Every weekend, tourist buses show up at the newly opened international campus of Zhejiang University in Haining City. It’s a 20-minute high-speed train ride from the province’s historic capital, Hangzhou, which is home to the campus’s prestigious parent institution, Zhejiang University.
The 80-hectare plot with its modern architecture, water features and pleasant walking trails is a dream for day trippers coming on a picnic by the artificial lake.
The arrival of tourists initially came as a surprise to Philip Krein, full-time dean of the University of Zhejiang/University of Illinois at the Urbana-Champaign Institute in Haining. Kerin moved there from the United States in 2016 and was not used to seeing universities as tourist destinations.
But he is using it to flag tour guides to visitors around the facilities that opened in 2017. It is one of several foreign universities that have daughter institutes or collaborating laboratories in Zhejiang, including Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh. , Britain.
“Academic institutions are extremely important and valuable in China,” he says. “People want to see how the country is developing.”
While the region’s historical strength lies in its prominence as a shipping hub and as an access point to central China, Zhejiang’s government leaders believe that future economic growth will come from investments in its digital economy.
At every level of public life, from university programs to city management, officials are working with scientists and engineers to put cutting-edge science – such as artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing – at the heart of the region’s development and can be carried forward. Internationalize the field. Zhejiang’s global importance was confirmed in 2016, when Hangzhou hosted the first Group of 20 (G20) meeting of world leaders to be held in China.
The economic transformation taking place in Zhejiang reflects the country’s broader ambitions (see ‘On Map’). China’s economy is in a rapid transition. The government’s goal, originally set out in the 2006 15-Year Science and Technology Plan, is to transform the country from a low-cost manufacturer to a technologically advanced, innovative economy in which products are no longer only made, but are “created”. , in China.
“Academic institutions are extremely important and valuable in China,” he says. “People want to see how the country is developing.”
While the region’s historical strength lies in its prominence as a shipping hub and as an access point to central China, Zhejiang’s government leaders believe that future economic growth will come from investments in its digital economy.
At every level of public life, from university programs to city management, officials are working with scientists and engineers to put cutting-edge science – such as artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing – at the heart of the region’s development and can be carried forward. Internationalize the field. Zhejiang’s global importance was confirmed in 2016, when Hangzhou hosted the first Group of 20 (G20) meeting of world leaders to be held in China.
The economic transformation taking place in Zhejiang reflects the country’s broader ambitions (see ‘On Map’). China’s economy is in a rapid transition. The government’s goal, originally set out in the 15-Year Science and Technology Plan in 2006, is to transform the country from a low-cost manufacturer to a technologically advanced, innovative economy in which products are no longer only made, Rather “made”, in China.
The motivation to turn research into viable products is embedded in university culture, says Anna Wang Ro, a neuroscientist at Zhejiang University. Employees and postdocs are encouraged to apply for opportunities to establish new ventures.
It all comes with a price tag: Each year, the province invests about $20 million to $30 million in Zhejiang University to encourage companies’ growth. In early 2018, the province reported that, between 2013 and 2017, the number of high-tech enterprises had more than doubled to 11,462, while the number of small and medium-sized science and technology enterprises had increased eightfold to 40,440. .
leading roots
“The local government here has always looked forward,” says May Tan-Mullins, who studies international relations at the Nottingham Ningbo China University. “Fifteen years ago, as the city was growing, they planted trees when no other Chinese city did. Locals complained that they were wasting the money they spent on houses. Appreciate the green belt.”
Tan-Mullins’ institution – a joint venture between the University of Nottingham, UK and the Zhejiang Wanli Education Group – is a reflection of an internationalized China. “We have employees from over 50 countries and over 70 students,” says Tan-Mullins.