How to solve the two ＂one kilometer＂ problems of science and technology innovation in Hangzhou universities

Some time ago, a media report triggered a heated discussion among the public-a university in Guangxi received 131 million yuan in research funding, implemented 862 research projects, and realized zero results transformation. The data comes from the list of the management and use of special funds of nine district-administered universities from 2020 to 2022 published by Guangxi Audit Office.

Hundreds of millions of scientific research funds, the conversion rate of results is 0? The huge digital contrast makes the topic of difficult transformation of scientific and technological achievements in China become the focus again.

What is behind the 0 conversion rate? For Hangzhou and universities, how to do a good job in accelerating the transformation of scientific and technological achievements?

How to calculate the account with a conversion rate of "0"

The low conversion rate of scientific research achievements has always been a "long-standing problem" in domestic universities.

Take the key output of scientific research and innovation "invention patent" as an example. According to China National Intellectual Property Administration’s Patent Investigation Report of China in 2022 (hereinafter referred to as "Report"), the implementation rate of invention patents in China universities is 16.9%, of which the industrialization rate is only 3.9%. According to a report in Beijing Daily, the conversion rate of American colleges and universities’ achievements is about 50% according to relevant research calculations. Compared with developed countries, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the ability to transform achievements in Chinese universities.

As far as the whole society is concerned, a report entitled "Analysis Report on the Transformation Prospect of Scientific and Technological Achievements in Strategic Emerging Industries" shows that only 10%-30% of China’s cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements have been applied to actual production, and only 20% of them can truly form industries. The report pointed out that in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, the institutional and institutional obstacles of "what to turn", "how to turn" and "who will turn" still exist.

The conversion rate of scientific research achievements is 0, does it mean that the scientific research funds hit Shui Piao?

Deng Haijian, chief expert of the network education teacher studio of the Ministry of Education of Hangzhou Dianzi University, thinks that it should be dialectically viewed from three levels.

From the total amount, 131 million yuan is indeed a large number, but it is spread evenly over 862 projects, with an average of only 150,000 yuan per project. Therefore, it is inevitable that some people will vomit. These expenses may not be enough for scientific research. How to realize the transformation of results? "Of course, the accounts are not calculated in this way. The projects are heavy and light, and the budget is large and small. What we have to focus on are those projects that should have been transformed but the results have not been transformed."

Judging from the standard of measuring scientific research work in colleges and universities, the conversion rate of achievements is not the only standard. There are many kinds of scientific research, which can be divided into basic research, application, technology development and so on. "Basic research is not about transformation, or it can’t be considered by transformation. Therefore, when evaluating scientific research, it is necessary to classify and analyze specific problems. What needs serious accountability should be a project that was originally directed at transformation, but the result was to fish in troubled waters. "

Deng Haijian feels that from the perspective of researchers themselves, we must be highly alert to this set of figures. "The urgent task is to do pragmatic scientific research, not to do scientific research for scientific research, or to do scientific research for topics, but to do more scientific research projects closely related to people’s lives and production."

The road to science and technology innovation in colleges and universities is difficult in two key "one kilometer"

What are the reasons why scientific and technological achievements are difficult to get out of the ivory tower? Perhaps it can be analyzed from the relationship between "scientific research", "scientific and technological innovation" and "innovation and entrepreneurship"

Professor Zhang Yu, Executive Dean of School of Life and Health Sciences, Hangzhou Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Hangzhou High Court, National University of Science and Technology), has been deeply involved in scientific research for many years. In her view, the whole science and technology innovation chain can be compared to three stages-

"Scientific research" is like a process from 0 to 1, "scientific and technological innovation" is from 1 to 100, and "innovation and entrepreneurship" is constantly expanding from 100 to 10000. On the surface, the whole process seems to be the relationship between "scientific research" at the forefront and "innovation and entrepreneurship" at the end, which is separate. "But to maintain a long-term virtuous circle, the whole chain is mutually reinforcing, and all three links are inseparable from the practical exploration of related industries."

Zhang Yu’s point of view has been recognized by another senior researcher, Professor Yang Wei, Dean of the Institute of Basic Medical Innovation of Zhejiang University. He vividly compared the relationship between the three to three intertwined rings. "The three overlap and influence each other. It is not so much a science and technology chain, but actually more like a Ke Zhang network. A net, a chess game, a careless game will lose. "

If the relationship between the three is clarified, the crux can be found.

During the two sessions of the National People’s Congress this year, "scientific research" was frequently mentioned and became a hot topic. Liu Qiang, member of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and member of the Standing Committee of 301 Science and Technology Committees of China Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, said: "China’s scientific and technological circles are facing a relatively prominent common problem, that is, the original and leading scientific and technological research results are insufficient."

The source innovation ability is insufficient, and the "from 0 to 1" is lacking. The "first mile" on Kechuang Road has a difficult start. This difficulty also makes other institutions and units in the chain feel helpless. In a media interview, Hu Xiaowei, general manager of Paifu Intellectual Property Investment and Operation Company, pointed out: "There may be hundreds of colleges and universities working on the same subject and in the same direction, but the things they make are very general. The source is not good, how to transform it? "

Not only that, but the "last mile" problem on Kechuang Road has attracted more and more attention. Academician Shi Yigong, President of West Lake University, once said to the media: "The last straw to crush camels is to encourage scientists to start businesses."

It is understood that technology transfer and transformation needs compound professionals with backgrounds in intellectual property, law, management and industry, but there has been a lack of professionals and service institutions in this field in China. Colleges and universities are subject to institutional mechanisms and lack such talents. Most colleges and universities are responsible for transfer and transformation management, and most of them are part-time.

Will this source innovation incubation model bring "ice-breaking" effect?

Faced with the "two kilometers" problem, some forces are seeking a breakthrough.

In 2019, a brand-new innovative incubation model of medicine source was born in the Institute of Basic Medical Innovation of Zhejiang University. The Institute, jointly established by Zhejiang University and Hangzhou Linping Economic and Technological Development Zone, is an innovative platform led by basic medical disciplines and aimed at transforming the source of high-level original academic achievements.

Dean Yang Wei introduced that under the pressure of "generic drugs come quickly", "follow-up innovation" and "lack of innovative drugs with the first target", the institute focused on the field of biomedical source innovation and strived to incubate several innovative drugs and new medical devices with the first target in the world in China.

In other words, the first thing that the institute solves is the "first mile" problem of medical innovation. Therefore, a special incubation fund for innovative medicine is set up every year to collect high-level research results with transformation value for universities, scientific research institutions and medical institutions. At present, four rounds of global solicitation for innovative scientific research projects have been completed, and more than 100 million yuan of incubation funds have been invested to provide industrial incubation funds for more than 50 selected projects from Peking University, Zhejiang University, Xiamen University and China Pharmaceutical University. "Even if the result is only a paper, as long as it has the value of medical innovation and transformation, we are willing to give it the first bucket of help." Yang Wei told reporters.

In the "last mile" of the transformation of scientific research achievements, the institute also provided a new model-the "housekeeper" of the whole project. To put it simply, it is to let "professionals do professional things" and equip each project with a project management team, which is composed of project leaders, project management department personnel and industry experts in related fields, to control the progress of project implementation throughout the process and provide multi-level and three-dimensional results transformation services such as intellectual property consultation, commercialization strategy, project investment and financing docking, cooperation and docking of pharmaceutical companies, and assisting enterprises in industrial and commercial registration. At present, the Institute has successfully landed nine funded projects in project companies, and is promoting the incubation in a market-oriented way, and it is expected that 8-9 will land in the near future.

The reporter learned that among the top 50 universities that have entered the contract value of scientific and technological achievements transformation for five consecutive years, Zhejiang University has always ranked second in the country. Linping District regards biomedicine as one of the three leading industries and anchors the goal of "80 billion biomedical industry cluster". "Our ultimate goal is to become a world-class platform for incubating the results of medical sources, incubating the world’s first innovative target drugs for major disease interventions, medical devices and diagnostic products with independent property rights, helping the high-quality development of Linping biomedical industry and contributing to Zhejiang’s biomedical industry highland." Yang Wei also expressed the hope that the incubation model of the research institute can play more exemplary and leading roles in the innovation field of domestic pharmaceutical sources.