Where is the "nuclear explosion point" of technological innovation? Shanghai looks for it from the "High tech Special Zone"!

Xihe emits light, and black holes appear; C919 Feitian, "Aida Magic City" made its debut; The emergence of cloned monkeys and the gathering of large models... On the global stage of scientific and technological innovation, a group of Shanghai achievements are constantly ushering in a shining moment, achieving multiple global "firsts". Technological self-reliance and self-improvement are the foundation of national strength and the key to security.

Support "high-quality" incubators and reduce "luck points" in science and technology innovation transformation

An innovative city should have several "nuclear explosion points", which are the source of innovative ideas, the turning point of new tracks, and the gathering area of the best innovation resources in the world. What exactly is necessary to have the auxiliary thrust of a nuclear explosion? A few years ago, Wang Haowen from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystems of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a module for intelligent gas meter reading based on the Internet of Things communication protocol with independent intellectual property rights in China, but it could not be commercialized due to lack of market access. "This project has great potential, and we can 'help' the team and give it another boost!" Ren Jia, Chairman and General Manager of the New Micro Innovation Source Incubator, has made multiple efforts to facilitate cooperation between the team and Shenneng Group. Now, smart gas meters using this module can remotely read and recharge, and hundreds of thousands of them have been mass-produced, gradually replacing traditional gas meters. Hard core technology entrepreneurship faces numerous challenges, requiring the joint empowerment of factors such as funding, talent, management, and market. A high-quality incubator often plays a stable catalytic role, reducing the "luck points" of scientific and technological transformation. "Shanghai has built a full lifecycle support system for technology enterprises, from incubation to development and growth, to create a good innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem." Luo Dajin, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, said that after more than 30 years of vigorous development, Shanghai has more than 500 various innovation and entrepreneurship carriers, and one-third of the listed companies on the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Board have benefited from the cultivation of incubators. In the exhibition hall of Zhangjiang High tech 895 Incubator, there are a variety of achievements from enterprises such as chips, medical devices, underwater robots, and wearable devices. This is the largest carrier for individual incubation within Zhangjiang Science City, incubating over 1000 science and technology innovation enterprises in the past 8 years. "This year, our entrepreneurship camp has been held until the 12th season, which is specifically designed for aerospace enterprises. Entrepreneurs not only have the opportunity to exchange and cooperate with leading companies in the industry chain such as COMAC, but also participate in comprehensive entrepreneurship training." Chen Hailing, the head of 895 Incubator, said that the incubator gathers industry chain resources through platforms such as entrepreneurship camps and sets up investment funds to provide real financial support to enterprises. With the goal of high quality, constantly upgrading and iterating. On July 21st, Shanghai released the "Implementation Plan for Cultivating High Quality Incubators in Shanghai", which aims to accelerate the cultivation of a group of high-quality incubators with a focus on industrial fields, prominent professional capabilities, and obvious demonstration effects. This will drive the transformation of incubators from basic services to precision services, from gathering enterprises to nurturing industries, and from incubation chains to thick planting ecosystems, and ultimately create 2 to 3 "science and technology innovation explosion points" with a production value of 100 billion yuan.

Building a "new" R&D institution and building a "fast lane" for research and industry

It can be a "three no" public institution, or a private non enterprise unit or enterprise, unlike universities and research institutes - a new type of research and development institution that looks "three no" and "four no" is currently under construction in the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center, exerting great flexibility and freedom. The mascot of the Chengdu Universiade, "Rongbao," has become popular, and various digital collections of "Rongbao" decorations have also become lively on the tree map blockchain. As a new digital phenomenon, digital collectibles are unique digital credentials generated using blockchain technology to correspond to a cultural and creative product or artwork. Buying them is equivalent to becoming their owner in the "metaverse". The tree diagram of the "Rongbao" digital collection is a new research and development institution located on the west bank of Xuhui, Shanghai. Since the launch of the public blockchain system, it has processed 120 million transactions, over 10000 smart contracts, issued a total of 7.1 million digital collectibles, and registered over 24 million accounts. "We are a civil and non-governmental organization with higher salaries than public institutions, which can better attract talents. The monthly salary of doctoral students from prestigious universities can reach 60000 to 80000 yuan." Wang Yu, Executive Vice President of Shanghai Shutu Blockchain Research Institute, said that civil and non-governmental organizations have greater flexibility in operation, with about 20% of funds coming from government projects and about 80% from donations from foundations and other institutions. Diversified funding sources are conducive to sustainable development. Including Tree Map, Shanghai has established more than 10 new research and development institutions, including the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center, Li Zhengdao Research Institute, and Shanghai Processor Technology Innovation Center, targeting cutting-edge tracks and common technologies. Some conduct organized scientific research in the basic research field of deep-sea deep blue; Some provide platforms for companies to showcase their needs and research institutes to promote industry and technology research. In July of this year, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology once again issued policies, proposing the goal of building 20 high-level new research and development institutions by 2025, and providing multiple policy guarantees to promote the entry of private capital into this emerging field. "In the past, this new phenomenon often adopted a system innovation of 'one matter, one discussion' and 'special affairs and special handling'. Now, it has been solidified through policies, forming institutionalized and normalized guarantees." Luo Dajin said.

Innovative basic research "special" areas, supporting "useless use"

Seemingly useless foundational frontiers often give birth to disruptive innovations with great potential. The "Basic Research Special Zone" proposed and rapidly established by Shanghai Innovation in 2021 has been in operation for nearly two years, deeply cultivating the foundation and keeping up with the forefront. 5 years of stable support, an overall funding budget of 300 million yuan, no annual assessment indicators, favoring young people, focusing on curiosity and delegating autonomy... What are the characteristics of basic research special zones? No matter where you eat dinner, you have to return to the laboratory after eating and work until about 10:30 at night - this is the habit of Zhou Bin, a researcher at the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Molecular Cell Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who has insisted on it for several years. With the unremitting efforts of Zhou Bin's research group and the support of the "Basic Research Special Zone" pilot project, a research result that lasted for 10 years and revealed that "the cellular world also has the 'three migrations of Meng and Mu'" was published in the journal Science in 2022. Zhou Bin was one of the first beneficiaries of the Basic Research Special Zone. The Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Branch, where he worked, tried to set up a "project commissioner" system by expanding the implementation scope of the "lump sum system" of scientific research funds. A research project with strong exploration and high risk, as long as the relevant research team leader has done their best, even if it ultimately fails, its subsequent research will not be affected. In order to encourage non "tracking" research, the branch guides researchers to search for major scientific issues in the forefront of world science and national major needs through the topic selection mechanism; Through flexible mechanisms, we ensure that outstanding talents and teams who are determined to venture into the "no man's land" of scientific research truly settle down. The project approval process has been reduced from more than half a year to 2 to 3 months, and the submission of application materials only takes about 10 pages... The relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission stated that in terms of implementation cycle, the "Special Zone" emphasizes long-term and stability, with a 5-year cycle, striving to persistently strengthen basic research and explore the financial resource allocation method of "budget+negative list". On the basis of the first three pilot universities and research institutions, this year we have expanded the pilot programs of Tongji University, East China Normal University, and East China University of Science and Technology, focusing on cutting-edge fields such as dual carbon, artificial intelligence+, quantum technology, and the ocean. "The special economic zone has shortened the evaluation chain and delegated project approval authority directly to high-level scientific research units, making it easier for original ideas in basic research to 'emerge'," said Wang Hao, the relevant person in charge of the Research Institute of Fudan University.

Concentrate on science and technology innovation to gather "districts" and achieve a "linkage competition" between districts, schools, and enterprises

"Walking for five minutes is University Road, and there are students who are interested in starting their own businesses everywhere. Why don't you go to 'Da Chuang Zhi' to take a look?" In 2014, a casual suggestion asked Zhao Bin, who had just returned from overseas, to rent three workstations and take the first step in founding 'Shengwang'. Nowadays, "SoundNet" technology services have covered more than 200 countries and regions, and in 2022, it will continue to hold the world's first market share in real-time interactive cloud. Starting from a small area of 1 square kilometer, to nurturing more than 4500 entrepreneurial and entrepreneurial enterprises with a total revenue exceeding 300 billion yuan, entering the "Da Chuangzhi" park in Yangpu District, Shanghai, one can feel the vitality of the linkage between the "campus, community, and urban area". There are 11 universities in the jurisdiction of Yangpu, including Fudan University, Tongji University, and Shangcai University. How can innovation make the urban area and campus "travel in both directions"? In 2013, Yangpu District made three "willing" decisions: to free up the best land to support the nearby expansion of the university, to give up the best land and real estate projects to build a university science and technology park, and to invest manpower and material resources to improve and beautify the surrounding environment of the campus. Kechuang District, a sword in ten years. At present, Yangpu has 120 invention patents per 10000 people, with an R&D investment intensity of over 5%; A total of 258 specialized and new "little giant" enterprises and more than 1200 high-tech enterprises have been cultivated, ranking first in the central urban area of Shanghai center... The "school city" integration has drawn a "concentric circle", and colleges and universities have actively built various platforms to let more "knowledge treasures" go out of the laboratory better and faster. In the view of Xue Kan, Secretary of the Yangpu District Committee, in the process of advancing from a "national innovation oriented urban area" to a "high-energy level science and technology innovation leading area", Yangpu will take a step forward and make sufficient innovation support, allocating the best resources to the most promising science and technology innovation enterprises. The surging Huangpu River is like a "full bow" on the shoreline of Yangpu District, surging towards the sea, and is known as the "First Bay of the Pujiang River" in Minhang District. In Minhang, the "Big Zero Bay" science and technology innovation function source area has set sail, with over 3000 hard technology enterprises resonating with Shanghai Jiao Tong University nearby. "The layout and construction of science and technology innovation clusters around high-level universities have unique advantages. In addition to the already radiating Zhangjiang Pudong and the accelerating construction of the Qingpu Huawei base, Shanghai is building four science and technology innovation clusters in the 'southeast, northwest,'" said Xu Feng, Secretary of the Shanghai Science and Technology Work Party Committee, focusing on core key points, amplifying spillover effects, and shaping new landmarks in science and technology innovation and industry. ". Shanghai is the only city in China that can build airplanes, as well as cars, rockets, and large cruise ships; In the future, it will be a crucial leap period for the comprehensive upgrading of the functions of Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center, and the innovation story on the new journey will continue to flourish.