An increasing number of experts and investors are eying opportunities at Qingdao International Academician Park as ten new projects in the park with a total investment of nearly 3 billion yuan ($470 million) were inked in Qingdao of East China's Shandong province on May 7.

At the same time, 19 academicians from home and abroad, as well as their teams, presented some 100 up-to-date scientific research results and products, attracting investors and business people from more than 180 enterprises including several Fortune Global 500 companies and China Top 500 Enterprises, such as German chemical giant BASF SE, China's major space contractor China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp and China Electronics Technology Group Corp, a State-owned technology giant.

Qingdao International Academician Park, launched in June 2016 in the city's Licang district, is a major effort to motivate regional economy by attracting worldwide academicians to carry out high-end scientific research and helping commercialize their research results, said Wang Xijing, Party chief of Licang district.

"It aims to become a dynamic platform for innovative startups and talents," he said.

According to official statistics, the park had introduced 108 academicians by May, 79 from abroad. Fourteen programs led by academicians have settled in the park.

One of the highlighted programs is led by Yuan Longping, China's "father of hybrid rice". Yuan and his team launched a research and development center focusing on "seawater rice" or saline-alkali tolerant rice. The center uses desalinated seawater to irrigate its experimental paddies, with the highest yield reaching 9.3 metric tons per hectare in 2017.

The park's first program is led by Canadian biologist Wang Yutian, an academician from the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada. He and his team are specializing in biomedical research and relevant products.

"One of our products has started clinical use and is expected to go to market in August or September this year," the academician said.

Wang said that local government had offered various support to his company's growth, including investment recommendations and facilitation of taxpayer and customs procedures.

Now the park has clustered several biomedical startups, "which helps accelerate commercialization of relevant products and enhances cooperation," Wang added.

Supported by the Qingdao park, Jacques Rougerie, an academician from the Academy of Fine Arts, established a research institute in the coastal city aimed at training more young architects and encouraging them to get involved in construction of seaside cities.

"Architecture and the ocean are two of my greatest passions and I really want to put my concept into the development of Qingdao," Rougerie said.

The Qingdao International Academician Park hosts an investment promotion seminar on May 7. [Photo/workercn.cn]

The display panels of Qingdao International Academician Park at the investment promotion seminar on May 7. [Photo/workercn.cn]