MS Shanghai Students Get an Inside Look at French Innovation

By Dr. William F. Smith

(Photo caption: Champlain College MS-EM Shanghai students at UbiFrance Event from Left: Jin Liu, Vera Sun, Kiki Jing, and Ming Hu. November 6, 2013)

News from Champlain College’s Master of Science in Emergent Media Shanghai campus: We had a successful month settling in and getting the program up and running, which included several wonderful opportunities for our students to network with industry groups, as well as, building our brand awareness in Shanghai.

Students began the month of November attending the UbiFrance’s Greater China Tech Tour 2013—a special networking event promoting the information communications technology (ICT) industry. The event was held at Le Royal Meridien Hotel which is located at the famous pedestrian shopping street on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai. (UbiFrance is the French Agency for International Business Development, under the aegis of France’s Ministry for the Economy, Finance & Industry.) At the event, students gained a unique glance into French Innovation. Fifteen French high-tech companies in the ICT industry showcased their innovation and technologies allowing students the opportunity to understand how the ICT industry conducts business, as well as targeting international collaboration opportunities. After the presentations, while snacking on a fabulous French cuisine buffet, students had an opportunity to network and talk with the representatives of the French companies.

This experience at UbiFrance, in addition to the students’ recent trip to the Hackerspace and Dr. Geoff Bell’s television debut (more to come soon), made for a lively and productive month in November. At the moment, students are wrapping up the 2013 fall semester. Next week students will present their final projects and look forward to a well-deserved holiday break.

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WilliamSmith100x133Dr. William F. Smith is Academic Program Director for the Champlain College MS in Emergent Media program in Shanghai, China. Smith received his PhD in Media & Communications from the European Graduate School in 2011 and has extensive experience in multicultural teaching at universities throughout Asia. He also has a background in academic research and professional media communications work.