities and research institutions
Keywords: interdisciplinary, international, innovative,
experience, entrepreneurship, leadership
陈桂林
方家熊
何 力
封松林 张钊锋
宋应文
王跃林
曹俊诚
钱15 骅
ShanghaiTech: New Thinking,
New Design, New Opportunities …
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For students, us, industry, economy and society.
Let the bullets fly
上海就是浦东，浦东就是上海
Shanghai is Pudong, Pudong is Shanghai 16
Thank you very much for your attention.
Many thanks to Professor Ke Gong and
Professor Zide Du for inviting me.
Dr. Yang Yang
YangYang@ShanghaiTech.edu.cn