Between August 20 and 25 2018, under the leadership of Professor Duan Zhirong of Tsinghua SEM, Tsinghua MBA FinLab team went to Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, for project presentation and field trip to local government agencies and enterprises. The local project partners this year are MIP Electronics Oy (hereinafter referred to as MIP) and Wirepas Oy (hereinafter referred to as Wirepas). 

MIP, with its core business to provide Opacity Monitor for Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS), is a high-tech manufacturer with independent research, production and sales capability, emphasizing much on the huge potential of China’s market. At the introduction of Business Finland, MIP becomes the cooperative enterprise of Tsinghua MBA FinLab project. Members of Tsinghua MBA FinLab project team for MIP are He Shan (17GMBA), Liu Yang (17PMBA), Wang Min (17GMBA) and Wang Qianzhou (17GMBA).

At the beginning of April 2018, the team had a successful project initiating meeting with its matched counterpart, Jouni Lukkari, who is MIP’s partner. During April and August when the project was implemented, Tsinghua FinLab-MIP team maintained close contact and communication with enterprises. By adopting various means and methods, such as extensive literature study, research in policy and the industry, interview with people in academic field and the industry, and product investigation, as well as by making full use of its own advantages and resources from all other sides, the team finished their research and consulting work and the written report in middle August. On August 20, the MIP project team came to Helsinki with their research results, made presentations to enterprises and introducing China’s market and the market access.

After a relaxing and fun tour of the enterprises, the official project presentation began. Firstly, Professor Duan Zhirong made a brief introduction to the project, including FinLab’s background, executive process, ways of work and adjustment of resources. Following that, members of the team reported the specific project results to MIP by turns on aspects of China’s environment regulatory policy, market potential and product certification.

After the completion of team presentation at MIP Electronics

      The second project of 2018 FinLab is about Wirepas, a communication software company established by core staff working previously at Nokia and Microsoft. The company takes the mesh networking of innovative IoT as its core technology and has obtained substantial support from Finland’s government. Tsinghua FinLab team for Wirepas is composed of four members: Liang Jin (17GMBA), Jin Yilin (17GMBA, South Korea), Chen Licun (17GMBA, Thailand), and Shen Guoliang (17PMBA).  

The field trip to Wirepas and project presentation was on August 24. The presentation focused on analyzing Wirepas’ strategy of entering China’s market, and covered extensive issues ranging from macro market research like market research in application segmentation, competition analysis, industrial chain map analysis to specific matters like software copyright protection strategy, local hardware manufacturing partner, and marketing method. In the consulting process, Wirepas provides complete trust and information to the team, and invites the team for exchanges with the company’s lawyer, sales staff and partners across the globe, enabling the team to conduct work based on possession of comprehensive counselling and information.

After the completion of presentation at Wirepas

On August 22, members of both teams for MIP and Wirepas went to Business Finland for visit and project presentation. Mr. Petri Haahti and Mrs. Sari Paavilainen, being in charge of Business Finland’s FinLab project, received both teams of Tsinghua MBA students. Mr. Haahti made an introduction to Business Finland’s organization transformation, mission and objective, and responsibility and task. Students marvelled at the company’s global office network and its outstanding contribution to promoting the economic development and technological innovation of local small and medium-sized enterprises and the country itself.

After the completion of project presentation at Business Finland

With the solid preliminary preparation, sufficient first-hand materials, pragmatic and comprehensive suggestions, excellent presentation on site, and smooth exchanges and interaction, both teams of Tsinghua MBA FinLab finished their five-day field trip of presentation and won unanimous recognition and applause from MIP, Wirepas and Business Finland with their fruitful outcomes. Members of both teams obtained professional counselling experience, practised fully the theoretical knowledge they have obtained in the first year of MBA study, and they also gained very precious friendship in work and unforgettable travel experience during the cross-cultural interaction with northern European companies. Their counselling outcome of high quality has significance to Finland’s enterprises willing to enter China’s market, which also lays a sound foundation for the following cooperation between Tsinghua SEM MBA project and Business Finland.  

Written by: Liang Jin, He Shan

Edited by: Duan Zhirong, Li Yanmin, Wang Yang

Reviewed by: Ma Jia

FinLab: As a management consulting project co-worked by Tsinghua SEM MBA Programs and Business Finland, it aims to accumulate the wisdom of Tsinghua MBA faculty and students, and to establish a bridge of communication in innovation and business between both countries and cultivating international talents by providing strategic counselling and business plan design for Finland’s small and medium-sized companies that participate in Business Finland’s relevant plan to enter the Chinese market. The field for cooperation includes health benefits, clean energy, smart city, scarce resource interactive media and knowledge-intensive service. By 2018, 23 Tsinghua MBA students have participated in finishing 5 FinLab projects.