Program in English - Study Trip

Shanghai Study Trip (SST)

Shanghai, at the heart of the Yangtze Delta Economic region (producing over one third of the Chinese GDP), is the XXIst century’s most dynamic global business hub in the world.

It is also an important city for modern Jewish history, having been a safe haven for some 28,000 Jewish refugees from Nazi occupied Europe during WWII.

The Shanghai Study Trip is one of the most memorable courses in our curriculum and a good platform for business networking.

It includes (subject to change depending on availability and time constraints):

Visits of 4 firms in the great Shanghai area and meetings with Chinese managers
Visits of Chinese Industrial and R&D parks in Shanghai, Suzhou and Changzhou
Exchanges with some of the most reputed Shanghai MBA lecturers
Meetings with Chinese MBA students and graduates
Visit of Shanghai (including “Jewish Shanghai”) and of Suzhou (the Chinese Venice)
Culinary experience: tasting different Chinese cuisines
Shabbat dinner at Kehilat Shanghai with Jewish businesspersons from Israel, the US and Europe established in Shanghai

(*) subject to change

The cost of the Study Trip is not included in the tuition fee.

Our Study Trip to Shanghai and Suzhou – October 2019

The SST will be remembered by us, a group of eight students, as the peak and main highlight of the MBA programme at the University of Haifa. Our delegation, headed by Professor Chalom Schirman, had a unique opportunity to learn and visit leading business ventures in Shanghai and Suzhou, China. We visited companies, listened to experts doing business in China, participated in lectures at Shanghai’s leading Universities and more. Our intensive yet exciting study trip included among the main activities:

Visits of: Fosun Pharma (part of Fosun one of China’s biggest conglomerate and investment company); Philips Health care; IMD medical; Osmunda (two Chinses start-ups in Shanghai)

Exchanges with the management of: BAOZUN – one of the leading e-commerce company in China providing end-to-end services to the biggest brands in the world (it was a fascinating topic and presentation).

Meeting with Dr. Eyal Proper, Consul General of Israel in Shanghai – briefing about the strategic economic ties between Israel and China, its potential and challenges to the future.

Lecture by Prof. Wu Jing Dean of SIMBA, Tongji University about the challenges of China’s health systems and the challenges of foreign companies active in this field.

Lecture by Prof. Liu Jie, Director of MBA centre, Fudan University on the impact of the internet on Enterprise management.

A joint seminar with East China Normal university MBA students – participating in local students’ presentations and being proud to presents two topics on managements challenges by two of our delegation members.

We also travelled to Suzhou by fast train in first class, visiting the impressive Suzhou old city that is considered as “Venice of the East”; we had gastronomic experiences – tasting the best that Shanghai and Suzhou got to offer; we attended the Shanghai Circus – probably the world’s best acrobatic show and of course we spared some spare time for shopping in Shanghai – a shopping heaven.

We strongly recommend the SST to MBA students who have interest in the international business environment and especially in China, one of the most fascinating and growing economies of the world.

The whole group as one, describes the SST as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

My Study Trip to Shanghai

By Veronika Loiferman, Haifa U International MBA graduate, Lily Class (2016-2017)

The SST is undoubtedly the highlight of the International MBA Program. Eleven of us spent 8 exhilarating days in Shanghai and Suzhou. We were welcomed in 8 Chinese companies, from a huge State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) that builds infrastructure projects all over the world (including in Israel) to small start-ups in computer-assisted architecture and medical devices and to the China HQ of Nilit in Suzhou. We had enriching exchanges with senior managers of these companies and at FOSUN, one of China’s most successful private corporations in China that is already invested in several Israeli companies.

We were guests of Kehilat Shanghai where we met dozens of Israeli and Jewish businesspeople living and working in Shanghai. We attended useful presentations by Chinese MBA lecturers at Tongji University and by the deputy Consul General of Israel in Shanghai. We tasted different kinds of Chinese cuisine and learned to appreciate the originality and infinite diversity of the dishes. We had dinner with MBA graduates and students at ECNU (Haifa University partner in Shanghai) and had a chance to work with them on our projects in the Joint Seminar. We had a wonderful time at the best known Chinese circus. Of course, we had also time for shopping! Shopping in Shanghai is a rare experience and the organizers of the Trip are quite knowledgeable on the good places.

As a professional in the pharma industry, the SST organized for me a private fruitful encounter with an important Shanghai company in our field. Many other participants in the SST made promising professional contacts. Personal one-on-one contacts are the first necessary step for any kind of dealings in China.

Page updated

Report abuse