Similarly to the Engineering Research Centres at the national level, the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Research Centre is a status granted to certain Shanghai-based enterprises, research structures and universities operating in key strategic and emerging industries and committed to:
- Achieve breakthroughs in industrial core technologies through indigenous innovation
- Launch experimental research in key technologies
- Develop prototypes and key components of major equipment
- Engineering, commercialisation and application of technology results; and
- Fostering engineering technology talents.
They thus act as bridges between research and industry.
Funding agency
Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission
Benefits
- Priority access to municipal funds
- Support and endorsement in applying to the National Engineering Research Centre or National-Local Engineering Research Centre. Additional funding will be made available and cash rewards granted for successful applications, from both the municipal and district-level administrations.
- Preferential policies and administrative support in recruiting and retaining talents, including foreign ones.
Requirements
- Operate in key strategic emerging industries (new generation ICT, high-end manufacturing, new materials, biomedical technologies, new energy and new energy vehicles, clean technologies, digital and creative industries)
- Possess a series of major and leading technology results, with good market prospects, but which still have not been developed at an engineering scale
- Possess leading capabilities and human resources for R&D and technology integration. Possess strong capabilities for effectively realise technology transfer, and for protecting intellectual property rights
- Enterprises are particularly encouraged to apply
Date of publication
28 January 2020
Deadline for submitting applications
Before 28 February 2020
Applications are submitted to the district-level development and reform commissions. Each district-level commission can endorse and recommend only two candidates.
International participation: opportunities and figures
This is the first call ever published for the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Research Centre, therefore it is not possible to assess the degree of international participation. Given the limits on the number of candidates that district-level development and reform commission can recommend, very fierce competition from local actors is expected.
Useful links
Original call in Chinese (copy-paste into browser)
Management Measures of the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Research Centre (Trial) (Hu Fa Gai Gui Fan [2019] No. 2)
Funding programmes available in Shanghai (including a more detailed factsheet on the Shanghai Industrial Transformation and Upgrading Special Programme)
- R&D
- Commercialisation
- Technology transfer
- Grants