The fourth edition of the Shanghai Global Talents Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition opened its grand final on Saturday, with 139 projects from a record high of more than 12,000 in the previous two rounds.
Focusing on Shanghai’s key industries, the 139 finalist projects competed in six categories: high-end equipment manufacturing, future intelligence, information technology, life health, environmental protection, and cultural creativity along with agricultural technology.
“We’re glad to see that the competition has become a brand of Shanghai influential not only in China but also in the world to attract talent and businesses,” said Zhu Min, vice president of Shanghai STVC Group, a co-organizer of the event.
“It has attracted so many participants this year, an almost 50 percent increase from the number in last year, and more than 10 of the finalists are expatriates.”
According to the organizers, many technologies and products have already achieved international leadership in their fields and have secured patents and other intellectual property rights, filling critical gaps in domestic industries and leading the way in their respective sectors.
For example, in the life health category, there are cutting-edge medical technology projects including some for small molecules and anti-tumor drug development, intelligent surgical robots, new oval foramen closure devices, and technologies for the regeneration of living bone and cartilage.
In the fields of information technology and high-end equipment manufacturing, projects included revolutionary scientific instruments developed over decades, and advanced communication technologies that break industry monopolies.
To better support the award-winning participants in innovating and starting businesses in Shanghai, this edition of the competition has upgraded its reward policies, including 16 support measures in financial, industrial support, and talent development dimensions.
These include policies to facilitate investment channels and opportunities for participants to connect with venture capital institutions and pitch their ideas.
Award-winning participants can directly apply for up to 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) in personal credit loans and 30 million yuan in corporate credit loans; those recognized as specialized and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises can directly apply for up to 100 million yuan in corporate credit loans.
For those who have not yet registered a company in Shanghai, up to 300 square meters of office space is provided free of charge within the “Global Talent Base” in the city.
Eligible award-winning participants will also enjoy other favorable policies in terms of living subsidies, insurance, tax, and children’s schooling.
Zhou Daohang, an AI company co-founder from Guangzhou, said the competition was extremely fierce as his rivals included those who had returned from overseas and others from top research institutes in China.
“Besides competition, the event is also like a good platform for communication with other business starters,” he said. “I had learned a lot from them during the competition.
“Meanwhile, I’ve noticed that the competition also attracted many potential investors and some have already shown interest in our company.”
Zhou said his company has already established a subsidiary in Shanghai and is considering expanding its existence if it could win the competition and get more support.
“Shanghai is a high land for high-tech talent, we hope we can get more exposure through the competition and attract more needed talent,” he said.
“I found the supporting polices are very favorable, such as the settlement policy for employees, like housing and children’s schooling, which is very helpful for new companies like us in attracting talent.”