On July 29, the launching ceremony of the 6th Shaoxing high-level talent innovation and entrepreneurship competition in China and abroad, and the press conference of the 2021 Design Intelligence Award (DIA) China and Forbes China Design (FCD) selection were officially held. The event was organized by China Academy of Fine Arts, the Organization Department of Keqiao, the CPC Shaoxing Municipal Committee, the CPC Shaoxing Keqiao District Committee, and the people’s Government of Shaoxing Keqiao District was sponsored by the FCD selection organizing committee.
As stakeholders in the competition, startup owners, entrepreneurs, and directors, and administrative staff of Keqiao International Park (KIP) attended the live event at KIP premises. Several other participants made their appearance taking part from across the nation including participants from renowned universities in the country such as Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tiangong University, etc.
DIA, the leading international award for design and innovation, was established by the highly reputed China Academy of Art in 2015 to promote the imagination and creativity of designers and entrepreneurs. The competition is free to enter, and the total monetary award of the grand prize amounts to 750,000 US dollars. The competition provides a platform for enterprises to promote international trade, expand international networks, and tap business opportunities. It also serves as a platform for evaluation, promotion, and communication of design, being an accelerator bringing innovation to the industry and the future.
At the same time, KIP has also received video messages from some of its partners expressing their congratulatory remarks on the occasion of the announcement of the launching of the competition. These valued partners include Liberato Manna, Associate Director for Materials and Nanotechnologies Area of the Italian Institute of Technology; Zeev Zalevsky, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of Bar-Ilan University in Israel, Academician of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; and Nazim Agoulmine, Vice-president International Relations of the University of Evry Val d’Essonne, former director of the ICT and Mathematics (NuMa) department at ANR (NSF France).
Here, we share some comments startup owners and entrepreneurs at KIP made:
Tomas Noordermeer, a startup owner at KIP noted “We didn’t know what to expect of this event. Therefore, it was great to see so many people in the park joining in this meeting together. The selection of online participants was also very impressive, including incubators, accelerators, and internationally focused investment companies from all over China.” Tomas went on to add that he is new to Keqiao, and has landed here only recently. He mentioned that he learned about the competition only recently and his expectations were blank. However, he remarked, joining this meeting he realized how fast Keqiao is developing, with advanced infrastructure, developed industry, and a solid plan for the future. He summed up his views by saying “the meeting was organized very professionally and convinced me that it’s an absolute honor to potentially participate in this competition with many interesting and innovative companies with great ideas that will contribute to Keqiao’s bright future.”
Hamza Benatmane an entrepreneur here at KIP commented “The meeting was a great success. Our Direktic team members and I were present during the conference at Keqiao International Center and we appreciated everyone who took the time to celebrate yet another milestone of Zhejiang Province and Keqiao District to support high talent entrepreneurs’ projects. I am looking forward to this competition.”
Other participants echoed some of the above remarks particularly those appreciating the organizing committee of KIP, expressing their eagerness and interest in partaking in the competition and how the event broadened their awareness of the abovementioned contest. No doubt, the event has been insightful for the participants.
China Shaoxing high-level talent innovation and entrepreneurship competition which has been held for five consecutive sessions since 2016 is one of the highest, largest and most influential talent introduction at home and abroad in Shaoxing.