Doing Business in India Conference
Walker School of Business & Technology (WSBT), led by Prof. Dominique Jolly, hosted a public conference called “Doing Business with India”, which focused on the expansion of Swiss-Indian business connections. It marked the auspicious occasion of the launch of the Walker School’s new Market Access Program, a new collaboration between the Webster’s WSBT and EuroAlliance, SA. The Market Access Program will leverage expertise from both the University and industry leaders, on topics critical for cross-border expansion, ranging from Block Chain technology to Cybersecurity.
His Excellency George Sibi, Ambassador of India to Switzerland, delivered a warm and insightful inaugural address that highlighted the range, depth and growth trajectory of business relations between the nations--after three summit-level visits between the countries in recent years, which are an indicator of how each sees the opportunities expanding in the other.
On the eve of the much-anticipated Indian elections, in which over 900 million are likely to vote in the coming weeks, the Ambassador spoke about the strong ties between India. While India has already begun the long transformation toward a knowledge-based economy, it remains a “land of a billion opportunities” for Swiss companies, HE Ambassador Sibi said, because of the talents and aspirations of its people—and also due to the very natural links between the countries across areas of science, capital, knowledge and technology.
These remarks were followed by a welcome from Vincent Subilia, Assistant Director General of Geneva’s Chamber of Commerce (CCIG), who spoke about how Geneva serves as a gateway for Indian businesses to access Switzerland (and vice-versa). The Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce was another co-organizer of the conference, which brought together leading experts on panels to discuss (1) market opportunities, (2) best practices for managing business risks in new ventures, and (3) to explore aspects of technology creation, innovation and R&D in India.
Prof. Dominique Jolly, Chair of the Walker School, conceptualized the themes for the three panels (see conference agenda). Panels were led by Ivan Coste, Professor at SKEMA Business School, Samuel Wee, Founder and CEO of Cohesion Dynamics and Georges Haour, Professor of International Management at IMD, respectively. Webster Geneva Campus extends its gratitude to all the panelists for their time and sharing of expertise, and especially to the Indian Embassy, to the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce, CCIG and to EuroAlliance.
The event was not complete without an infusion of Indian culture: at the conference kickoff, participants were led through a short series of yoga techniques that can reduce stress at work and bring us back to the present moment, and later a brief performance of traditional Indian dance entertained guests, during the second conference break. Stay tuned to Webster’s future announcements about the activities of the Market Access Program.