The Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (JITRI) was founded in December 2013. JITRI positions itself at the nexus of scientific research and technological transformation, strives to overcome the structural and institutional barriers restricting scientific and technological advances, explores institutional mechanisms facilitating technology transfer and creates new channels for transforming scientific and technological achievements into tangible products. In accordance with the concept of "R&D as an industry and technology as a product," JITRI focuses on two main roles. First, as a bridge between universities or scientific research institutions and industry, and second as a bridge between global innovation resources and Jiangsu Province. JITRI matches innovation resources with the technological needs of enterprises. JITRI creates an industrial technology innovation system that integrates R&D vehicles, industrial needs and innovation resources, and industry with education and research. JITRI also creates an ecosystem that includes talent, financial and space resources. JITRI has explored a series of reform measures in terms of institutional governance system, R&D vehicle construction, talent introduction and development, and efficient use of government funds.

Cultivate a “testbed” for scientific and technological system reform. JITRI has implemented eight reform measures: “one institute, two systems” contract research, project manager, team holding, three-in-one model, combination of government fund allocation and investment, equity incentives, and JITRI University. In 2020, JITRI was recognized as a pilot program for granting ownership or long-term use rights of scientific and technological achievements to scientific researchers by the Ministry of Science and Technology and other 9 ministries, and as a top-10 industry-university-research institution by the China Association for Science and Technology.

Build an industrial technology innovation system. JITRI continues to build a market-oriented industrial technology innovation system that combines innovative resources, corporate needs and R&D capabilities, and deeply integrates industry, university, and research. In 2020, R&D vehicles including 6 specialized research institutes were built in Wuxi, Changzhou, Nanjing and other cities, 2 comprehensive innovation platforms, including the Yangtze Delta Advanced Materials Research Institute and the Integrated Circuit Application Technology Innovation Center, were established, and a batch of major projects was implemented. JITRI also steadily promoted the growth of R&D companies, and 20 companies were newly identified as Jiangsu Provincial R&D enterprises. In terms of innovation resources, JITRI established strategic partnerships with 9 well-known overseas universities including Harvard Medical School, the Department of Physics of the University of Munich, and the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, and with 25 “Double First-Class” Chinese universities. By the end of 2020, JITRI had established strategic partnerships with 55 well-known overseas universities and (research institutions and 52 domestic “Double First-Class” universities. JITRI established relationship partnership with OurCrowd, Israel's top venture capital institution, and completed an investment in its incubator. JITRI organized the UK Innovation Week events, and carried out strategic dialogues with the University of Liverpool and other institutions. In terms of industrial needs, a total of 133 JITRI-Enterprise Joint Innovation Centers (JIC) have been built with leading enterprises in sub-sectors of Jiangsu Province (54 were newly built in 2020). In the past two years, JICs have introduced 589 technical needs, with an intention to invest 1.713 billion CNY. JITRI has helped its JICs to solve over 560 needs and established 157 technical projects, with a total value of 737 million CNY.

Create an industrial innovation ecosystem. We will create an innovation ecosystem that promotes the R&D and transfer of industrial technologies by combining talent, finance and space.

In terms of talent ecosystem, JITRI builds an ecosystem at all levels from senior strategic hires to graduate students. In 2020, JITRI appointed 40 industrial leaders as project managers. 36 technical experts were hired as JITRI researchers to work full-time in JITRI research institutes. JITRI also jointly cultivated 1,045 “JITRI graduates” with “double first-class” universities.

In terms of financial ecosystem, JITRI establishes early-stage venture capital funds through Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. (JITRI Corporation), to leverage social capital, deploy capital to develop innovation, and build a financial ecosystem that benefits the development of industrial R&D. In 2020, JITRI Corporation established four early-stage venture capital funds with private equity investors, including two in the field of materials, one in the field of intelligent manufacturing, and one in the field of biomedicine and medical devices. The total fund was 653 million CNY of which JITRI directly invested 99 million CNY. We have established strategic partnerships with financial and investment institutions such as Bank of China, Jiangsu Bank, Nanjing Bank, Beijing Bank, Guosen Group, Langtai Capital, Haichuang Investment, etc. JITRI has invested in American and Israeli incubators through its overseas subsidiaries.

In terms of space ecosystem, JITRI started construction of the Jiangbei R&D Industrial Park centered on its new headquarters in Nanjing Jiangbei New Area, with a planned construction area of 400,000 square meters; the Yangtze Delta International R&D Community was built in Xiangcheng, Suzhou, with a construction area of 350,000㎡. Based on these two parks, JITRI will create a comprehensive innovation space that integrates resources such as universities at home and abroad, research institutes, and joint enterprise research -centers, to realize its three core functions of information sharing and exchange, comprehensive technical solutions, and cross-disciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship.

Our motto is “JITRI gathers talent building dreams of the future! During the 14th Five-Year Plan, JITRI will promote high-quality industrial development in Jiangsu, deepen the reform systems and procedures, and promote JITRI to the next level by focusing on four strategic directions:

· building a technological innovation system that prioritizes collaboration and openness,

· creating a collaborative and efficient ecosystem for industrial needs,

· contributing to the high-quality development of Jiangsu industry,

· building a modern governance system for research institutions.

By the end of the 14th Five Year Plan, JITRI aims to have completed its innovation system, deployed high-quality R&D platforms in key strategic areas, and had breakthroughs in core enabling technologies.