INNOVATE 2006: A conference on globalization, technology
and leadership
By Amy Nagengast (BS 2006) with certificates in
technical communication, leadership and international engineering
 ake a look on the back of your everyday items
to see where they are manufactured. I did this to a variety of products:
my digital camera, calculator, hole puncher, glasses case and water
bottle, to name a few. Similar to all those products was the imprinted
“Made in China” label.
China, with a booming population of more than 1.3
billion people, has become home to many manufacturing facilities and
final assembly plants for countries around the world because of China’s
abundant supply of migrant workers. It is no wonder why so many products
state “Made in China.” In hopes to gain more insight into
how China and its leading trading partner, Japan, fit into the industrial
world, I applied to participate in a conference called INNOVATE
2006. The conference focus had little to do with my civil and environmental
engineering major at UW-Madison, but instead took a closer look at broader
issues facing the world today. The aim of INNOVATE was to examine the
relationship between innovation, globalization, leadership and business
in the contemporary marketplace by visiting and comparing China, Japan
and the United States.
From March 10-19, 2006, 70 delegates representing
30 different majors and 10 countries flew around the world and convened
in the booming industrial city of Shanghai. Greeting me when I arrived
was a sprawling skyline of 6,000 skyscrapers built in the last 20 years,
a sophisticated highway network, and a population of more than 17 million
people—and this was only the beginning. Soon to follow were the
bilingual opening speeches by prominent Chinese executive vice presidents
and company founders.
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Nagengast (bottom
center) was among 70 students worldwide to attend INNOVATE 2006.
(View
larger image) |
The first half of the conference resided in Shanghai
with presentations by well respected and distinguished Chinese engineers,
businessman and architects laying out their perspectives of manufacturing
in China and how and why it became the world’s factory. Plant
tours of Sanmina-SCI and Microport Medical gave insight into the challenges
of protecting intellectual property and innovation in China. Gained
from this experience was the realization that innovation had relatively
little to do with a brilliant new product idea but instead capsulated
location, timing and people. To start a company in China is very difficult
because personal relationships dictate business transactions. Because
of this, many start-up companies do not succeed past the fifth year.
From the little I got to see and do in Shanghai, I believe it is a city
that has a personality and a style all its own. With the multitude of
bicycles, mopeds and pedestrians, no street seemed empty, but rather
full of life.
The second part of INNOVATE concentrated on Japan
and its leading role in the high technology industry around the world.
Taking a look at the seamless and fluid inner workings of one of Toyota’s
manufacturing plants or the innovative designs of Panasonic’s
product showroom, it is no wonder why Japan is on the cutting edge of
technology. As a country it invests at least 3 percent of its gross
domestic product back into research and development. Many of its universities
are globally known and have close ties and partnerships with industry.
In addition to holding a large portion of the global consumer electronic
industry, technology is embedded in Japanese society. Whether it is
the digital speed limit signs that can vary with the weather, vending
machines dispensing hot and cold beverages, or unique toilets with heated
seats, the Japanese are in a league all their own. Would I return to
Japan? Absolutely.
The distinguished lecturers and factory tours sparked
tremendous conversation and insight among the delegates. However, the
heartfelt and genuine attendees made the conference—especially
the host delegates from China and Japan, whose hospitality and caring
nature for each foreigner cannot go unmentioned. INNOVATE brought together
very intelligent students, faculty and industry professionals who all
have a fond interest in globalization and technology and see its importance
in the future.
INNOVATE just scratched the surface of understanding
globalization. People now are more connected and can travel with relative
ease compared to years past. With the rise of the Internet, information
can be shared quickly so that international business is almost a given
in any sector. I believe that even if you are dealing across cultures
and countries without traveling, having global experience and understanding
is priceless and essential in today’s society. Knowing how to
eat with chopsticks and having knowledge of a particular field is not
enough. The world is changing and the questions are, “How do you
fit within globalization, technology and innovation? What will your
role be?”
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