European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (Shanghai)

R&D Working Group 

Upcoming Working Group Meeting: Digital R&D and the 2016 Position Paper
Wednesday 16^th March 2016, 3pm-5:30pm

Solvay R&D Centre in Minhang

No.3966 Jindu Rd., Xinzhuang Industrial Zone, Minhang District.

Dear R&D Working Group Members, 

The next R&D Working Group meeting is scheduled on Wednesday 16^th March at 3pm in Shanghai. We will be welcoming Ms. Sunny Wang, PLM Owner at SAP who will be speaking on recent trends and innovation in the digitalisation of R&D operations. Furthermore, important matters to be discussed are the 2016/2017 Position Paper as well as the Chair elections. At the end of the meeting, Pascal Metivier, Research & Innovation Director Asia at Solvay and Chair to the R&D Working Group will take interested participants on a guided tour through the Solvay R&D Centre’s facilities.

Digitalisation of R&D: Trends and Possibilities

Consumer-facing companies have seen digitalization evolve business methods for quite some time now. Especially, in China, which has been on the forefront of adopting digital change in the form of innovative consumer apps, payment methods and others it has radically changed the way business is done over the past 5 years. Nevertheless, while R&D is among those business divisions most directly associated with innovation, R&D professionals are still only gradually getting acquainted with new digital R&D methods that can help streamline their innovation process and maximize efficiency. Ms. Sunny Wanng will help expedite this process by explaining how digital product innovations can assist R&D systems, how we can leverage data analytics to optimize R&D, and how to use digital R&D programs including computer modelling and simulation software to design and conduct experiments.  

2016/2017  R&D Working Group Position Paper
We will also kick off discussions for the 2016-2017 Position Paper. The Position Paper is the European Chamber’s key lobbying document and is widely recognised by the Chinese and European governments, EU institutions, business associations and the media as the authoritative voice of EU business in China. It is used extensively for policy considerations, bilateral discussions, cooperation projects and background information. The value and importance of a well-written and well-represented R&D Position Paper cannot be overstated. Working Group members are encouraged to review last year’s R&D Position Paper and identify internally the key issues to be included in the upcoming 2016-2017 edition. Working Group members are requested to come to the Working Group meeting with concerns and recommendations. This year’s Position Paper will see an important role for the 13^th Five Year Plan, which is to be launched sometime in March. Furthermore we will need to make up balance on what progress has been booked over the past year and where additional emphasis is required. Please find attached for your reference last year’s R&D Position Paper.

Chairs election: Call for Candidates
Additionally, it’s once again time for the annual Chair elections this month. The R&D Chairs and Vice-Chairs play a crucial role in driving the Working Group, which includes a leadership role in the drafting of the Position Paper, communicating key messages to Chinese and European government authorities and steering Working Group meetings. The R&D Working Group can have, at most, one Chair and two Vice-Chairs. According to European Chamber guidelines, members must be present at the Working Group meeting to register a vote for the Chair elections.

Should you be interested in putting your name forward for election, please read the attached Working Group Chairs’ Code of Conduct and Roles and Responsibilities documents, then express your interest in running by sending a note to Robert Slavenburg at rjslavenburg@europeanchamber.com.

Agenda

•        15:00 – 15:10: Welcome remarks by Pascal Metivier, Chair to the R&D Working Group                

•        15:10 – 15:45: Presentation on the digitalisation of R&D by Ms. Sunny Wang, Product Manager at SAP Labs China

•        15:45 – 16:00: Q&A                                                                                                                                                              

•        16:00 – 16:50: Discussion of the R&D 2016/2017  R&D Working Group Position Paper
•        16:45 – 17:00: Chair election announcement & call for candidates
•        17:00 – 17:30: Tour of the Solvay R&D Centre facilities in Minhang led by Pascal Metivier, Research & Innovation Director Asia at Solvay and Chair to the R&D Working Group

                                                                       
Speaker
Ms. Sunny Wang, PLM Product Manager at SAP Labs China
Sunny has been working on PLM solution development role for the past 8 years, taking a wide range of responsibilities, including PLM portfolio management, Customer engagement to roll-in requirements and roll-out latest solutions, Partner and Ecosystem management, in addition to her main role as of PLM solution design and delivery. Prior to working at SAP, Sunny was working as product lifecycle manager in an international company providing telecommunication equipment. Sunny Wang graduated with a bachelors in Electronic and Information System Engineering in 1997, and obtained her MBA from Fudan University in 2009 along with an executive leadership diploma at CEBIS in 2015.

If you would like to participate in this Working Group meeting, please register by sending an email to Mr. Lingfeng Xu at lfxu@europeanchamber.com.cnby Tuesday 15^th March.

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