The construction pace of the Shanghai International Science and Technology Innovation Center is accelerating.

Recently, the Shanghai Municipal Government announced the first batch of "city-district collaboration" trillion-industry clusters, involving 11 trillion-level leading industries in 7 districts. The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization stated that leading industries are the key points and main battlefields for the development of industries in each district. "Shanghai will continue to deepen city-district collaboration, continuously promote the characteristic development of each district, leverage the advantages of each district, focus on leading industries, delve into sub-tracks, and jointly promote Shanghai's characteristic industries to new heights, laying a solid foundation for creating world-class industry clusters."

In addition to the announcement of the trillion-industry clusters, the "2024 Yangtze River Delta Gathering Momentum Science and Technology Innovation Competition National Finals," co-hosted by the School of Management of Fudan University and the Shanghai Yangtze River Delta Business Innovation Research Institute, also kicked off in Shanghai. Lu Xiongwen, Dean of the School of Management of Fudan University, stated at the competition site that science and technology innovation is our future, and there is no second choice for the future. "We need to use the power of schools, professionalism, and resources to empower the cause of science and technology innovation, promote China to keep up with the pace of the world's scientific and technological revolution, and even lead the direction of the world's scientific and technological revolution."

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The reporter noticed that behind the creation of trillion-industry clusters and the hosting of the Yangtze River Delta Gathering Momentum Science and Technology Innovation Competition is the strong support of Shanghai Municipality for science and technology innovation and entrepreneurship, and the continuous advancement of building a strong science and technology country as an important engine.

Invest more resources in the competition ecosystem

Relevant data shows that since the Yangtze River Delta Gathering Momentum Science and Technology Innovation Competition started in November 2022, it has lasted for 3 years, held 2 seasons, passed through 3 provinces and 1 city of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui, and a total of 25 competitions have been held.

"The 2024 season has been continuously upgraded on the basis of the original ten million reward pool, adding the selection and awards of the angel group, and investing more resources in the competition ecosystem. This year's competition further selects the best. 235 preliminary competition projects have been through 15 online and offline events, and more than 100 professional judges have conducted strict reviews of 1206 project times, with a total of 30 projects entering the finals and 14 projects obtaining the ultimate competition qualification." The School of Management of Fudan University stated.

"Only by understanding the times can we have a future. At present, it is not competitors who eliminate us, but ourselves who have not kept up with the pace of the times." In the view of Qian Shizheng, a professor at the School of Management of Fudan University, humans are currently creating silicon-based intelligence with silicon-based life, thereby changing the world, and biotechnology and artificial intelligence are "grafting" together.

According to relevant data, among the 14 projects in this Yangtze River Delta Gathering Momentum Science and Technology Innovation Competition finals, the proportion of new generation information technology has reached 40%, and the proportion of the biological track has reached 45%. There are many innovative and entrepreneurial projects in the fields of automotive, intelligent manufacturing, etc., such as automotive autonomous driving millimeter wave radar (hereinafter referred to as "automotive autonomous driving"), nano-imprint high-end micro-nano manufacturing, etc.

According to the person in charge of the automotive autonomous driving millimeter wave radar participating project, the millimeter wave radar itself can not only see the front car through radio frequency technology but also see the front car, including the car with obstructions or on the highway, which can outline a more obvious drivable area."The company has currently secured orders from several leading enterprises in the commercialization phase, with annual sales exceeding one million units," said the person in charge of the autonomous driving project for automobiles. In the context of fierce market competition in China, the company has managed to obtain orders from top-tier manufacturers with the least amount of capital spent, which is a testament to the company's progress in commercial operations, subsequent management, technological iteration, and comprehensive capabilities in quality and supply chain management.

The person in charge of the nano-imprint high-end micro-nano manufacturing project stated, "The company is a high-end manufacturer primarily focused on the main business related to the production of nano-imprint templates, equipment, materials, and operational development. 'We currently possess the first inkjet printing board-to-board nano-imprint machine in the country, which has helped the company achieve initial research work on storage chips with processes below 20 nanometers in the entire market.'"

"In terms of materials, the company established a wholly-owned subsidiary in August 2022, mainly responsible for the research and development of nano-imprint materials. Currently, there are more than 40 mature materials, ranging from semiconductors to consumer, automotive, optical applications, and biomedical industries. The company has a very comprehensive range of related products, including mass production and shipment, all of which have been completed," further stated the person in charge of the nano-imprint high-end micro-nano manufacturing project.

Increase Support for Sci-Tech Innovation Enterprises

The first batch of "city-district collaboration" trillion-level industrial clusters, the "2024 Yangtze River Delta Sci-Tech Innovation Competition," and other strategic layouts and competitions related to sci-tech innovation are a reflection of the acceleration of the Shanghai International Science and Technology Innovation Center from "building frameworks" to "strengthening functions."

Previously, Shanghai Municipality stated that it will focus on strengthening the origination function of scientific and technological innovation, striving to become an important engine for the construction of a strong science and technology country. "Shanghai has gathered more than 80 high-end scientific research platforms with 'national' status, as well as a large number of new-type research and development institutions, and over 24,000 high-tech enterprises. We must strongly support these innovative entities to accelerate their development, build and utilize the national laboratories and national key laboratories in Shanghai, improve the innovation system of high-level research universities, cultivate more technology-leading enterprises with strong originality, and accelerate the development of a systematic strategic scientific and technological force."

At the same time, Shanghai relies on its two core functions of finance and sci-tech innovation to guide social capital in supporting technology enterprises in their early stages. Relevant data shows that Shanghai is a major gathering place for equity investment institutions, with more than 1,800 private equity and venture capital fund managers in the city, managing over 8,900 funds with a total scale of 2.3 trillion yuan, all three figures ranking at the forefront nationwide.

"In the future, we will further promote the high-quality development of the equity investment industry and guide social capital to increase support for technology enterprises in their early stages. Shanghai has promoted the establishment of the Shanghai Sci-Tech Finance Research Institute, a social organization dedicated to promoting the development of angel investment, strengthening the discovery and investment cultivation of early-stage projects, and helping social capital to make good investment connections," said Shanghai Municipality.

In fact, universities and research institutions, including the School of Management at Fudan University, are also providing assistance to sci-tech innovation enterprises. It is understood that in addition to hosting competitions, the School of Management at Fudan University also organizes training, lectures, open courses, and other activities to provide targeted entrepreneurship management education for participating projects.

"Despite the various difficulties everyone faces today, we still insist on holding the sci-tech innovation competition," said Lu Xiongwen, expressing the hope that the competition will not only give birth to enterprises that contribute products to society but also that these enterprises can lead the trend of technological and industrial revolutions, leading more Chinese enterprises into the 22nd century. "This is our mission and our belief."