On Sunday, “Industrial Development Conference for National Central City, Chengdu” was held, unveiling the new stage for industrial development in Chengdu.

In 2016, Chengdu’s economic aggregate amounted to 1.22 trillion yuan (180 billion U.S. dollars), with the scale of industries like electronic information, automobile, machine manufacturing and food exceeding a hundred billion yuan. And the electronic information has grown into the pillar industry. A high-tech industry can’t develop rapidly without innovation. University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) cultivates a pool of talents and yields fruitful scientific achievements.

At the Conference, Li Yanrong, the academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of UESTC said, how to transform more innovative activities into achievements, how to unleash the innovation power to the max and how to help integrate local industries into global industrial chains are the missions of the times for universities and colleges.

Li cited UESTC to share some practical experience about universities promoting local economic transformation.

UESTC has been incorporated into the national project of building first-rate universities and subjects. Li said, to establish world-class universities (in Chengdu), the first step is to take root in Chengdu and proactively blend in the local socioeconomic transformation. Li also mentioned that scientific innovation shall be geared to the most advanced technology around the globe, to the major needs of our country and to the national economic development, in particular.

Therefore, UESTC proposes “electronic information + region” “electronic information + industry”, highlighting providing support for regional development as one of the university’s primary goals. In terms of regional integration, UESTC is cooperating with Chengdu high-tech district to build a industrial belt of economic information which focuses on transforming scientific and technological achievements of universities and colleges. A development mode of “5 chains” including innovation, capital, industry, space and service is taking initial shape. UESTC strives to become the innovation demonstration base for “electronic information + industries”.

Li added that scientific innovation of universities and regional industrial adjusting should adhere to problem-orientated and demand-driven concept. The penetration of electronic information into other industries has changed the production and business mode and given birth to new technologies and new commercial activities.

For example, UESTC has jointly set up 12 research centers with local governments and enterprises, including 5G experimental center, medical information center and big data industry research center. The concept is that a center targets a specific industry and promotes the development of a series of correlative industries.

According to Li, universities should transform their advantages in subjects, research, talents and students’ innovation vitality into powers which can promote industrial development. Universities and colleges are the sources of high-tech and also the bases to cultivate innovative talents. Li said there are 70 to 80 thousand UESTC alumni working in Southern China’s Guangdong province and over 1200 in the Silicon Valley. Listed companies founded by UESTC alumni amount to over 80 and another 30 are to be listed recently.

According to Li, what a famous university to a city is what a business card to a person, and a brand to a product, such as Harvard and MIT in Boston, and Berkeley in San Francisco. Stanford took the opportunities of electronic information development and blended into the local economy. As a result, Stanford blooms and the Silicon Valley expands rapidly. Li revealed that UESTC is taking the opportunities in the midst of Chengdu growing into a national central city and exploring the “Stanford + Silicon Valley” Mode, in which world-class universities promote industrial transformation and upgrading.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn