杨浦积极响应创新号召 吸引海内外人才 - 2016年12月23日

YANGPU District, one of China’s oldest industrial centers, is reinventing itself as a pioneer in the national strategy to promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

Yangpu was home to China’s earliest paper mill, modern shipyard, water plant, textile mill and coal-gas plant — most of which date back more than a century. Now though, the district aims to become a national demonstration zone for public innovation and business startups by 2018.

Along the way, local authorities hope to realize the city government’s plans to turn Shanghai into a global innovation hub by bringing together skilled professionals, technologies, funds and preferential policies geared to startups. A batch of leading startup companies in several new industries will be based in Yangpu, according to the district government.

“To implement the mass entrepreneurship and innovation national strategy is not only an enormous mission for Yangpu but also for universities, scientific research institutes and enterprises based in the district,” said Li Yueqi, the Party secretary of Yangpu. They must work together to share resources and achieve development goals, he added.

The district is home to 14 higher education institutes — including Fudan University, Tongji University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics — along with over 100 scientific research institutes, so the biggest advantage of Yangpu is its talent pool, Li said.

The district government has been offering supportive policies, services and funds specifically for young entrepreneurs.

Favorable policies

Authorities will simplify the administrative application process and issue a series of new policies to support startups, attract professionals from both home and abroad, and enhance resource-sharing between officials, universities and enterprises, Xie Jiangang, the district director, said at a press conference.

In one of these new policies, the district will establish a new pilot project for foreign students from local universities to work directly after graduation without the need to have work experience in their home countries, Xie said.

Similar practices were introduced last year when Shanghai announced a series of policies to attract top talents from across the world, but those efforts were limited to undergraduates and postgraduates employed at the pilot free trade zone and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park.

Among other related measures, the district plans to set up a special office to process applications for permanent residence permits for foreigners.

It will explore ways to allow foreign firms, organizations and individuals to set up non-enterprise entities in the district to provide commercial research services as well as other services related to science and technology, said Xie.

The district also plans to set up community banks that will support small and medium scientific and technological enterprises. It further aims to take the lead in setting up scientific and technological branches.

Furthermore, two major foundations have been launched in Yangpu to promote innovation and entrepreneurship around the district.

One foundation, started with 2 billion yuan (US$290.3 million) from the city and district governments, as well as public enterprises, will support innovative and startup programs in Shanghai.

“The foundation will be used to attract and guide more public investment into new business and innovative programs that Shanghai needs to build itself into a global center for scientific and technological innovation,” said Ding Huanhuan, deputy director of Yangpu.

The other foundation will help to commercialize research findings.

Three top universities in Shanghai — Fudan, Tongji and Jiao Tong — have also signed related strategic cooperation contracts with the district government.

The district and Fudan University will together establish a research center devoted to brain science and artificial intelligence. The district will cooperate with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to commercialize research findings and study innovation and startups. It will work with Tongji University in other areas, such as ocean engineering.

Xie said the government will carry out enforcement campaigns to protect the intellectual property rights of new startups as well as establish a credit account system to protect IP.

Fostering talent

A cluster of innovative parks for public innovation and startup have emerged across the district. Several other parks will be built near Wujiaochang, Changyang Road and around the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. They will offer affordable rents, access to transportation and be open to startups.

Among them, the Knowledge & Innovation Community, one of the city’s earliest innovative communities, has become a magnet for people to share knowledge, communicate, seek cooperative opportunities and have fun.

The Hong Kong-based Shui On Land and Yangpu District government started work on the project in the city’s northeastern Wujiaochang area in 2003. Total investment is projected to reach over 10 billion yuan, and cover a planned development area of 800,000 square meters.

It has created a community where talent from nearby universities, research institutes, enterprises, investment companies and law firms can share and exchange knowledge and ideas. Over 1,000 activities are held in the community annually to create new products and innovative ideas, the company said.

The management of the community also offers financial assistance, market promotion and loan guarantees for startup enterprises, as well as IPO consulting services.

The park currently has over 60 large scale enterprises and over 600 small and medium size startup companies.

A facility inside the community named Innospace offers early-stage incubation space and services for micro-sized enterprises.

The Shui On Land has also established a 40-million-yuan investment fund. Over 70 percent of the fund has been invested in over 50 entrepreneurial projects.

New campus to host German and French schools

CONSTRUCTION started earlier this month on a new campus for German and French schools in Yangpu District to meet rising demand from the city’s expat community.

The Shanghai Eurocampus, supported by the governments of Germany and France and Yangpu District, will open in 2018 to accept about 2,000 German- and French-speaking children, offering education from kindergarten through high school, said Ralph Koppitz, chairman of board of the school.

The 50,000-square-meter campus on Jiangwancheng Road will have two main buildings for the French and German schools as well as a central complex with shared facilities such as a theater, a canteen and a sports center.

There are separate courses for French and German students to help them pass high school exams in either country and be recruited by French and German universities, Koppitz said.

“There are also interactions and exchanges between German and French students to make them more open-minded and international,” he said. Mandarin will also be taught at the schools.

Annual tuition at the non-profit school is about 140,000 yuan (US$20,339), he added.

“The school will offer easy access to high-quality education for the increasing number of German and French professionals living and working in Yangpu District,” said Xie Jiangang, director of the district.

Shanghai is the biggest investment destination in China for both German and French companies. There are currently 15,000 French and 10,000 German citizens living in Shanghai, along with over 2,000 German and French companies.

“The educational resources for the community are not quite sufficient in Shanghai, so we are happy that the new campus will open in Yangpu,” said Jorn Beibert, the German deputy consul general in Shanghai.