From Mobile Technology Conference to Online Gaming Webinar, NECINA Focuses on the Cutting Edge

By David Li, bostonese.com

In the morning of March 31, there was a dusting of snow north of Boston. New England Chinese Information & Network Association (NECINA) held a tech conference titled Mobile Technology for Enterprise and Consumer Markets at Radisson Hotel in Chelmsford. Over 100 NECINA members attended the conference, with a dozen or so standing in the back of the conference room during the three-hour talk and panel discussion.

Speakers and NECINA organizers at the mobile conference

According to president Sean Shen, NECINA tried to stay at the cutting edge of technology. Mobile devices and software application have revolutionized the commercial behavior and daily life of ordinary people. In 2012, it was projected that number of smart-phone users would overtake that of other phones.

The four feature speakers were established entrepreneurs in the technology field. First speaker Cheng Wu is a co-founder and Chairman at Azuki, responsible for the company’s vision, corporate strategy and setting  the overall direction in the marketplace. Mr. Wu is a successful serial entrepreneur and well-acclaimed industry veteran, having founded and led numerous businesses spanning a range of different industries.

He shared his thoughts on new trends in mobile media and applications, and pointed out that more and more young people are watching TV on iPad and other tablets in bedroom instead of traditional TV set in the living room. Mobile technologies also begin to make headway into home appliances like refrigerators to make them more intelligent.

Sean Dalton was the second speaker, and he called Mr. Wu a treasure in the high tech industry in the New England region. Mr. Dalton is a General Partner who enjoys partnering with entrepreneurial teams leveraging disruptive technologies in the mobile, enterprise and media markets. He currently represents Highland on the boards of Calxeda, CENX, MovikNetworks, QDVision and Zoove. He also actively works with and MokaFive. He shared his perspectives on why and how investment should be made in mobile technologies, and success stories of his investments.

The other speakers included Nitin Sonawane, co-founder at ForgePond Inc., and Mark Watkins, general manager of Entertainment Content for Telenav. After the presentations, the four guest speakers joined by special panelist Lida Tang, answered many technical questions from the audience, including questions from NECINA’s general manager Ru Zheng. Mr. Lida Wang founded LiveCirrus in March 2010. He is an expert in developing consumer-facing products. He developed database applications that powered convention and visitor bureaus during high school and college. Two weeks before the mobile technology conference, NECINA’s YES 6.0 program hosted final business plan contest at IBM’s Innovation Center in Waltham. Two teams of young students presented their plans, and answered questions from four judges and from roughly 30 attendees. According to YES 6.0 director Daryl Luk, the winner of the business plan contest will be announced at NECINA’s annual meeting in June. The four judges (front row) and YES 6.0 contestants (second row).

On Thursday, April 12, NECINA will host an online webinar (http://bit.ly/nWebinar ). In this NECINA webinar, Ms. Si Shen, a high profile Chinese entrepreneur (and a "mini-celebrity"), will share with us her insights and experiences in founding and running Papaya Mobile, a Beijing-based start-up in the exciting space of social, mobile and gaming. After the talk, you will be able to interact with the speaker during the Q&A session. One week later, in the evening of April 19, a career development seminar hosted by NECINA will take place at IBM Innovation Center (404 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA).

For more information of NECINA’s events, please visit www.necina.org.