17 student ambassadors went to Taiwan (Taipei and Hsinchu) and Hong Kong from January 4 to January 14, 2003. The group visited 25 companies, government officials in Taipei and Hong Kong, and participated in two alumni gatherings. The trip was a tremendous success and we have numerous positive feedbacks from the companies and alumni.

Modeled after the successful MediaTech club’s TechTrek franchise, this trip, like other TechTreks, provided opportunities for the students to gain an in-depth understanding of local businesses (with emphasis in the tech-tech and telecom sectors). In addition, we aimed to strengthen and extend MIT Sloan’s brand and MIT’s overall government and business networks in Asia.

To achieve the trip’s goal, we worked hard to prepare the students and have trip participants conducted company and industry research. A 200-page trip book was put together. In addition, we invited Sloan Deputy Dean Don Lessard to travel with the group, which gave us significant credibility with the companies and helped MIT Sloan to renew ties with government and business leaders. We also collaborated with other school and club initiatives such as recruiting company sponsors and partners for the Entrepreneurship Center’s G-lab and E-lab courses, the MIT internship/externship program, Sloan Spring China Trip 2003, and Global Leadership Forum business conference in 2004. These initiatives and discussions provided us with more follow-on opportunities with the people we met during the trip.

We are very grateful for the help of Epoch foundation and MIT/MIT Sloan alumni in arranging many of the meetings. Moreover, the time and effort of our company hosts and their executives are greatly appreciated.

In Taiwan:

• Mayor of Taipei – Mr. Ma Ying-jeou
• Chairman of BenQ – Mr. KY Lee
• Ex-Chairman of Chunghwa Telecom – Dr. Mao Chi-kuo
• Chairman of Delta Electronics – Mr. Bruce Cheng
• Chairman of Mitac/Synnex – Mr. Matthew Miao
• Chairman of Quanta – Mr. Barry Lam
• Vice Chairman of Inventec – Mr. Sayling Wen
• President of ITRI – Industrial Technology Research Institute – Dr. Chintay Shih
• CFO of Fubon Financial Services – Mr. Victor Kung
• Executive VP of Cathay Financial Services – Mr. Chang-Ken Lee
• Executive VP of China Industrial Development Bank – Mr. Bing Shen
• CEO & Senior VP of Chinatrust Financial Services – Mr. Jeffrey Koo, Jr. & Mr. Chao-Chin Tung
• Chairman of Global Strategic Investment Fund – Dr. George Yang
• General Partner, CID VC – Mr. David Yang
• Chairman & CEO of Industrial Bank of Taiwan – Mr. Kenneth C. M. Lo
• Executive Director of Epoch Foundation – Mr. Paul Hsu
• Senior VP of Uni-President Enterprise Group – Mr. Alex Lo
• VP of Sales & Marketing of ASUStek – Mr. Jonathan Tsang
• Former President of MIT Club of Taiwan & Lead Organizer of the 2002 MIT Asia-Pacific Alumni Conference – Mr. Frank Liu
• President of MIT Sloan Club in Taiwan – Mr. Tim Chan

In Hong Kong:

• Chairman of Bank of East Asia & Legislative Councilor – Dr. David Li
• Chairman of Li & Fung & Chairman of Hong Kong Airport Authority – Dr. Victor Fung
• Permanent Secretary for Planning & Lands of Government of Hong Kong – Mr. John Tsang
• Executive Director of China Unicom – Mr. Xing Hui Tan
• Managing Director of The Carlyle Group (Asia Ventures) – Mr. Gabriel Li
• Managing Directors at Warburg Pincus – Mr. Chang Sun and Mr. Wayne Tsou
• CFO of Legend Computers – Ms. Mary Ma
• Executive VP of Legend Capital – Mr. Hao Chen
• Chairman of Asia Spencer Stuart & Associates (Hong Kong) – Mr. Martin Tang
• Vice President of Bain & Company (Hong Kong) – Mr. Oliver Stratton
• CTO of Nortel Networks Asia Pacific – Mr. Conrad Labonté
• CFO of Chinadotcom – Mr. David Widdicombe
• President of MIT Club of Hong Kong & Partner of Baring Private Equity Partners Asia – Mr. Gordon Shaw
• President of MIT Sloan Club in Hong Kong – Mr. Siu Fung Chan

During the company visits, the students had stimulating discussion with the company hosts on strategic topics and industry-specific issues. Even though most of the trip participants had extensive experience living and working in the region, this trip has greatly broadened the students’ understanding of the technology value chain, the telecom industry, and the competitive landscape in the Greater China region. It was also an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ties between Asia business with the Asian Business Club as well as MIT Sloan.

Student Organizers:
Alex Chan, Joe Heitzeberg, Peggy Peng, Henry Tan, Hans Tung, Long Wong

Student Participants:
Tahsin Alam, Gee Len Cham, Yu Huang, Do Kyun (DK) Kim, Nhat-so Lam, Derrick Lay, Sam Lim, Kartika Prihadi, Miguel Sieh, Ervin Tu, Shih-yu Wang

Guests:
Spencer Fung, Claire Huang, Nhat-sheng Lam, Gina Lay, Jay Tung