The final stage for China's first college contest on innovation and venture originality opened on Monday in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.
The three-day competition, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, will yield over 30 gold medals, 70 silver medals and 200 bronze medals to encourage scientific innovation and new startup ideas by college students.
More than 200,000 students from 1,878 higher-learning institutes have participated since it began in May, with 36,508 entries. Three hundred teams have fought their way into the final contest with 111 innovations and 189 practical projects.
One group purposed an 'intelligent' electric car charging network while another entered a project to develop intelligent parking. The competition also included several e-commerce projects.
Zhang Daliang, head of the education department of the Ministry of Education, said the competition is aimed at propelling an education reform in Chinese universities which can motivate students' creativity.
"The Ministry of Education is building a service platform to help students become self-employed in innovative startups, and is also working to set up an alliance of institutional investors that would provide venture capital to the new startups," said Zhang at the opening of the final contest.
Headwinds from China's economy have weighed on China's employment. The State Council, China's cabinet, announced new policies in June to encourage migrant workers, college graduates and discharged soldiers to return to their hometowns and start their own small businesses.
The government has promised easy business registration and will even allow them to participate in rural infrastructure development and public services that are normally reserved for the state.
Zhang said the ministry's service platform would be a venture incubator for new innovation and startups. Elite projects shown at this competition would be published and set examples to guide college students on campus.
