GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The 17th Guangzhou Convention of Overseas Chinese Scholars (OCS) in Science and Technology was successfully held at Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center, on December 21 and 22, 2015.
The OCS Convention has always been a popular venue for skilled workers from overseas to seek jobs and opportunities. Over 1,500 overseas talents (including more than 150 foreign experts), as well as 15 overseas professional associations and more than 700 overseas projects from 29 countries including the US, Canada, UK, Singapore, Australia and the CIS attended the Convention, which was themed "attracting overseas talents and boosting innovation."
The International Development Group (IDG) appeared at OCS once again this year. Ever since its founding, IDG has invested in more than 500 projects, one fifth of which are accredited as being by skilled workers from overseas. Yang Fei, IDG Capital's Senior Partner and a principal investor, regards overseas talents of Chinese origin as a major component of the country's talent pool, and has invested heavily at each OCS convention. In addition, Han Chao, a winner of the of Guangzhou Elite Project's "Chunhui Cup" competition, part of the Overseas Study Program, invested RMB20 million in a project signed with a unit in the development zone under OCS.
A large number of major projects were signed at the 17th OCS, with the investment scale up to RMB2.5 billion in its initial stage. Among the international cooperation projects on offer, 21 projects were introduced by the Commonwealth of the Independent States (CIS), including seven industrialization projects for which the industrialization achievements are expected to reach RMB60 million.
An analysis of the credentials of participants revealed that those with a doctorate accounted for 70%, and likewise 70% of participants who possess more than five years of overseas work experience, and 70% of the total field, were interested in starting up a business in China. Furthermore around 30% are top talents, specializing in biomedicine, electronic information, new material, new energy, environmental protection, management, finance and other selected fields. Based on incomplete statistics, more than 12,000 cooperation projects are expected to be secured as a result of the 17th OCS, among which more than 3,600 projects have already entered cooperation intention, or agreement signing stages.
The key to the Convention's success in garnering such extensive attendance and support from its visitors is its ability to provide them with a comprehensive analysis of the domestic employment environment in China, complimented by a series of meaningful discussion platforms covering issues such as national strategy releases, high-end overseas talent guidance, "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" and local development strategy leading platforms. This OCS convention in particular has provided more diverse, customized, and comprehensive services to overseas talents, venture capital institutions, and local institutions.
Indeed, OCS conventions in the past few years have served as a positive medium in attracting the return of overseas Chinese talents back to China. This achievement can be readily appreciated by noting that the number of returned overseas Chinese talents has increased from less than 40,000 in 1998 to 3.52 million by the end of 2014. In Guangzhou alone, the number of returned overseas Chinese talents has risen from less than 2,000 to more than 50,000 at present in the past decade, and these individuals have on their return set up, or been instrumental in, the creation of more than 3,000 new enterprises.
The 17th OCS offered more than 30 key on-site activities of diverse forms in four sequential segments: summit, exchange, exhibition and promotion. It exhibited multiple Chinese scientific and technological construction achievements as well as innovation and entrepreneurship achievements of overseas talents. It utilized a very large 25,000m2 on-site exhibition area, at which the 10th "Chunhui Cup" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for Overseas Chinese Talents exhibited 195 high quality short-listed projects, and more than 80 leading case histories of recently returned overseas talents. Chinese returned talents who have already established successful entrepreneurship flagships in China, as clear exhibits to encourage yet more overseas talents to return; and thus power further innovation and entrepreneurship in China.
An additional and valuable attribute of China holding these OCS conventions, is that such forums encourage a greater widening of international exchange activities. To date CIS countries attending have fostered nearly 200 high-tech projects, and the current "Chunhui Cup" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition this year has fostered 195 quality shortlisted projects, with the China-US Maker Competition also bringing potential prize-winning projects into full focus within an OCS forum.
Like a pebble cast into a still millpond, OCS has created ripples of entrepreneurship that have introduced many domestic units and organizations to attract overseas talent. In fact, it has gathered up in its wake more than 200 Chinese universities and research institutes; nearly 100 local business start-up parks and incubators; and more than 50 venture capital institutions and nearly 300 enterprises. Likewise this very successful forum initiative has brought in more than 10,000 projects in demand of talents.
Of significance is that the 2015 OCS convention represents the first year for such forums being held biennially, instead of yearly. With the most welcome productivity that this new initiative has generated, and with the ongoing support of the CPC Guangzhou Committee, Guangzhou Municipal Government, and Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, it is believed that this OCS forum platform approach will continue to give positive impetus to the "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" strategy now firmly in place in Guangzhou. It will continue to reinforce further China's mercantile and productivity talents in a world-scene context.
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Overseas Chinese Scholars in Science and Technology
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