On May 11,the 2021 HIAS, UCAS Conference for Science and Technology Innovation, Industries and Finance, a highly anticipated forum, will kick off in Cloud Town, Hangzhou. A cluster of big shots from enterprises, universities and research institutes will participate in this conference, providing a high-level discussion on the topic of science and technology innovation, industries and finance.
Many Hangzhou citizens may not know that another new scientific research and educational institution has been established in Cloud Town, Xihu District, south of the Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art and west of Westlake University. It is the Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS), UCAS, a science-education integration innovation platform built by the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) in Hangzhou.
Of course, the current Yunyi Campus Area at Zhuantang is just a pilot project. In the future, a campus of more than 900mu in Shuangbu New Area, Shilongshan Campus Area and Guding Campus Area will be also added to HIAS.
Relying on the excellent strength of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), this new scientific research and educational institution unveiled in 2019 has introduced 11 academicians of CAS or the Chinese Academy of Engineering as its double-employed professors.
The president of HIAS is Wang Jianyu, who was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. He graduated from the Department of Physics of Hangzhou University (now Zhejiang University) in 1982.As an academician of CAS and an expert in optoelectronic technology, he has made a determination to implement the national frontier scientific research projects of CAS in his hometown, cultivate top-notch interdisciplinary innovative talent for Zhejiang, and promote Zhejiang's development with the digital economy.President Wang Jianyu shared his grand blueprint with a reporter from Qianjiang Evening News · Hour News in a recent interview.
Hour News: President Wang, you were born in Ningbo and once studied in Hangzhou. Does UCAS's decision to establish HIAS in Hangzhou has anything to do with your personal experience?
Wang Jianyu: In fact, the birth of HIAS is out of an invitation from the governments of Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou City, which hope to establish a high-end institution integrating scientific research and teaching in Zhejiang. Based on its long-term friendly cooperation with Zhejiang Province, CAS has thus decided to build HIAS in Hangzhou, a famous historical and cultural city with innovation vitality. Of course, as a native of Zhejiang, I am willing to make contributions to my hometown.
Hour News: What is the positioning of HIAS? What are its characteristics?
Wang Jianyu:HIAS hopes to become a world-class innovation platform integrating scientific research and education and our slogan is to create a small but high-quality institute at a high standard.
The development strategy of HIAS can be summarized as "One Core and Two Wings". "One Core" refers to a training base for international interdisciplinary talent for innovation and entrepreneurship; "Two Wings" refer to a scientific research innovation base and an emerging industry incubation base.
Focusing on frontier scientific research in the three fields of physical information, life & health and intelligent technology, HIAS is striving to implement national scientific research projects.Up to now, 57 professor labs have been established and put into operation and 11 are under preparation; 25 interdisciplinary platforms have been set up.Specifically,the Key Laboratory of Gravitational Wave Precision Measurement of Zhejiang Province and the Key Laboratory of Systems Health Science of Zhejiang Province were listed as key laboratory cultivation objects of Zhejiang Province in November 2020.
In addition, HIAS supports and serves researchers from institutions affiliated to CAS tocarry out innovation and entrepreneurship activities in Hangzhou.While constructing the eight secondary science and education units, HIAS has put forward that its main intent and goal is to meet the needs of Hangzhou's economic and social development. Thus, a unique interdisciplinary collaborative research and teaching innovation system has been established with a focus on industrial needs.
For example, the School of Fundamental Physics and Mathematical Sciences and the School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering work to promote the upgrading and transformation of Hangzhou's traditional industries via their systems integration capability accumulated in the field of optoelectronic detection technology. They assist Hangzhou in realizing the leapfrog development of high-density data storage, film display, hybrid photonic and optoelectronic integration, chip communication and other related industries with the micro-nano laser technology. To meet the needs of Hangzhou's big health industry, the School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, the School of Life and Health Sciences, the School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology and other schools of HIAS have given full play to their interdisciplinary advantages to make breakthroughs in core technologies in biotechnology drugs, biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing industry, and big data-based health sciences. They are dedicated to providing new methods, technologies and achievements for the development of health sciences.
Hour News: We have noticed that HIAS has introduced 11 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering, all of whom are double-employed professors. Why do you use this model to introduce talent?
Wang Jianyu: Because we want to build a scientific research group composed of top talent, so we need to establish a groundbreaking selection mechanism. Among all kinds of science and education institutions in China, CAS is a valuable talent base that is home to many excellent scientific and technological talent. How to establish a high-level talent team of HIAS in a short period by relying on the strong talent pool of CAS? To answer this question, we have put forward an exploratory talent introduction idea of "starting with the introduction of the high-level talent of the undertakers via the double employment system and gradually shifting to the introduction of full-time personnel". A talent introduction system covering full-time, double-employed, and postdoctoral researchers has also been in place.
Thus, a group of high-level researchers has been selected and dispatched by the relevant undertakers, CAS's institutes, providing a foundation for the quick building of a strong and large talent team of HIAS via the "double employment" method (working for both CAS's institutes and HIAS).
Relying on this foundation, we have increased our efforts to introduce various types of excellent young scientific and technological talent from all over the world. Today, many academic leaders and outstanding technical talent in the fields of mathematics and physics, photoelectricity and information, materials and environment, and life and health have been introduced successively.
As of May 2021, we had introduced 42 full-time teaching and research staff and 196 double-employed professors, including 11 academicians of CAS or the Chinese Academy of Engineering and 72 national leading talent, like recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars.I am sincerely inviting young talent at home and abroad to HIAS for scientific research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Hour News: Since 2020, UCAS has started to train postgraduate students in HIAS. What kind of training programs will HIAS provide for these students? Will HIAS enroll undergraduates in the future?
Wang Jianyu: HIAS's highest talent training goal is to unswervingly train three types of talent, namely, the world leaders in frontier technology, developers of independent core technologies and drivers promoting the development of emerging industries.
At present, we focus on cultivating postgraduate and doctoral students. Undergraduate enrollment is not considered for the time being. In terms of training methods, we will pay more attention to future industrial transformation.
Therefore, in terms of the curriculum program, we not only offer professional courses like core courses, popularization courses and seminars to consolidate our students' scientific research foundation, but also strive to conduct professional practice education and entrepreneurship and innovation education. To this end, we specially employ three types of industrial talent, namely, industrial consultants, innovation and entrepreneurship mentors and ecological partners, to establish mentorship with postgraduate students. We will link and bridge industrial needs and talent training in many ways, like working with enterprises to build training bases, to establish a postgraduate education and training system featuring the in-depth integration of enterprises, universities and research institutes.
Of course, the transformation of scientific research achievements is time-consuming. We will introduce some of the original achievements of CAS through cooperation to accelerate HIAS's development.
Moreover, we insist on both training and having their households registered in Hangzhou. Since their entry into HIAS, they are new Hangzhou citizens.
Hour News: What is the goal of the upcoming Science and Technology Innovation Conference? Why does HIAS develop the Science and Technology Innovation Brain platform?
Wang Jianyu: This Conference is one of the large-scale events since the establishment of HIAS, providing an important chance to showcase ourselves. We hope to build an exchange platform among enterprises, universities, research institutes, financial institutions, service agencies and end-users. Using this platform, big names from all walks of life can have in-depth exchanges,inspireinnovative ideas, and jointly discuss the answer to the strategic proposition of "how to spur new development momentum and drive high-quality development through scientific and technological innovation".
China is at a crucial stage of becoming a major science and technology country and even a country with outstanding strength in science and technology, so its investment in scientific and technological innovation is increasing day by day. However, the rate of scientific and technological achievement transformation is unsatisfactory. Among all theconstraints, the scattered innovation carriers and the poor integration and connection of data resources in various fields play a big part.
To solve the two problems, HIAS has developed the HIAS Science and Technology Innovation Brain platform that integrates the functions of integration release, resource search, sci-tech innovation cooperation, digital business, and park management. The aim is to build a science and technology innovation platform jointly built by research institutes, universities, the government and enterprises, thus promoting the sharing of scientific and technological resources and accelerating the integrated development of enterprises, universities, research institutes, financial institutions, service agencies and end-users. By integrating scientific and technological achievements, expert resources, project resources and enterprises' needs, this platform can promote the organic connection, accurate matchmaking and targeted implementation of the technological demand chain, the science and technology supply chain, the science and technology finance chain, the space security chain and the policy support chain.
Hour News: What other plans does HIAS have in the innovation and entrepreneurship field in the future?
Wang Jianyu:We can foresee that facing the new opportunities for scientific and technological reform and industrial restructuring, we will see eco-innovation realized by multiple essential players in innovation, instead of a single player; fundamental changes will also take place in the elements of innovation, so cooperation among scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and educators is required for joint innovation.
Under the general trend of eco-innovation, HIAS has established the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Industrial Incubation. Shouldering HIAS's mission of realizing the integrated development of science and technology and industries, the Center has cooperated with the government, enterprises and other technological demand sides to jointly build eco-innovation platforms, like industrial research institutes, joint R&D centers and labs named after professors. With the engagement of enterprises, universities, and research institutes, the Center can dynamically adjust its research directions according to needs and even carry out customized research, fully and effectively integrating advantageous resources, service capabilities, industrial needs and other factors.
In the future, HIAS will also cooperate with the local government and large enterprises in planning and building a tech firm incubation base—HIAS Industrial Base. The established base through joint roles and efforts will provide an environmental space for enterprises and small and medium-sized tech firms "graduating from" incubators and accelerators to realize industrial production and redevelopment.
An interdisciplinary and cross-regional collaborative incubation platform will be built by creating the model composed of an online intelligent engine (Science and Technology Innovation Brain) and a set of offline in-depth matchmaking services. By establishing the innovation and entrepreneurship and industrial incubation headquarters in Xihu District and building branch bases in multiple regions, we have developed an overall pattern of "one science and technology innovation service headquarters + multiple vertical industrial bases". Thus, the upstream and downstream resources in HIAS's advantageous technology areas will be integrated to create a coordinated industrial development eco-chain jointly engaged by high-end industrial technology R&D institutes, industrial investors, social capital and leading backbone enterprises. Players on the whole industrial chain covering R&D, pilot test, production and sales will be incubated, and the sharing of resources and mutual complementarity in advantages between the headquarters and bases will be realized. The platform will give full play to its driving effect and its role in pooling entrepreneurial resources, to realize a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for scientific and technological innovation and industrial incubation.
Hour News: What role do you think HIAS can play in Zhejiang's higher education and high-end scientific research?
Wang Jianyu: Zhejiang is a province with solid economic strength and outstanding people.However, compared with Beijing, Shanghai and other provinces or cities, it is short of high-end scientific research platforms. HIAS has hoped to become a high-end science and education integration platform with a small size since its establishment. Such hope can meet the needs of Zhejiang. Of course, the development of such a high-end platform is not achieved overnight. However, results will be achieved as long as we hold up to the dream.
At this year's Two Sessions, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) made clear, "Innovation remains at the heart of China’s modernization drive." General Secretary Xi Jinping has also repeatedly stressed, "We should establish an innovation system that closely integrates science and technology, education, industries and finance to accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces. We should foster new development momentum through scientific and technological innovation, thus realizing high-quality development."
The Yangtze River Delta is one of China's regions with the most active economic development, the highest degree of opening-up and the strongest innovation ability. It plays an important strategic role in the overall situation of the country's modernization drive. HIAS is an important carrier in CAS's strategic layout in Zhejiang Province. We should strive to serve the national strategy of Yangtze River Delta integration and make good use of Zhejiang's dynamic market and Hangzhou's open innovation environment. Efforts should be made to build an eco-innovation platform with more distinctive market orientation and more fruitful scientific research achievements, to promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into real productivity.
