Date: November 20, 2016  
Source: News Center

JNU unveiled the first national Group Innovation Space for Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Students on Nov.18. JNU, together with some enterprises, set up a 1.15 billion RMB innovation fund to help those students start businesses and make innovations.

The finals of the Cross-Strait, Hong Kong and Macao Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition were held at JNU the same day. Fourteen outstanding student business innovation projects from nine universities in Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong Province participated. Qiu Yuanping, director of the State Council's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office; Lei Zhengang, director of the Culture Department; Zuo Zhiqiang, director of the Department of Economics and Technology; Wang Hui, director of the Department of Cultural Affairs; Feng Fan, director of the Administration Division; JNU President Hu Jun; Party Secretary Lin Rupeng, and Vice President Zhang Hong attended.

Premier Li Keqiang emphasized that the core of public innovation lies in stimulating of people's creativity, especially the creativity of young people, Lin said. Young students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are the important driving forces to accelerate the implementation of One Belt, One Road initiative and Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation and promote the development of cross-strait regions and Hong Kong and Macao.

He later added,Known as a paramount academy for overseas Chinese, JNU has been nurturing top talents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In recent years, with the aim of being a prestigious school for overseas Chinese, JNU has dedicated itself to innovating the talent development scheme and providing a good platform for innovation talent training to meet the demand of China's strategy of innovation-driven development.

In 2004, JNU launched the Undergraduate Science and Technology Innovation Project and set up a fund to support undergraduate scientific research projects. In 2011, JNU launched the Outstanding Future Innovation Talent Education Program, aimed at all students and building the innovation-oriented education system by launching diverse innovation talent training projects and strengthening innovations in curriculum construction. In 2015, JNU started building an all-around innovation-oriented education system through the implementation of Undergraduate Teaching Management System and Outstanding Future Innovation Talent.

In contrast to the WE Innovation Space previously in use, the Group Innovation Space for Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Students shows more support for young people from these areas.

The Group Innovation Space, innovation competition, Startupbootcamp and business incubator base will work together to provide a large, systematic platform and attract more support from government agencies, scientific research institutions, incubation bases, angel investors, enterprises and universities, thus connecting the reality to the Internet and maximizing its positive impact.

JNU's development of the platform is an important step to fulfill social responsibility and implement the One Belt, One Road initiative and China's strategy of innovation-driven development, Zhang Hong said. It also attempts to deepen innovation and entrepreneurship education reform in an all-around way, develop an Innovation Ecosystem for Education, and foster innovative and enterprising students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. He said he believed the platform would encourage youths from these areas to start businesses and make innovations, contributing to cross-strait, Hong Kong and Macao economic growth and achieving the Chinese dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

(WE Group Innovation Space unveiled)

(Qiu Yuanping exchanging opinions with students)