Binjiang aspires to attract top talent, businesses at 'Hi Tech' competition

As one of the top high-tech zones in China, Binjiang District in Hangzhou has organized start-up competitions, provided preferential policies, established funds and updated facilities in industrial parks to attract professionals from home and abroad.

To widen the talent pool, local authorities host the Binjiang Talent International Festival every year. The monthlong festival comprises some 50 activities, including vocational skills competitions and seminars.

This year, as part of the festival, the "Hi Tech" Global Youth Entrepreneurship Competition aims to draw prospective businesses and individuals to the area.

The competition has received interest from 391 projects with cutting-edge digital economy and biomedical technologies competing for the Binjiang government's 100 million yuan (US$14.7 million) grant. After four rounds of intense competition, Zhao Bo's chip project won the grand prize.

Ti Gong

"I am intrigued by the well-developed integrated chip industry chain in Binjiang District," said Zhao at the awarding ceremony. "I hope the project can be commercialized in Binjiang and bring more benefits to society."

Zhao has created the passive core chips of the Internet of Things. The chips will be used in consumer electronics, smart home technology, wearable technology and even conventional animal husbandry in the future.

"Traditional Bluetooth and Wi-Fi always need a battery, and their duration is reduced due to the short battery life, which ultimately raises the cost. On the other hand, bluetooth low-energy processors can run continuously without a battery, which is a significant advantage," Zhao claimed.

The government of Binjiang has sent out invitations to over 100 local businesses and about 50 domestic colleges to participate in the festival. In collaboration with Swiss organizations, it also launched the Sino-Swiss Joint Research and Development Center of Precision Manufacturing with the expectation of attracting specialists and promising projects from abroad.

Ti Gong

Meanwhile, local businesses are offering over 20,000 positions at the talent festival, including high-paying positions with annual salaries of up to 1 million yuan. Prestigious Chinese universities like Tsinghua, Peking and Renmin are also participating in the event.

Under the "enterprises, government, university" mode, universities and businesses are attempting to generate win-win results by supporting employment and simultaneously employing talent for businesses.

The main industries of the digital economy account for over 80 percent of the gross domestic product of Binjiang, the highland of the digital economy in Zhejiang Province.

In March, a new development strategy and significant initiatives were announced by the district government to establish "China's Digital Valley" and make it "a district with the strongest digital economy in the country."

Plans were also announced to create a "Digital Talent Cultivation Station" in collaboration with prestigious colleges like Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Xiamen University.

Along with higher education institutions, the "Digital Talent Cultivation Station" aims to cultivate specialists in the field of the digital economy, fostering the growth of "China's Digital Valley."

For many years, Binjiang has been the national role model for luring talent and offering incentives and funding to business owners. The district is a key labor market and innovation hub in the city because of the renowned 5050 Talent Plan Entrepreneurial Fund, which provides incentives for skilled workers and potential university initiatives.

Binjiang attracted over 17,000 talent as of April, thanks to highly effective government services, a good business environment and alluring policies. As a result, the number of available talent has increased to 460,000.