The finals of the 3rd China Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition concluded on Oct 28 in Quanzhou, Fujian province, with Shanghai-based postdoctoral researchers winning the highest number of awards nationwide.

The Shanghai delegation advanced 89 projects to the national finals, covering all seven competition tracks: New Generation Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence, High-End Equipment Manufacturing and Robotics, New Energy and Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection, New Materials and Petrochemicals, Biomedicine and Health, Modern Agriculture and Food, and Other Industries.

Participants represented a wide range of institutions, including postdoctoral research mobility stations, research workstations, and innovation practice bases.

Shanghai delegation won five gold, seven silver, and eight bronze awards in the finals, ranking first nationwide in both gold medal count and total number of awards.

Notably, Shanghai postdocs excelled in all four competition categories — innovation, entrepreneurship, overseas (the Belt and Road Initiative-related), and challenge-based — demonstrating their solid research foundation and strong innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities.

The 2025 edition drew 46 teams and over 1,700 projects to the finals, ultimately awarding 63 gold, 133 silver, and 198 bronze medals.

Alongside the main competition, the event also featured transformation services, entrepreneurship support, talent recruitment, and thematic exchanges, providing a platform for market players to connect with cutting-edge projects. Approximately 2,100 enterprises, 20 industry associations, and 13 venture capital firms engaged with competing project teams, resulting in 220 intended cooperation projects and 150 signed agreements, involving 648 enterprises, associations, institutions, and 520 project teams.

Furthermore, 387institutions from across the country exhibited their achievements, underscoring progress made since the postdoctoral system was established 40 years ago. The on-site job fair featured 234 employers, offering over 1,500 high-quality positions, attracting more than 1,900 applicants and yielding 341 preliminary employment intentions.

Source: Shanghai Observer