从2018年3月27日剑桥大学南京科技创新中心正式落户江北新区，到2019年5月中心科研项目正式启动，从2019年9月10日中心长期基地奠基，到2020年2月中心新办公场所正式开建，剑桥大学南京科技创新中心（以下简称中心）——这所剑桥大学800年校史中首次在英国境外建立的研究机构和成果转化平台，正取得稳步发展。
剑桥大学缘何与南京牵手？双边构建了怎样的新型合作关系？近日，剑桥大学终身讲席教授、剑桥大学先进光电子研究中心(CAPE)主任和光电器件与传感器研究中心主任 、剑桥大学南京科技创新中心学术主任及CEO初大平教授就此进行深入阐释。
初大平教授
科技创新连通双方需求
Technology and Innovation
古都南京为何向万里之遥的剑桥大学抛出橄榄枝，剑桥大学又为何选择在中国、在南京建立一所海外科研中心？初大平教授认为，在科技创新引领全球经济发展的时代，这是一个产业升级需求与科技成果转化需求双向驱动的案例。
当下，全球经济增长引擎看中国，中国经济增长极绕不过东部沿海，尤其是长三角地区。随着经济增长由重“量”向重“质”转变，中国工业结构经历了从外来加工的劳动密集型模式到资源密集型模式，再转向用科技创新引领可持续发展，突破制造业升级瓶颈、打造知识密集型企业的关键阶段以“科技创新”驱动地方高质量发展，成为各级各地资源政府抓好经济工作的共识。
放眼全球，对城市综合竞争力的衡量，科技实力和创新活跃度都是重要的评价尺度，在联合国人居署和中国社科院联合发布的《全球城市竞争力报告2018-2019 —全球产业链：塑造群网化城市星球》中，经济活力、科技创新、全球联系、人力资本潜力的评估指标至关重要，位居榜单前列的纽约、新加坡、伦敦、深圳、东京等城市，无一不是在科技创新和全球化方面表现卓越的城市。
创新是现代城市发展的不竭动力。作为国家发改委认可的长三角城市群中的唯一特大城市、国家科技部确定的“全国创新型试点城市”，近3年来，南京在市委一号文件始终聚焦“创新名城”建设，在南京2035城市总体规划目标愿景—“创新名城、美丽古都”的指引下，自2018年起就启动了实施创新驱动发展的“121”战略，致力于通过建设“一个名城”——具有全球影响力的创新名城，打造“两个中心”——综合性科学中心和科技产业创新中心，以及构建一流创新生态体系，培育名校名所名企名家名园区等举措，把南京建成最鼓励创新、最适合创新、最具创新创业活力的城市。
如果说南京是长三角创新热的佼佼者，江北新区则是南京发力创新的弄潮儿。作为国务院批复通过的第十三个国家级新区，成立5年以来，南京江北新区以打造“创新策源地”为愿景，通过科技创新和制度创新的双轮驱动，聚焦建设芯片之城、基因之城和新金融中心，努力推进打造自主创新先导区、新型城镇化示范区、长三角地区现代产业集聚区和长江经济带对外合作重要平台，与此伴生着的，便是江北新区对全球顶级创新资源和高端人才的旺盛需求。
另一方面，剑桥大学一直以来致力于追求一流的教育、学习与研究，并将研究成果投入到产业应用中去以奉献社会；国际化合作，亦是剑桥大学谋求发展的重要思路，中国是剑桥国际化进程非常重要的部分，剑桥大学如何顺利融入中国的发展？
“以科技创新和产业应用为落点融入中国，既能发挥剑桥大学的突出优势，也契合中国当前的发展导向，而江北新区这样一个日新月异的国家级新区，为剑桥大学提供了更加广阔的施展空间”，初大平教授认为，这样紧密结合的合作关系使得双方合作质量进一步提升。
基于上述思路，剑桥南京中心落地在孕育无限创新可能的江北新区，中心的科研方向努力与当地的战略发展规划相贴合，初期研究方向聚焦信息技术与再生能源、生物医学与健康医疗、智慧城市与环境保护、零碳与可持续发展等方面的创新和产业化，与新区的产业导向保持一致，以期推动新区产城融合、促进剑桥大学更好融入中国。
“新区发展节节攀升，中心与新区一起成长，双方互促共进，落地江北新区是明智的选择”，初大平教授表示。
伙伴关系夯实双方合作
Partners and Cooperation
在初大平教授看来，剑桥与南京之间的合作关系，是一种“以彼此信任为基础，相互支持、平等共赢的伙伴关系模式”，剑桥南京中心并不仅隶属于剑桥大学或者南京的某一方，它是剑桥与南京之间的纽带，是剑桥与南京发挥各自所长的加速器。
一方面，江苏省GDP总量连年位居全国第二，省内具有完整的产业链，对科技创新方向有指导意义，在本地做研究，可以直接对接到产业应用一线，正如此前剑桥大学工程系教授Richard Prager曾表示，南京最吸引自己的地方就在于“它能将学术合作与工业关联起来”，超声研究背景的他一直希望为超声波成像设备开发一种精准算法并实际应用到医院里去，这需要与超声波设备制造商合作，而江苏省内就有这样的龙头企业可以合作；
聚焦到南京，这里拥有“4+4+1”主导产业集群优势，同时还是全国重要的科研教育基地，科研储备人才资源丰富，拥有南京大学、东南大学在内的53所高等学校，位居全国第三，每万人拥有在校研究生数量位居全国第二；对于国家政策、方向把握上，南京方面更加熟稔，中心的发展，离不开南京市及江北新区政府给予的全方位支持。
就剑桥方面而言，初大平教授阐释到，剑桥大学有以下突出的合作优势。
众所周知，剑桥大学拥有全球领先的科学技术，数百年来，从牛顿到达尔文，从图灵到霍金，剑桥大师荟萃，并培育出了超过一百名的诺贝尔奖获得者，学术能力位于世界前列。
更重要的是，剑桥的优势不仅集中在学术上，也集中在学术的相应产业应用上。“剑桥周围区域是英国新经济中枢的主要组成部分，在这里形成了以大学、新兴公司和大型跨国公司密切协作的产业网络经济形态”，初大平教授介绍到，从图灵提出计算机的概念到计算机产业的蓬勃发展，从沃森和克里克首次发现DNA双螺旋结构到以桑格研究所、Solexa高速测序为代表的基因测序研究和产业的兴盛，从ARM的诞生到成为全球芯片业巨擘，剑桥周围区域形成了高科技产业集群，为英国贡献了约16%的GDP。
作为全球可与硅谷媲美的科技创新高地，剑桥周围地区被称为“硅沼”（Silicon Fen），这里是一大批专注于软件、电子和生物技术的研发企业所在地，许多企业与剑桥大学有直接或间接的联系，在剑桥半径25公里范围内，不仅走出了像阿斯利康、ARM这样的跨国企业和领域龙头，还先后聚集了5000多家科技新兴公司，即使创业九死一生，剑桥周边初创企业5年存活率却达到95%，远高于一般科技园区10%的五年存活率。
不仅如此，剑桥大学还通过直接设立全资子公司剑桥企业有限公司（Cambridge Enterprise Limited），支持剑桥实现知识产权产业化和商业化，主营技术转让、咨询和种子基金服务，覆盖从技术评估、保护到IP认证，从资金申请到市场研究、原型开发的各个环节，为科技新公司的创建提供全方位企业服务，年均帮助建立5家初创公司，至今孵化300余家高科技企业。
“剑桥在知识产权商业化上积累的这些丰富经验和成功的产业化实践，对剑桥扎根中国融入南京、推动当地社会经济发展有战略意义，”初大平教授总结到。
正是基于彼此互惠的基础，南京方面对剑桥合作充满认同，南京市和江北新区各级政府部门，就中心在南京的落地与发展，积极提供服务指导、营造优越合作氛围，安排江北新区中央商务区成立剑桥专项工作组来推进中心运营诸项事宜，面对新冠疫情延误，与时间赛跑，加班加点建设中心未来的长期办公载体，并在新冠疫情期间主动为剑桥大学协调、筹措医疗物资；正是基于彼此信任互惠的基础，剑桥大学副校长斯蒂芬·托普在2019年访问中国时也曾表示，“这是迄今为止剑桥大学在中国迎来的最好发展时机”。
最后，初大平教授还特别表示，剑桥与南京的合作是包容的、开放的、积极的，不仅仅聚焦于剑桥大学和南京这座城市、或本地产业，剑桥大学南京中心的合作对象面向全省、全国和全球，不但在南京产业基础上寻求更广泛的创新合作和成果推广，而且剑桥大学会同时依托南京中心努力与国内一流高校、海外顶尖高校开展学术研究合作，聚集顶级科技创新人才。
Interview | Daping Chu（1）: Cambridge and Nanjing are mutually beneficial and win-win partners
From the Cambridge University - Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation officially settled in Jiangbei New Area on 27 March, 2018, to the Center's research project officially launched in May 2019; from the foundation of the Center's long-term base laid on 10 September, 2019, to the long-term base starting construction in March 2020, the Center - the research institution and achievement transformation platform established for the first time in the 800-year history of Cambridge University outside the UK, is making steady progress.
Why did Cambridge University hold hands with Nanjing? What kind of new cooperative relationship has the two sides built? Recently, Professor Daping Chu, tenured chair professor of the University of Cambridge, the Director the Cambridge Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) and Centre for Photonic Devices and Sensors Group, and the Academic Director and CEO of the Cambridge University – Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation, conducted an in-depth explanation.
Prof. Daping Chu
Technological innovation
connects the needs of both parties
Why did the ancient capital Nanjing throw an olive branch to Cambridge University which is thousands of miles away, and why did Cambridge University choose to establish an overseas research center in Nanjing, in China? Professor Daping Chu believes that in the era of technological innovation leading the development of the global economy, this is a case where the demand for industrial upgrading and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements are driven in dual directions.
At the moment, China is leading the global economic growth, and China's economic growth can't bypass the eastern coast, especially the Yangtze River Delta Region. As economic growth shifts from quantity to quality, China's industrial structure has gone from a labor-intensive model of foreign processing to a resource-intensive model, and then turned to a key stage where technological innovation leads sustainable development to break through the bottleneck of manufacturing upgrading and build knowledge-intensive enterprises. To drive local high-quality development with scientific and technological innovation has become a consensus among governments at all levels to do a good job in economic work.
Looking at the world, the scientific and technological strength and innovation activity are important evaluation criteria when measuring the comprehensive competitiveness of cities. In the Global Urban Competitiveness Report 2018-2019 - Global Industrial Chain: Shaping a networked urban Planet jointly released by the UN-HABITAT and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the evaluation indicators of economic vitality, technological innovation, global connection, and human capital potential are crucial. New York, Singapore, London, Shenzhen, Tokyo and other cities that are at the top of the list are all cities that excel in technological innovation and globalization.
Innovation is an inexhaustible driving force for the development of modern cities. As the only megacity among the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomerations recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission and the “National Innovation Pilot City” determined by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Nanjing has always focused on the construction of the “A Famous Innovative City” in the past three years in the No. 1 document of the Municipal Party Committee. Under the guidance of the plan and vision of the 2035 planning of Nanjing- Famous Innovative City, Beautiful Ancient Capital, the 121 strategy of implementing innovation-driven development has been launched since 2018, which is committed to building a one famous city- a famous innovative city with global impact, and creating two centers- comprehensive science center and technology industry innovation center, as well as building a first-class innovation ecosystem, and cultivating famous schools, famous enterprises, famous parks and other initiatives to build Nanjing into a city that encourages innovation, is most suitable for innovation, and has the most innovative and entrepreneurial vitality.
If Nanjing is a leader in innovation in the Yangtze River Delta, Jiangbei New Area is the leading role of innovation in Nanjing. As the thirteenth national-level new area approved by the State Council, since its establishment five years ago, Nanjing Jiangbei New Area has set a vision of creating an “source of innovation” through the dual drive of technological innovation and institutional innovation, focusing on building a chip city, a gene city, and a new financial center. It strives to build an independent innovation pilot zone, a new urbanization demonstration zone, a modern industrial cluster in the Yangtze River Delta Region, and an important platform for foreign cooperation in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which is accompanied by the strong demand in top global innovation resources and high-end talents.
On the other hand, Cambridge University has always been committed to the pursuit of first-class education, learning and research, and put the research results into industrial applications to contribute to society; international cooperation is also an important idea for Cambridge University to seek development. China is a very important part of Cambridge's internationalization process. How can Cambridge University smoothly integrate into China's development?
“Incorporating into China with technological innovation and industrial application as the landing point can not only bring out the outstanding advantages of Cambridge University, but also fit China's current development orientation, and Jiangbei New Area, a rapidly changing national-level new area, provides Cambridge University with a broader space for development”, Professor Daping Chu believes that such a close cooperation relationship further enhances the quality of cooperation between the two sides.
Based on the above ideas, the Center is located in the Jiangbei New Area which breeds unlimited innovation. The research direction of the center is in line with the local strategic development plan. The initial research direction focuses on innovation and industrialization in information technology and renewable energy, biomedical and health care, smart cities and environmental protection, and zero carbon and sustainable development, which keeps in line with the industrial orientation of the new area, with a view to promoting the integration of industry and city in the new area and promoting the integration of Cambridge University into China.
“The development of the new area is rising day by day, and the Center and the new area are growing together. The two sides are promoting each other, and it is a wise choice to land in the Jiangbei New Area, said Professor Daping Chu .
Partnership strengthens cooperation
between the two parties
In the opinion of Professor Daping Chu , the cooperative relationship between Cambridge and Nanjing is a “partnership model based on mutual trust, mutual support, equality and win-win. The Center is not only affiliated with one side, Cambridge University or Nanjing, it is the link between Cambridge and Nanjing, and the accelerator that Cambridge and Nanjing play to their respective strengths.
On the one hand, the total GDP of Jiangsu Province ranks second in the country for consecutive years, and the province has a complete industrial chain, which has a guiding significance for the direction of scientific and technological innovation. Doing research locally can be directly connected to the front line of industrial applications, just as Professor Richard Pragerthe, professor of Cambridge University Engineering Department, once said, the most attractive thing about Nanjing is that it can connect academic cooperation with industry. He has always wanted to develop an accurate algorithm for ultrasound imaging equipment and apply it to the hospital. This requires cooperation with ultrasound equipment manufacturers, and there are such leading enterprises in Jiangsu Province that can cooperate;
Focusing on Nanjing, it has the advantage of 4+4+1 leading industrial cluster, and is also an important scientific research and education base in the country. It has rich talent resources for scientific research and reserves. It has 53 colleges and universities including Nanjing University and Southeast University, ranking third in the country, and the number of graduate students per 10,000 ranks second in the country; Since Nanjing is more familiar with the national policy and direction, the development of the Center is inseparable from the all-round support given by the government of Nanjing and Jiangbei New Area.
In terms of Cambridge, Professor Daping Chu explained that Cambridge University has the following outstanding cooperation advantages.
As we all know, Cambridge University has the world's leading science and technology. For hundreds of years, from Newton to Darwin, from Turing to Hawking, masters are gathering in Cambridge which cultivated more than one hundred Nobel Prize winners.
More importantly, Cambridge's advantages are not only focused on academics, but also on the corresponding industrial applications of academics. “The area around Cambridge is the main component of the new economic hub of the UK. Here, an industrial network economic form in which universities, emerging companies, and large multinational companies are closely collaborating.” Professor Daping Chu introduced that from Turing's concept of computer to the vigorous development of the computer industry, from Watson and Crick's first discovery of the DNA double helix structure to gene sequencing research and industrial prosperity represented by Sanger Institute and Solexa high-speed sequencing, from the birth of ARM to a global chip industry giant, high-tech industrial clusters have formed in the area around Cambridge, contributing about 16% of GDP to the UK.
As a technological innovation highland comparable to Silicon Valley in the world, the area around Cambridge is called Silicon Fen. This is the location of a large number of R&D companies specializing in software, electronics and biotechnology. Many companies have direct or indirect links with Cambridge University. Within a 25-kilometer radius of Cambridge, there are not only multinational companies and field leaders such as AstraZeneca and ARM, but have also gathering more than 5,000 emerging technology companies. Although facing many difficulties, the 5-year survival rate of start-ups around Cambridge has reached 95%, which is much higher than the 5-year survival rate of 10% in general technology parks.
In addition, Cambridge University also directly supports the industrialization and commercialization of intellectual property rights through the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary, Cambridge Enterprise Limited, which is mainly engaged in technology transfer, consulting and seed fund services, covering technology transfer, consulting and seed fund services, all aspects from technology assessment and protection to IP certification. From fund application to market research and prototype development, it provides a full range of enterprise services for the creation of new technology companies, helping to establish 5 start-up companies on average every year, and has incubated more than 300 high-tech enterprises so far.
“These rich experiences and successful industrialization practices accumulated by Cambridge in the commercialization of intellectual property rights are of strategic significance to Cambridge's integration into Nanjing and the promotion of local social and economic development, Professor Daping Chu concluded.
It is on the basis of mutual benefit that Nanjing fully recognizes cooperation with Cambridge. Government departments at all levels in Nanjing and Jiangbei New Area actively provide service guidance, create a superior cooperative atmosphere and arrange the CBD in Jiangbei New Area for the implementation and development of the Center in Nanjing. The Area has set up a special Cambridge working team to promote the operation of the Center. In the face of the shutdown of the COVID-19 epidemic, the team works overtime to build the Center’s long-term base, and actively coordinate and raise medical supplies for Cambridge University during the epidemic; Based on mutual trust and mutual benefit, Stephen Top, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, also said in his visit to China in 2019, “This is by far the best development opportunity for Cambridge University in China.
At last, Professor Daping Chu also specifically stated that the cooperation between Cambridge and Nanjing is inclusive, open, and positive. The cooperation objects of the Center are open to the whole province, the country and the world. Not only does it seek broader innovation cooperation and achievement promotion on the basis of Nanjing industry, but Cambridge University will also rely on the Center to strive for academic research cooperation with domestic first-class universities and overseas top universities to gather top scientific and technological innovation talents.
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