The final conference of the Zhongguancun Entrepreneurship Stimulation Camp for Undergraduate Pioneers and a promotional event concerning the participants’ most outstanding projects were held at People’s University on August 20.
About 150 undergraduates recommended by 20 universities in Beijing - such as People’s University, Beijing Normal University and China University of Mining - took part in the camp, which included a week of training sessions given by experts, including Zhongguancun entrepreneurs.
The training consisted of four parts: entrepreneurial theory, special training, a simulation exercise, and comprehensive training. Each day, eight undergraduate groups were required to give a project statement and members of other groups asked questions about the responsibilities of their team members and also concerning their business models. The exercise ended with the comments of entrepreneurial guides.
The training offered the undergraduates the opportunity to gain a better understanding of entrepreneurship and they also displayed improved skills of critical thinking, knowledge application, and decision making. A total of 25 of outstanding undergraduates were selected at the camp, and they promoted their projects to 30 venture capital firms - including Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital - at the promotional event. In addition, undergraduates and investors exchanged ideas about the prospects of the projects, market and technology issues，business models and financing requirements.
The iHiM project - which won the top award at the Challenge Cup national competition and aims to offer an online communication platform for overseas students - received extra attention from potential investors, and some said they would contact the creators of the project. The entrepreneurship stimulation camp program, which was initiated in late 2012 - and was organized by the Zhongguancun Science Park committee, the Beijing Education Committee, and the Beijing Communist Youth League Committee - is an essential part of the Zhongguancun Entrepreneurship Development Training for Undergraduates.
It offers training for undergraduates at universities around Zhongguancun, creating an entrepreneurial environment and aiming to increase Zhongguancun’s fresh graduate employment rate. Before the camp opened in July, the organizers held nine information sessions, featuring several of Zhongguancun’s famous entrepreneurs - including Liu Chuanzhi, founder of Lenovo, and Wang Xiaolan, the president of Time Group Inc - at several top universities, such as Peking University and Tsinghua.
Edited by Wang Yifei and Niva Whyman
