Chinese Innovation Precinct for Sydney

The University of New South wales (UNSW) has announced that the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology will back a "Torch Innovation Precinct" at UNSW in Sydney. This will be the first Torch High Technology Industry Development Center, under the Chinese Government's Torch program, outside China. The Torch program aims to get new, high value businesses going within three years (Segal, p. 32, 2003). It will be interesting to see if the rapid Torch approach can be applied within an Australian regulatory environment.

"... Torch Center seeks to achieve four major objectives by cooperating with other pertinent authorities at central and local levels.

• To perfect the support system for high-tech industrialization, focusing on promoting indigenous innovation;
• To foster the growth of tech-based SMEs and boost technological innovation in enterprises;
• To promote the development of innovation clusters and advance upgrades in high technologies;
• To mobilize innovative resources including capital, technology and talent to reinforce support for innovation and industrialization.

To realize the above goals, we will try to carry out nine pillar tasks:

• To create favorable high-tech industrialization systems and mechanisms propitious to indigenous innovation;
• To boost the capacity for independent innovation in tech-based companies;
• To strengthen the construction of high-tech industrial bases;
• To speed up the establishment of the fostering and tutorial system of technology companies;
• To intensify the construction of a service system for innovation clusters;
• To further improve the financing and investment system for high-tech industrialization;
• To promote technology transfers and business-research cooperation;
• To encourage the globalization of high-tech industries."
  
  From Mission: Torch High Technology Industry Development Center Program, Ministry of Science and Technology, China.

Reference

Segal, A. (2003). Digital dragon: high-technology enterprises in China. Cornell University Press.