On April 9th, the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) announced the official launch of the 2024 China Overseas Talents Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.
As one of the activities of the 26th CAST Annual Meeting, this competition, themed "Innovation Leading, Dreaming of the Future," is jointly organized by CAST and the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Its aim is to advance the implementation of more proactive, open, and effective talent policies, strengthen international talent exchanges, support overseas talents in sharing development opportunities in China, fully engage in the construction of modern industrial systems, and accelerate the development of new productive forces.
The competition sets up 13 overseas regions and 1 domestic region. To enhance cooperation with international organizations and science and technology groups in Hong Kong, Macao, and other regions, the competition invites institutions such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization Investment and Technology Promotion Office, the Macao Association for the Promotion of Science and Technology, the Macao Science and Technology Fund, and the Hong Kong Science Park to recommend outstanding projects from their innovation and entrepreneurship competitions to participate in the final competition.
The competition is divided into five tracks: Life and Health, Digital Economy, Green and Low Carbon, Advanced Manufacturing, and Future Industries and Cultural Creativity.
The Life and Health track includes modern biomedicine, high-end medical equipment, smart healthcare, life sciences, bioengineering, food safety, agricultural product processing, and elderly care, among other areas.
The Digital Economy track encompasses big data, blockchain, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, digital agriculture, digital infrastructure, digital industrialization, and digital public services, among others.
The Green and Low Carbon track covers green environmental protection, carbon neutrality, new energy industries, energy storage technology, and resource recycling, among others.
The Advanced Manufacturing track includes new materials industries, high-end equipment manufacturing, agricultural technology, smart special equipment, intelligent manufacturing system solutions, optoelectronic display manufacturing, aerospace equipment, power equipment, and smart terminals, among others.
The Future Industries and Cultural Creativity track includes next-generation mobile communications, artificial intelligence, metaverse, big data, large models, blockchain, quantum information, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, human-computer interaction, digital twins, brain-computer interaction, digital creativity, tourism, and cultural creativity, among other areas.
According to the competition announcement, the registration phase will run from April to the end of May. In June, each region will conduct preliminary online reviews and online and offline defenses to select projects for the final competition according to each track. In mid-July, the final competition and award ceremony will be held at CAST, along with related activities such as project exhibitions. Following the competition, project matchmaking negotiations will be conducted based on the matching requirements of various regions to facilitate project landing, and continuous project matchmaking tracking services will be provided.
