Wuhan University of Technology recently established a research institute -- focusing on new energy, new materials, automobiles, motorcycles, ships, AI and big data -- in Liangjiang New Area, in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, local officials said.

The WHTU institute will carry out in depth cooperation with Liangjiang on academic research, the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, innovation, business set ups, scientific incubation and talent training.

According to the plan, the institute will introduce 17 projects under incubation from the WHTU and establish six R&D centers or labs in the next five years, while incubating 22 industrial projects.

Officials said the WHTU in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, has the biggest presence among all the universities -- directly led by the Ministry of Education --- in training in the building materials, transportation and automobile sectors.

Since the start of 2019, the WHTU has cooperated with nine companies in Chongqing, including Guoyuan Port and Changan Automobile, on intelligent vehicles, intelligent transportation and new materials.

Liangjiang Coordinative Zone, the location of the new institute, is one of the most important innovation platforms in Liangjiang. To date, a slew of universities and institutes -- including Tsinghua University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Jilin University and East China Normal University -- have settled in the zone.