Newton Fund Bridges UK and China in Research and Innovation

Last week the strongest cold wave in decades swept China and people were advised to stay indoors. In spite of this, my colleagues and I at SIN network did not feel the coldness at all but rather joined the exciting Newton Fund Research & Innovation Bridges partnership brokering visit and witnessed great enthusiasm from both UK and Chinese participants to develop collaborative partnership in order to bid into the Newton Fund Research and Innovation Bridges Programme.

Led by Innovate UK and co-organised by UK Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and British Embassy, a delegation of 17 UK universities, research organizations and businesses from sectors of healthcare and urbanization visited China to meet Chinese participants interested in this competition and develop collaborative partnerships. The delegation was warmly hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Jiangsu Centre of International Technology Transfer (JCITT) and Guangdong Science &Technology Exchange Centre (GSTEC).

The Chinese cuisine was appetizing but it was the great interest in collaborating with UK that impressed UK delegates most. 1-2-1 match-making events were arranged in Nanjing, Wuxi and Guangzhou, where UK delegates were able to meet Chinese research organizations, universities and enterprises to learn from each other. Interesting ideas were catalyzed and potential partnership was identified. For some UK delegates, this first trip to China availed them of a great opportunity to experience China first-hand and understand the great need for research and innovation to tackle challenges in China and address global challenges. Apart from these effective partnering events, site visits to several Chinese companies in Wuxi and Shenzhen also left a deep impression on UK delegates, which offered a good chance to demonstrate the research and development capabilities of Chinese companies and research organisations.

It was an intense week – travelling to four cities in China and amazed at the scale of China; it was also a fascinating and effective week – potential partnerships were identified and many collaborations may stem from this visit. As we headed off on the bus for the ferry Port in Shenzhen, I asked one delegate whether you would take several days off when you returned to the UK. He shook his head and said there was so much to follow up after this trip that he just cannot wait to work out a proposal for the competition.

The name of this Newton Fund programme is quite self-explanatory. It aims to be a bridge connecting UK and China in research and innovation; this partnership brokering visit is a step forward to enable many of such bridges between UK and China.