Alsua Presents at China’s First Global Innovation Conference

Carlos J. Alsua, Academic Director and Senior Lecturer in International Management and Global Entrepreneurship at the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, attended the first Global Innovation Conference at Tsinghua University in Beijing June 26-27. 

“They invited Entrepreneurship and Innovation experts from all over the world,” he said. “The University of Arizona is one of the world’s trendsetters in business entrepreneurship. It was an honor to be part of this conference with the world-renowned universities that were invited.” 

China is adjusting to a slowing economy in the wake of 20 years of explosive growth. The Chinese government has been pushing innovation-driven value-added growth as a solution to its new economy, and Tsinghua University has been declared one of China’s main innovation-driven universities, said Alsua.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the best tickets to social mobility, so if you want to achieve the new Chinese dream, you innovate and start value-added ventures,” Alsua explained.

At the plenary session, Dr. Alsua introduced his research, “Innovation and the process of empowerment: a preliminary review for managers in developing economies.”

“My topic was a little controversial,” he said. “I was asking how are you going to foster innovation in a controlled economy? How do you have people feel empowered to create value-added innovation? It can’t be top-down. You have to foster a culture that empowers people to innovate.”

Despite its provocative topic in the Chinese context, Dr. Alsua received positive feedback and he enjoyed the resulting discussion. That’s the importance of innovation conferences like this one, the exchange of knowledge, he said.

“Some very interesting things are happening in Entrepreneurship and Innovation around the world, and we are not always aware of them here in the U.S.,” he said.

“We are scholars but also practitioners,” Alsua added. “That’s what’s great about entrepreneurship and innovation – it’s applicable. We talk about real problems and how to find real solutions.”