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Innovation goal: better ideas, better life
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SHANGHAI’S plan to transform itself into a world hub of innovation relies in part on individuals with proverbial light bulbs popping on over heads.
From factories to schools and even among grassroots garage tinkerers, imaginative people with new ideas are forming the backbone of the city’s future development.
The Shanghai Science and Technology Commission blueprint, issued last month, seeks to nurture a population of 200,000 individual innovators by 2020 and create 3,000 workshops where they can give their brainpower free rein.
Their realms may run from robotics and 3D printing to household gadgets and computerized numerical-controlled tools. In Chinese, this emerging class is called chuangke
(创客), which roughly translates as “inventors of new ideas or products.”
One prime area of focus is children.
“Children’s imagination is endless and often surprising, and what we’re trying to do is spark that imagination,” says Wu Qiang, director and founder of Stickmen, a center supported and set up by the Shanghai Technology Innovation Center to work with youngsters from kindergarten to middle school ages. “Stickmen refers to matches that light things up.”
Among the inventions that have sprung from the young minds are a robotic puma that monitors indoor air pollution levels, a sound-control camera that takes a picture when the word “cheese” is uttered, and a doorbell that automatically weighs anyone crossing its threshold.
“Our team of university experts has come up with a simple computer program that can be mastered by children in just five minutes,” Wu says. “With this program, they can invent almost anything.”
In the last two years, Stickmen has been introduced into classrooms of more than 60 schools, involving about 20,000 students.
A multi-functional nightstand invented by Lu Yu, 14, from Shangnan Middle School, won first prize in this year’s national Future Engineer Competition.
“I got this idea and Stickmen helped me turn it into reality,” Lu says.
The downtown Jing’an District last year set up what it called the Shanghai Chuangke Center to serve as incubator fostering startups from both local and foreign residents in the city. It helps budding entrepreneurs launch companies to apply their ideas to profitable production.
It is now hub for 20 such companies, engaged in fields such as software, hardware, education and tourism.
“All of our companies are small in size but big in high technology,” says Zheng Jianling, the center’s director. “The center is a platform for them to share resources and help each other.”
He adds that big companies are not necessarily needed anymore to turn ideas into reality. The Shanghai Chuangke Center can create linkages of innovators that lead to chains of production.
“It has formed a virtuous cycle,” Zheng says.
One of the results is a new and popular smartphone app that allows editing and retouching of photos. The app allows users to easily give their pictures a silver-screen visual effect, complete with English subtitles.
“I hope this simple app will improve the way people record their daily lives,” says its inventor Yang Liu. “We are aware that this kind of app probably has a short popularity span, so we’re developing new products. The support from government is what makes it all possible for start-up companies like ours.”
Shanghai Party Secretary Han Zheng visited Yang’s workshop recently and paused for a group photo using the app. When it was later posted on social media, it drew hundreds of “like” reactions.
“That was a big boost of encouragement for us,” Yang says.
Another center created for innovation development is called Ants’ Maker Space. It will open tomorrow in Yangpu District and is aimed at individuals and small companies involved in Internet education.
“We named it Ant because it’s small, but an army of ants gathered together has great strength,” says Yu Jie, one of the founders of the project.
Ant participants can do their work at the center rent-free. Two angel funds have invested 35 million yuan (US$5.6 million) to sponsor players there. The center will be home to 67 start-up companies.
The second phase of Ants, which will expand to the size of a football field, will come online soon. Further extensions are planned for the Pudong New Area and Songjiang District.
Yu says the idea of focusing incubation on Internet education will be introduced to Beijing eventually. “We will work together to extend the idea of Internet education to more people,” Yu says.
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