Flyer
This symposium is part of the UCLA joint-center collaboration between the Asia Pacific Center (APC) and the Center for India and South Asia (CISA). This collaborative project focuses on Chinese and Indian immigrant entrepreneurship in a global era. Through the inter-center, interdisciplinary collaboration and comparative case studies of two of the largest immigrant groups—Chinese and Indians—in the United States, we aim to examine the changing nature of immigrant entrepreneurship in the context of globalization. We wish to investigate the following phenomena. One, how do social networks among the Indian and Chinese diasporas shape the formation of entrepreneurial cultures? Two, and conversely, what impact do entrepreneurial activities shape the formation of diasporic communities and networks. We are particularly interested in tracking the global and local forces that have transformed the ways in which immigrants start and run their own business, the importance of local and transnational networks in business, and the ways in which entrepreneurs and scholars understand the phenomenon.
Key themes to be explored are: immigration and entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial spirit and ethos, motivations and barriers, the formation of diasporic social networks, homeland connections and entrepreneurial development, and other related topics. The symposium will consist of one academic panel with scholars presenting their research findings and a roundtable discussion with panelists who are frontline entrepreneurs and an academic moderator. The symposium is open to public.
This program is made possible by a Cross-Center Collaborative Project Award from the UCLA International Institute, with additional support from the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA Anderson School Center for Global Management.
Schedule
2:00-2:15 Opening Session: Welcome Speeches
- Cindy Fan, Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement, UCLA
- Alfred E. Osborne, Jr., Interim Dean, UCLA Anderson School of Management (video)
- Chris Erickson, Senior Associate Vice Provost of International Studies and Director of International Institute, UCLA
- Akhil Gupta, Director, UCLA Center for India and South Asia
- Min Zhou, Director, UCLA Asia Pacific Center
2:15-4:15 Academic Panel: Immigration and Changing Dynamics of Immigrant Entrepreneurship
Moderator: Nan Jia, University of Southern California
- Wei Li, Arizona State University: “Chinese and Indian Immigration to the U.S.: Demographic, Socioeconomic Profiles and New Minority Depository Institutions”
- Masud Chand, Wichita State University: “Indian and Chinese Immigrant Entrepreneurship”
- Akhil Gupta and Purnima Mankekar, UCLA: “Can Brains Circulate? Indian Entrepreneurs in the IT and ITES Industry”
- Jing Y. Kwoh, Arizona State University: “Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Development: Two Case Studies of Chinese Small Business in Phoenix and Los Angeles”
- Anuradha Basu, San Jose State University: “Social Networks and Transnational Entrepreneurship”
4:15-4:30 Tea Break
4:30-6:00 Roundtable Discussion: Entrepreneurial Cultures and Networks
Moderator: Min Zhou, UCLA
- Leo Chu, President of California Casino Management
- John Chan, CEO of Avive
- Buck Gee, Retired VP/GM Cisco Systems & former CEO of Andiamo Systems
- Venkat Tadanki, Co-Founder & CEO of Secova