Innovation Education in City of Makers – Shenzhen
By staff reporter ZHOU LIN
AT the "International Exchanges on Open Innovation" held in San Francisco 2015, one question was raised: "If you are an engineer and would like to make a creative idea into a product within one or two weeks, which city would be your choice?" Founder & CTO of Spark Labs Global Ventures, Zachary Crockett's answer was Shenzhen. Known as an entrepreneur's heaven, schools in Shenzhen give priority to innovation education and propel students' dreams into reality.
Innovation: the Soul of a Nation
SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (DJI-Innovations,or DJI) situated in Shenzhen's Nanshan District, is the global leader in developing and manufacturing high performance, reliable, and easy-to-use small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), for commercial and recreational use. Its series of drones have been reported in both The Wall Street Journal and The Times. The Phantom 2 Vision+, developed by the company's vice-president Wang Mingyu and his team, was selected as one of the Top 10 Gadgets of 2014 by Time Magazine.
Wang Mingyu graduated from Shenzhen Experimental School, which was established in 1985 as the first municipal public school after the establishment of the Shenzhen Economic Special Zone. Long Ping, vice-principal and national special-honored teacher of the school, told our reporter, "Our school has attached great importance to the innovation of science and technology since the presidency of the first principal. We believe that 'Innovation is the soul of a nation, while science & technology innovation is the force behind social development'."
Early in the 1990s, to put innovative ideas into practice, the school established a curriculum system to promote the popularization of sciences and to enhance student scientific literacy. Meanwhile a large number of extra-curricular interest groups have been set up, such as a Lego Association in the primary school, a Navigation Model Association in the junior middle school, and a Robot Association in the senior high school, greatly inspiring students' innovative enthusiasm. Now, the Robot Association has won abundant prizes in different levels of competitions ranging from municipal, provincial, and national contests to international competitions and has even been made champion at the globally-recognized Robot World Cup (RoboCup) for six consecutive years.
In 2015, the Junior Academy of Sciences of Shenzhen Experimental School was set up. Zexiang Li – Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, who is also President of DJI-Innovations, was especially invited and appointed as the mentor. DJI was indeed born in Zexiang Li's laboratory and then incubated for an IPO in Shenzhen before becoming the world's leading developer and producer of drones.
Studying in surroundings which actively encourage students' innovative thinking, inventions are constantly coming out. As of 2016, the school has already won 81 National Patents for Utility Models (different from "National Patents for Invention") and some patents are now being put into actual use in cooperation with various enterprises.
Lihe Tailai, a senior in Shenzhen Experimental High School, is one of the "Little Academicians" of the Junior Academy of Sciences, established in 2015. During his studies in Shenzhen Experimental Primary School, he became hooked on robotic programming; and in 2008, the nine-year-old boy won the championship in the robotic programming contest of Guangdong Province. Although now busy with preparation for his college entrance examination, he still keeps an enthusiasm for scientific research and is working on an algorithm for a power-saving mode in an air conditioner.
Lihe Tailai and his team won the competition of the 2014 RoboCup in Brazil.
"It can save half the power usage of an air-conditioner and is also a development trend in future Smart Homes," Lihe Tailai said, adding that he had devoted almost all of his spare time in the laboratory. "Knowledge does not only come from our textbooks but can also be obtained through extracurricular research and activities."
Lihe Tailai is the team leader of the Robot Association in his school. His team recruits 'green hands' in the junior middle school and acts as their instructors in learning the basic skills of code programming and exploration on radio models until these students grow mature enough to be assistants in robot competitions. When junior students develop enough scientific knowledge, they are encouraged to make inventions based on their own observations on life. For instance, some students have made a take-your-medicine reminder for the elderly, using intelligent sensors to read information on the packaging which then send signals to activate a reminder automatically at regular intervals.
Due to the environment of scientific innovation encouragement in school, teachers always support inventions and provide students with laboratory, funding and professional instructions. Dan Fei, one of the creators of Chaihuo Maker Space in Shenzhen, was invited to be their instructor.
"We should offer students more opportunities in compliance with their own characteristics," said Liu Haifeng, the national outstanding science & technology teacher with over 20 years' teaching experience who came from Shanghai in 1991. He further explained, "Students have their own ideas. Sometimes, the current curriculum of national basic education cannot meet their needs; therefore self-learning is always required. We are responsible for building an innovative platform through which students can easily get help with laboratory equipment, funding and professional tutorship. In our school, students can have a more flexible learning plan and get financial subsidies for their inventions."
In Shenzhen, innovation education is popular in schools. Long Cheng Primary School in Longgang District is famous for its 165 National Patents for Utility Models and six Little Academicians of the Chinese Junior Academy of Sciences. The automatic mop invented by Qiu Wensen has a huge market potential that was produced in over 100 of factories with a daily output of nearly 250,000 and a value of RMB 20 million.
Lihe Tailai told our reporter that his parents had their own start-up in Shenzhen after graduating from their respective universities. His family bought him a 3D printer for his scientific research.
"Everyone, every family, every school and enterprise here in Shenzhen encourages and supports innovation. Growing up in this environment, whenever you have a good idea you get the wherewithal to put it into reality. You are inspired with passion for discovery and creation."
Innovation Education with Shenzhen Brand
A cycle machanism for innovation education has been formed between schools and enterprises in Shenzhen.
Chen Wei, a biological teacher from the Shenzhen University Normal College Middle School, says that according to the incentive policy of the Famous Teacher Plan for Shenzhen's basic education system, she, as a famous teacher, has access to a biological laboratory with an investment of RMB 2 million (in which each microscope is worth RMB 100,000-200,000), all imported from Japan or Germany.
She has developed a series of school-based curricula for experimental classes and also built a Biological Association in 2012 to promote students' hands-on ability with creative thinking in biological research.
Questions students encounter in daily life are put forward to be further discussed and experiments are especially designed to find a solution. For example, should we eat last-night's leftovers? Students design their own experiments on testing certain indicators and give their advice on eating a healthy diet.
Chen Wei and students have experimental classes.
Pan Jingfang of the Biological Association said, "I benefit a lot from doing this self-designed experimentation. Working in a laboratory can be very tough and challenging as we have to make tests every six hours, each session lasting over three hours. Once we got home at 3 am! Team building is also very important; without the support from other members we could not achieve our stated goals. Last but not least, to finish these experiments we have to absorb lots of knowledge and are obsessed with new pharmaceuticals and equipment."
Graduated alumni, once they have become innovative talents in society, can repay their mother school. The Southern Raytai Group is a good example. It invested RMB one million as scientific innovation funds to help the school cultivate leading talents with strong innovation capabilities.
The city is building an international reputation of innovation education with the Shenzhen brand.
"City of Makers" Attracts World Attention
Robert O'Neill of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) remarked that the key point of building the "City of Makers" is to see whether there is fertile soil among college graduates. In 2015, the success of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Fair for College Students in Shenzhen, which was designed and implemented by Shenzhen Polytechnic, fully displayed the potential there.
He Renfeng is the design director of iDesign Cultural Broadcasting Limited Corporation which grew up from an innovative program, supported by the college, and is now a fruitful company in one office building of the campus.
"Innovative products are put on the school's platform and are linked with enterprises which have certain needs," she explained. "Our program now cooperates with many companies in Beijing and continues to receive instructions from teachers in college. This helps offer us a grace period without worrying about unstable team members and high rental in office buildings." He Renfeng added. "Most of our tutors are the forefront designers in Beijing and Shanghai who would like to bring their programs to Shenzhen because of its atmosphere of entrepreneurship! Everything works perfectly well!" The toddler baby is now realizing its dream step by step in the care of the mother school.
"It is hard for college students to get specialized services for their ventures in society. With limited resources, students often feel frustrated whenever they meet problems transforming their ideas into products," Director of Shenzhen Polytechnic's teaching & research office Huang Weixian said. The school thus builds its Innovation College and recruits sophomores with entrepreneurship potential and innovative programs. Colorful activities among different student associations also get financial support on campus.
DJI Innovation's drone attracts visitors attention.
To enhance students' scientific and innovative capability and to cultivate innovative talents in science & technology, the Shenzhen municipal government has made great efforts to build a distinctive brand for Shenzhen's education. By 2017, the city aims to develop 50 schools majoring in scientific education, build 30 science & technology innovative education bases, update 30 innovative laboratories, establish 100 factories for makers, and train 50-100 famous national teachers of science & technology and 100 Junior Scientists, as well as 1,000 student makers.
