The “Expressway” from “Laboratory” to “Industrial Application”
In April this year, the National University Regional Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area) was approved by the Ministry of Education to start construction. Since then, Guangzhou has been fully advancing the construction of three branch centers focusing on biomedicine, intelligent mobility, and high-end scientific instruments under the National University Regional Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area). It is reported that these three branch centers will be officially inaugurated at the 2025 University Technology Fair. Recently, reporters conducted interviews on the construction progress of the three branch centers.
Intelligent Mobility Branch Center:
Building the “Most Powerful Energy Hub” for Intelligent Mobility Achievement Transformation
Approved by the Ministry of Education, in April this year, the Air-Ground Integrated Intelligent Mobility Branch Center of the National University Regional Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area) (hereinafter referred to as the Intelligent Mobility Branch Center) settled in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center. Recently, reporters visited the Intelligent Mobility Branch Center and interviewed its Executive Director Dai Qingyun.
“We are exploring the integrated development strategy of education, science & technology, and talents. In the Higher Education Mega Center, by leveraging our talent advantages as well as the industrial strengths of Guangzhou’s automotive industry and the future low-altitude economy, we aim to build a ‘dual center’ that supports the transfer and commercialization of scientific research achievements by university teachers and the innovation and entrepreneurship of college students,” said Dai Qingyun. The Intelligent Mobility Branch Center gives full play to the broad market role of Guangzhou’s “trillion-level” new energy vehicle industry cluster and the world-leading low-altitude industry ecosystem. It deploys the innovation chain around the industrial chain to accelerate the efficient transformation of scientific research achievements in the field of intelligent mobility from universities nationwide into new quality productive forces. The center has introduced the team of Professor Li Zexiang from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to build a full-chain innovation ecosystem for emerging engineering disciplines, and has also established the Pearl River Institute of Science and Technology Innovation to construct an integrated service system for tech-startup teams.
In the initial phase, the Intelligent Mobility Branch Center has collaborated with Guangzhou University and Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts to carry out emerging engineering education practices. At present, the center has completed the construction of over 20,000 square meters of comprehensive service space in the first phase. It plans to build 11 transformation platforms covering key links such as R&D verification, testing and inspection, pilot-scale maturation, and tech-innovation incubation.
“The Intelligent Mobility Branch Center is accelerating its development into the ‘most powerful energy hub’ for the transformation of intelligent mobility achievements from universities across the country,” Dai Qingyun introduced. Up to now, the center has connected with 40 universities nationwide, collected 364 projects, selected 65 high-quality projects, and facilitated the settlement of 17 projects from universities including Beijing Institute of Technology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), and South China University of Technology. Among them, 8 emerging engineering student teams have been incubated, and a number of original, cutting-edge, and industry-valued scientific research achievements are completing the crucial leap “from the laboratory to the market” here.
National University Regional Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center for High-end Scientific Instruments:
Addressing the “Choke Point” Problem in High-end Scientific Instruments
“We need to focus on the direction of high-end scientific instruments, solve the current problem of low conversion rate of university scientific and technological achievements, and quickly transform the scientific and technological achievements accumulated by domestic universities over decades into new quality productive forces,” introduced Professor Zhou Zhen, Executive Director of the National University Regional Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center for High-end Scientific Instruments (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area · Guangzhou) (hereinafter referred to as the “Center”). “Based on the whole country and facing universities and enterprises, the center connects cutting-edge technologies with industrial needs in a two-way manner, and can be described as a ‘technology converter’, ‘resource connector’ and ‘industrial booster’ in the field of high-end scientific instruments.”
For a long time, China’s high-end scientific instruments have relied on imports. To conquer core technologies, promote the formation of an application ecosystem for domestic instruments, and achieve the leap from “following” and “keeping pace” to “leading”, it is indispensable to accurately build a bridge between universities and enterprises.
At present, the center is building nine generic technology platforms covering concept verification, mechanical technology, electronic technology, product manufacturing, etc., and three sharing platforms, aiming to inject new momentum into the industrial chain through resource sharing. It is worth noting that in the use of financial funds, the center adopts a phased and precise support model of “combining grants with investments”: in the concept verification stage, it provides funding of no more than 1 million yuan for each project to verify technical feasibility and market potential, helping transform ideas into prototypes; for projects that pass the concept verification, it further provides continuous support of no more than 10 million yuan in the industrial transformation stage.
“The long-term mission of the center is to follow industrial laws, gather scientific and technological achievements from across the country through market-oriented operations, build a national-level scientific instrument industry hub, accelerate the in-depth integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and gradually address the ‘choke point’ problem in high-end scientific instruments,” Professor Zhou Zhen introduced. The center has gathered nearly 300 scientific and technological achievements from more than 60 universities and research institutes, which will be showcased collectively at the 2025 University Technology Fair. With the help of the fair platform, it will accurately connect upstream and downstream resources of the industrial chain and facilitate cooperation and signing of new technologies in high-end scientific instruments.
Biomedicine Branch Center:
Focusing on “Cell and Gene” and “AI + Pharmaceutical R&D”
In August this year, the National University Regional Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center for Biomedicine (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area) was established. The starting area of the center is located in Guangzhou International Bio Island, where the industrial agglomeration effect is prominent. Adjacent to Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Bio Island gathers more than 530 biomedicine innovation enterprises and abundant university resources. The industry innovation achievements focused on by the Biomedicine Branch Center are closely linked to the health and well-being of the people. The construction of this center is conducive to solving the problem of transforming university biomedicine achievements and enabling these achievements to benefit more people.
Relying on the industrial, scientific and educational advantages of Bio Island, the center focuses on cutting-edge directions and prioritizes the layout of niche areas such as “cell and gene” and “AI + pharmaceutical R&D”. According to reports, the center has established a regular university docking service system in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to timely grasp the achievement transformation needs of key universities. It has organized universities nationwide to submit cooperation intentions in the field of biomedicine, with a focus on “cell and gene therapy” and “AI pharmaceutical R&D” directions, promoting and optimizing the docking and transformation of scientific research projects. At present, 159 projects have passed the preliminary selection by the expert group and meet the conditions for settling in the center.
