Days ago, the University Startup World Cup 2018 China Grand Final was successfully held in Changyang Valley in Yangpu district of Shanghai, together with the 2nd Sino-European Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum. This is the second time that University Startup World Cup was held in China since its debut in 2017 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week in Shanghai. It marks the launch of the “going global” and “bringing in” platform for university students’ innovation and entrepreneurship, and it also witnesses Yangpu district’s another exploration and breakthrough in making innovation and entrepreneurship international. In addition, this represents a win-win and collaborative opportunity for China and Europe to further cooperate on fields of innovation and entrepreneurship, culture and education, which is conducive to the successful opening of 2018 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week – the overseas part in Copenhagen more specifically.

University Startup World Cup was initiated by Venture Cup, a famous non-profit organization and an association of eight Danish universities, and it has won universal support from Nordic countries and social organizations. Moreover, covering more than 40 countries, involving over 2,500 renowned institutions of high learning and more than half a million students, this is an event for innovation and startups boasting international significance.

On 18th September 2017, thanks to the guidance from the Committee of China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week, along with help from Shanghai Committee of Chinese Communist Youth League, Yangpu People’s Government, the 1st Sino-European Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, co-hosted by Shanghai Heyi Network Technology Co., Ltd., Innovation Centre Denmark, Shanghai, Tsinghua University, Venture Cup China, was successfully held in Changyang Valley in Yangpu, the main venue of 2017 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week. After rounds of fierce competition, seven projects from prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University, the University of Hong Kong, Tianjin University, etc. stood out and have gone to Denmark to attend the global final on behalf of China. This event, consequently, acted as a bridge between activities in both overseas and domestic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week.

One year later, on 20th September 2018, University Startup World Cup 2018 China Grand Final or the 2nd Sino-European Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, organized by Yangpu Science and Technology Committee, Tsinghua University, Venture Cup China, Innovation Centre Denmark, Shanghai, Nordic Innovation Center, co-organized by Shanghai Heyi Network Technology Co., Ltd., and the Innovation, Entrepreneurship, International Cooperation and Education Center of Shanghai Academy of Huaxia Social Development Research, along with support from Yangpu People’s Government, Royal Danish Consulate General in Shanghai, Consulate General of Spain in Shanghai, Netherlands Consulate General in Shanghai, Consulate General of the Republic of Italy in Shanghai, Venture Cup Denmark, Nordic Center Fudan University, Shanghai Academy of Huaxia Social Development Research, and Changyang Valley, kicked off at Changyang Hall in the Changyang Valley. Five teams were selected to compete for China in the global final in Denmark where they will compete and communicate with over 70 teams from more than 30 countries. To hold such events is to enhance Sino-European cooperation on innovation and entrepreneurship education, endow Chinese young students with more international instruction, and encourage the young to start their own business and innovate, advancing the communication and integration between Chinese and foreign students on innovation and entrepreneurship so as to create opportunities for them to collaborate, and thus enlarging China’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week’s international bearing.

This event commenced with elaborate promotional videos produced by Yangpu district, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as promotional videos of global finals of University Startup World Cup. Through those carefully-made videos, delegates from China and Europe are able to spot their differences in innovation culture and practice, therefore laying a solid foundation for mutual trust and partnerships.

After that, leaders from major hosting organizations delivered speeches one after another, wishing this event a complete success and bolstering the morale of participants. On behalf the Yangpu District People’s Government, Ma Qing, deputy director of Yangpu District Science and Technology Committee, presented this district’s efforts and achievements in making it in Shanghai, in China, even around the globe, one of the important components of Shanghai Technology and Entrepreneurship Center, and the demonstration area of innovation and entrepreneurship for overseas talents to realize their entrepreneur dreams. As representative of Denmark, Pu Songren, consul of Royal Danish Consulate General in Shanghai and director of Innovation Centre Denmark, Shanghai, depicted Denmark’s measures and purposes in technology and innovation by stories and statistics. Wang Wei, the assistant general manager of TusStar Shanghai Standing Committee and the representative of Tsinghua University, shared the experience of TusStar business incubator, which stems from Tsinghua and serves for Tsinghua, in building a one-stop, full-chained incubation network from the standpoint of Tsinghua students’ participation in the University Startup World Cup.

The 2nd Sino-European Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, which took place alongside with University Startup World Cup, is committed to updating the young’s view on innovation and entrepreneurship, building a bridge for Chinese and European college students to cooperate on innovation and entrepreneurship, and exploring the new pattern for the international version of “encouraging all to start businesses”.

After the host Bao Kun, who has won a Ph.D. in physics in Cornell University and is the special science consultant to many TV programs, announced the official commencement of University Startup World Cup 2018 China Grand Final, five teams from different universities stepped on the stage and began their roadshows. They were Photocatalyst Project of Hebei University, Juyitest.com Project of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shengneg Power Plant Project of Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanjirensi Project of Yunnan University Dianchi College, and Jingyinghui Project of Guangdong University of Technology.

This event adopted the international competition system and has invited professional judges and financial panel, attracting a large number of startup teams to come and compete. More specifically, the grand final employed standard international rules for roadshow: every team has four minutes to present their project to the judges in English and then comes the 10-minute Q&A session. Such arrangement, though challenging, allowed participants to exhibit their innovative ideas as well as their potential for this international event. In the end, the gold awards fell to Photocatalyst Project of Hebei University and Shanjirensi Project of Yunnan University Dianchi College. Together with startup teams from Tsinghua University, City University of Hong Kong and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the five teams will, on behalf of China, compete in the global final in Denmark.

At the 2nd Sino-European Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, the letter from Yao Jianquan, a renowned expert in laser and nonlinear optics, an academician from Chinese Academy of Sciences and deputy chairman of Tianjin’s Committee of Political Consultative Conference, was read out by a representative from the event’s committee. In the letter, Mr. Yao called for the young to learn from their forefathers and strive to outpace them as well so as to mark their youth with innovation and add wonder to the grand final in China. Following that, three separate keynote speeches on innovation in Spain, that in the Netherlands, and the ecological building of Yangpu district’s innovation were delivered by Elsa, the director of the Consumer Products Branch of Economic and Commercial Department of Consulate General of Spain in Shanghai, Alok, an official from Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department of Netherlands Consulate General in Shanghai, and Zhu Jiang, chairman of Yangpu Zhongchuang Space Association. Their authoritative standpoint sheds new light on the integration and development of the ecological construction for both China and Europe’s youth innovation cause.

After keynote speeches, guests from China and Europe were invited to participate in the round-table forum on the ecological building of Sino-European youth’s innovation and entrepreneurship. Five representatives from China, Spain and Norway voiced their opinion on the ecological building from their own perspectives—a government official, an investor, an entrepreneur, a leader in charge of innovation and entrepreneurship business in a university and a service company for startups, which altogether enables us to foresee more room for bilateral cooperation in the future.

University Startup World Cup 2018 China connected both domestic and overseas Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week. On 7th October, winners of China’s grand final are scheduled to fly to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to attend the global final that is due on 8th October and will last 5 days, disseminating China’s achievements in innovation and entrepreneurship abroad as well as bringing in foreign advancements home. The five teams will spread China’s innovative stories abroad and invite overseas entrepreneurial talents to come to China and start businesses in Yangpu district of Shanghai in particular.

Yangpu district, one of the 17 demo areas for innovation and entrepreneurship, has its unique advantages in key elements, such as talents, space, capital, and environment required for innovation entrepreneurship. To be specific, with ten universities located in this district, Yangpu is home to Shanghai’s 20% undergraduates, 30% postgraduates, 1/3 international students and 1/3 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering while occupying less than 1% of Shanghai’s area. With such qualified talents, this region boasts more than 50% of Shanghai’s national university science parks, generates the most entrepreneurial university groups, and holds annually thousands of activities related with innovation and entrepreneurship where there emerge an enormous number of promising young men and youth startups. Yangpu has extended great backup to University Startup World Cup 2018 China Grand Final to attract more talents and projects in the realm of innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as to fuel the development of innovative industries.