Ningbo: Talent and tech week crucial to innovation

The Ningbo Talent and Technology Week is becoming a core part of the city's strategy to attract needed professionals from both China and abroad, said local officials.

The annual event hosed by the ministries of education, human resources and social security, as well as the Zhejiang provincial government and other government agencies, will be held from Sept 13 to 17 in the port city.

More than 5,000 Chinese college graduates with a master's degree or higher will have opportunities for job interviews at about 900 companies from Ningbo and surrounding regions in Zhejiang province.

Some 300 returned overseas Chinese experts will also be invited to discuss their innovative projects. The fair will help them cooperate with local companies, research institutes or universities to set up their own businesses in the city or elsewhere in the province.

An exhibition for high-tech achievements and patents in new materials, advanced equipment manufacturing, life and health sectors will also be held during the fair. More than 500 projects will be introduced to 150 large research institutes and companies, while120 Chinese and foreign experts will also take part in the exhibition.

The city's first auction will also be organized, offering six of the latest innovations and 18 invention patents and utility models to local corporations.

University presidents from schools in China and abroad will discuss ways to put research results into use with local entrepreneurs at a forum to train engineers, technicians and executives.

Other activities will include major project signing ceremonies, a tour of Ningbo for EU technology diplomats and academicians, an industrial design competition and an international human resource forum.

The weeklong promotional event was founded in 2006 to attract talent and high quality employees worldwide to speed up the city's industrial modernization and development.

During its first session, the city government published China's first urban talent development report and the next year issued the country's first talent-demand index.

Over the past few years, tens of thousands of people from at least 30 countries have taken part in the job fair.

The Ningbo city government still continues to work hard to attract top overseas professionals.

It also employs other means such as foreign fairs, the Internet and overseas organizations.

It has founded seven overseas cooperation centers in the United States and other countries and maintains partnerships with more than 10 overseas student organizations.

To date the city has imported some 3,500 experts from all over the world including 30 academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Those arrivals established 455 companies that contributed 1.1 billion yuan ($179.6 million) in taxes in 2012.

Yang Liping, director of Ningbo Municipal Organization Department, said the rapidly increasing number of overseas professionals coming to Ningbo is a positive reflection of the city's determination.

"Innovation is the driving force of Ningbo's economic development, while talent is the key," Yang said. "Ningbo aims to become a modernized international portal city and high-quality human resources are crucial to helping us make this dream come true."

The first step of introducing Ningbo to such talent is to let them feel the sincerity of the city, said Yang.

"We want them to feel that coming to Ningbo is a good choice both for their careers and lives. So we are establishing a home, house and health system to support them," he noted.

Nearly 2,000 apartments are provided at low prices, as well as favorable healthcare policies and education programs for their children.

"Once they feel Ningbo is their home, they will devote their whole energy into business here," Yang added.

To provide a suitable base for these professionals and overseas Chinese scholars, the city has established a State-level innovation center, along with six provincial sites and 10 industrial parks to accommodate them.

Yuyao, one of the industrial parks, is home to 13 high-end technological projects, with another 18 now in approval procedures.

The city government has also set up a special fund for top experts and innovation groups. Financial subsidies can reach 20 million yuan as a startup fund for a business and 1 million yuan for an individual.

Last year, 113 individuals and 185 groups applied for government incentives, among which 79 experts and 36 groups were approved.

Chen Qiang, deputy executive president of the Yangtze Delta Region Institute at Tsinghua University, said that the policy is "very attractive" to overseas talent compared with those from other cities in China. The institute is now organizing four rounds of tours to introduce Zhejiang province to returned overseas Chinese.