From Lab to Market: Accelerating Sample-to-Product Transformation — Insights from the Jiangsu Industry-Academia Collaboration Conference

Source: Beijing Daily Client

Xinhua News Agency, Nanjing, September 13th"This optical brain-computer interface device can provide support services for patients with diseases such as stroke." In front of the booth of Danyang Huichuang Medical Equipment Co., Ltd. at the Nanjing International Exhibition Center, the staff's introduction attracted a large number of audiences to stop, take photos, and inquire, becoming a vivid footnote for Jiangsu's promotion of high-quality industry-university-research cooperation.

From September 11 to 12, the 2025 Jiangsu Industry-University-Research Cooperation Conference, hosted by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology and organized by the Jiangsu New Quality Productivity Promotion Center, was held in Nanjing. More than 4,100 scientific and technological achievements from universities and research institutes, along with over 3,600 technical needs from enterprises, were collectively released on-site. Over 4,000 enterprises engaged in对接洽谈 with experts, technology managers, and financial institutions. Starting from the 13th, based on pre-conference and on-site对接, more than 160 industry experts conducted field investigations in over 500 enterprises, further promoting specialized recommendations and on-site negotiations to provide precise technical consulting services for enterprises.

Wang Daifa, Chairman of Danyang Huichuang Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., who has attended the conference for three consecutive years, is a loyal "fan" of the event and has tasted its "sweet benefits." He introduced that during the previous two participations, the company not only showcased a series of innovative products and attracted orders from a number of medical institutions but also gained favor from venture capital firms, providing timely "nourishment" for the company’s development.

At the Southeast University exhibition area, a four-axis, eight-propeller electric flying car caught attention. "This is the first-generation prototype that we test flew earlier this year, and the second-generation prototype is expected to be released by the end of the year," said Qiu Chunlong from Professor Yin Guodong's team, who, after completing his master’s degree, directly joined a commercialization company responsible for vehicle design and technological industrialization. He told reporters that all core software and hardware components of the vehicle, including flight control, motors, and controllers, are products of eight companies incubated by Southeast University. "Just outside the university's west gate are our few companies; an entire industrial park handles all vehicle parts."

"Only by aligning with the country can we accurately innovate."New Coordinate"Only through the transformation of achievements can we unleash the maximum value of technology," said Sun Youhong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Southeast University.

In July this year, the General Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Government issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Collaborative Innovation Development of High-tech Zones and Institutions of Higher Learning." In September, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology, the Office of the Leading Group for Talent Work of the Provincial Party Committee, and the Provincial Department of Education jointly launched two policy documents: a Policy Guideline and a Reform Directive. Industry-university-research cooperation projects that meet the criteria will be incorporated into the management of provincial science and technology plan projects, with preferential support provided in the form of post-grant subsidies, interest subsidies, etc., addressing previous "bottlenecks" in industry-university-research cooperation.

To promote the "dual-high synergy" innovative development of high-tech zones and higher education institutions, and to empower the growth of start-up technology enterprises, the conference featured a special session on the new quality transformation initiatives of high-tech zones and "dual-high synergy" innovative development, as well as a special session on technology-financial services. A series of business-friendly policies, innovative achievements, and enterprise needs were announced on-site.

"Representatives from our side attended both special events, and a 1-billion-yuan-scale investment fund was signed into establishment on the spot," said Hong Jian, Deputy Director of the Talent and Science Bureau of Huai'an High-tech Zone. With the support of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology and other departments, the local area is assisting Zhongtian Steel Group (Huai'an) New Material Co., Ltd. in jointly applying for a provincial key laboratory with Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology and Nanjing Tech University, to support the company's R&D of high-performance metal skeleton materials for tires.

Since 2023, Jiangsu has hosted the Industry-University-Research Cooperation Matching Conference for three consecutive years, achieving significant results in facilitating the connection between innovation and industrial sectors and accelerating the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements. Over the past two years, Jiangsu has facilitated more than 13,000 cooperation projects with an investment of 126 billion yuan. A group of talented individuals have settled in Jiangsu, with the number of national-level talents accounting for over 10% of the country’s total. The province has secured over 5,000 projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and 5,933 expert professors from across China have taken up roles as "Vice Presidents of Technology" in Jiangsu enterprises.

"Holding this brand event aims to build a platform to promote the integration of industry, academia, research, and application, from experiment to practice, accelerating the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into real productivity, enabling the innovation chain and the industrial chain to seamlessly connect," said Xu Guanghui, Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology. In the first half of this year, the growth rate of added value of high-tech industries in Jiangsu reached 9.2%, with their output accounting for 51.8% of the regulated industrial sector.

Source:Xinhua News Agency

Author: Lu Huadong, Chen Xiyan