China will provide greater policy support for college students pursuing careers in innovation and entrepreneurship, according to a new government guideline. It describes college students as a vibrant force in various fields, but points to issues hindering innovation and entrepreneurship such as a lack of experience, difficulties in securing financing and the lack of services to help students with their businesses. Colleges are tasked with placing greater emphasis on teaching entrepreneurship and innovation and they should hire more qualified external professionals to serve as mentors. Authorities are tasked with creating a more favorable environment for start-ups and innovative projects, while government-funded incubators should reserve 30% of their space for rent-free use by college entrepreneurs. The guideline also stressed the importance of improving financial support by exploring new funding channels and introducing favorable financial policies.
Small and micro-sized businesses founded by graduates can apply for up to CNY3 million in low-interest loans. The guideline further stresses enhanced protection of intellectual property rights, and also noted the expansion of the annual China International College Students’ “Internet Plus” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, which aims to boost entrepreneurship and innovation among college students. The finals of the seventh competition were held at Nanchang University in Jiangxi province. A total of 9.56 million students from 4,347 universities in 121 countries and regions signed up for this year’s competition, up by 51% from last year, according to the Ministry of Education.The number of foreign students participating in the competition reached 15,611 this year, up 74% year-on-year, said Wu Yan, Director of the Ministry’s Department of Higher Education. They include students from world-renowned universities such as Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge, he said. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign students participated via video link.
With the increase in its scale, this year’s competition has increased the number of projects for the finals from 1,600 last year to 3,500 this year, while the number of gold medals was raised from 158 last year to 320 this year. The competition has been held every year since 2015. Universities in China have opened more than 30,000 courses on innovation and entrepreneurship. They have also employed almost 35,000 full-time and 139,000 part-time teachers to assist students’ efforts in innovation and entrepreneurship, the China Daily reports.
