Research marketization key to future growth

Channels for transferring laboratory results to industrial products should be expanded and improved, an industrial insider said.

China has put great effort into developing its technology and the country's many research institutions have recently bred several fruitful, innovative products.

Enterprises, governmental departments and industrial parks need the academic world's technological outcomes to drive their production.

There are several key factors in the process of transferring technological innovation to the market, according to Zhu Xiduo, chief of Zhongguancun Tianhe Technology Transfer Center.

The first step is the outcome itself, as not all of the outcomes are mature enough to be launched in the market. There should be a professional assessment conducted on experimental results.

The second step is to increase demand from enterprises.

Not all enterprises can describe their demands accurately. Therefore, there should be a platform to unravel the market's real demands.

Third, service throughout the process of negotiating between research institutions and enterprises should include follow-ups made by professional intermediary platforms.

Finally, resources must be integrated. As one technological outcome or project could be achieved through several independent efforts, conducted by different laboratories and institutions, there should be a professional platform to contact and exchange information with all involved parties.

"But the fact is that only a few technological products can be successfully launched to facilitate production," Zhu said.

"The low rate of transfer has become a bottleneck in today's technological development."

The reason for the low rate of transfer is the lack of professional, systematic and market-oriented platforms to help those technological innovations to be launched in real production, Zhu said.

The Zhongguancun Tianhe Technology Transfer Center was launched by Z-Park Non-Governmental Science Technology Entrepreneurs Association and Yuyuantan Z-Park in 2014, aiming to provide professional intermediary services to facilitate research marketization.

This year, the center has organized the technology service section of the 2017 China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services.

In the 380-square-meter exhibition area, the center brings 120 high-quality scientific and technological potential products made by research institutions and 300 industrial demands from enterprises to the fair.

The outcomes cover the domains of advanced manufacturing, modern agriculture, biology and healthcare, energy conservation and environmental protection.

Some of the experimental results will be sent abroad to explore overseas markets; others will be introduced to the Chinese market.

The center will also hold a series of activities such as exhibitions, themed forums and displays of high-quality scientific and technological projects to boost in-depth intercourse on the subject of research transfer.

May 30 marks the first Science and Technology Workers' Day. On that day, a carnival was be held at the fair to encourage workers to further explore transfer channels and inspire every factor in scientific innovation, according to Zhang Hongyan, deputy director of Zhongguancun Tianhe Technology Transfer Center.

(China Daily 05/31/2017 page7)