As the weeklong module drew to a close, students reflected on their experiences during Fudan University School of Management Global Network Week, which concluded on October 23 with an overview of Chinese intellectual property laws taught by Fudan University School of Law Professor Ma Zhongfa.  

Sudhir Kumar Raparla, an MBA student at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, said he was attracted to Fudan’s module because of its emphasis on market-entry strategies. Raparla said he plans to focus on technology startups when he graduates and said that there are many lessons from China that can be applied to Indian markets.

“E-commerce is picking up quite well in India, but it’s not as profitable as it is in China yet,” Raparla said. “The best takeaway from this course for me was to reflect on my own situation and ask, ‘What are the difficulties facing India?’ In China, companies had to modify their plan to fit China. I find that really interesting. I think I can take some of the strategies, apply them at home, and hopefully bring Indian companies here later.”

Marian Macapanpan, an MBA student from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines, said she learned from the module that building strong relationships in China is essential to growing a successful business.

“While we are mostly taught in the Western methods in the Philippines, we still emphasize how important relationships are in Asian culture,” Macapanpan said. “It’s a completely different level in China, though: here, those relationships are everything. It’s not just ‘business is business’ and that’s that. The sessions gave me a better understanding of the Chinese landscape, and I think that idea of strong relationships is something you can transfer to Western business, too.”