Joining forces, this trillion-yuan city presents a "winning combination".
According to the WeChat official accounts of "Yongjiang Laboratory" and "Dongfang Institute of Technology", on April 20, Yongjiang Laboratory and Ningbo Dongfang Institute of Technology held a signing ceremony for a deepening cooperation agreement. The two sides will benchmark against the cooperation models between world - class universities and high - level laboratories, and carry out all - round and multi - level cooperation in aspects such as mutual employment of high - level talents, joint cultivation of postgraduate students, scientific research cooperation and exchanges, and sharing of platform resources. They are committed to jointly building a science and education innovation hub with global influence.
Xu Yan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee and the Deputy Mayor of Ningbo, said that universities are the main force in basic research, and laboratories are the main frontiers for technological breakthroughs. The collaboration between universities and research institutions is timely and of great significance. This signing is an important measure for Ningbo to promote the integrated development of science, education, and talent and to accelerate the cultivation of new productive forces.
The strong alliance between the two sides not only benchmarks against international first - class cooperation models but also serves national strategies and regional development. It will surely inject strong innovation momentum into Ningbo's new journey of accelerating the construction of a high - level innovation - driven city across the whole region and building a "Global Intelligent Manufacturing and Innovation Capital".
Ningbo Dongfang Institute of Technology and Yongjiang Laboratory are regarded as two major innovation "powerhouses" in Ningbo's future - oriented layout.
The former is a new - type research university built with a high starting point, focusing on cutting - edge fields such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, and new energy and new materials. The latter is the most important new - type scientific research institution in Ningbo, with the mission of building a world - class innovation source for new materials.
As Chen Shiyi, the president of Dongfang Institute of Technology and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, the two are located in the core area of the Yongjiang Science and Innovation Zone, across the road from each other and close neighbors. They are not only geographical "neighbors" but also "companions" in mission. In the view of local media, this cooperation can be regarded as a "winning move" in Ningbo's science and education field.
Nowadays, the new round of global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, and the future competition pattern is being deeply reconstructed. Against this background, the status of innovation as the "primary driving force" of a city has become more prominent, and the sense of urgency to drive development has increased unprecedentedly.
As a traditional industrial powerhouse, Ningbo has a strong manufacturing foundation and a cluster of "single - champion" enterprises. However, it also faces real pressures such as tightening resource and environmental constraints and weakening traditional growth drivers. Accelerating the construction of a high - level innovation - driven city across the whole region has become a realistic choice for Ningbo.
In February this year, at the "First Meeting of the New Year" in Ningbo, it was clearly proposed that the city should take "building a key fulcrum of the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center" and "striving to become a national new - type industrialization demonstration zone" as two major measures. The former focuses on scientific and technological innovation, and the latter focuses on industrial innovation. The two - wheel drive will jointly promote the construction of a high - level innovation - driven city across the whole region in Ningbo to break through the bottleneck. Promoting the in - depth integration of universities and scientific research institutions has also become a crucial step.
Not long ago, the Ningbo Party and Government Delegation specially went to Hefei for a study tour. They visited the Anhui Innovation Hall, USTC Quantum Co., Ltd., and Zhongan Chuanggu Science and Technology Park. The purpose was clear - "to see the entire chain of scientific and technological achievements transformation and to learn the methodology of a city betting on innovation".
For Ningbo, coordinating the integrated reform and development of education, science and technology, and talent, as well as the in - depth integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, is the key to "breaking through the bottleneck and achieving fission - style development", and it also directly determines the upper limit of the city's future development.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Urban Evolution Theory", author: Liu Yanmei. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.