Since the  establishment of the reform and opening-up policy, Tsinghua University has been  actively engaging in the transformation of technological results. Carrying out  technological collaboration with domestic local regions and providing support  for national and regional economic development are an important component of  not only Tsinghua’s technology transfer strategy, but also its commitment to  providing social service through technology development.
University-region  technological collaboration at Tsinghua University was initiated in the 1980s.  In recent years, with the national development of western regions, the  revitalization of north-east industrial bases, and the economic rise of the  central regions, Tsinghua has been reinforcing its in-depth collaboration with these  national strategic development regions, and further extending its program of  university-region collaboration. The collaboration now includes strategic regional  economic and social development, joint-cultivation of innovative talents,  development of regional special industries and backbone industries,  construction of innovation platforms, joint tackling of scientific and  technological problems, and promotion of international collaboration.

Specific  Modes of University-Region Collaboration

1. 1) Driving  industry-university research collaboration through projects

In  recent years, the Domestic R&D Management Office has been actively promoting  technology transfer of Tsinghua’s key research results to cooperative regions  and enterprises. Some successful cases include China’s first independently  designed large-scale OLED production line in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province; the large-scale  application and commercial operation of Thermal Engineering Department’s “Improvement  of alkaline soil through desulfurization of coal” in provinces of Ningxia,  Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Hebei and Tianjin; and the implementation of  Mechanical Engineering Department’s “Big press  machine” by the Northern Heavy Industries Group in Inner Mongolia and Yanliang  Aviation Industry Base in Xi’an. In addition, Tsinghua provided many planning  support for regional development, such as Environment School’s “Emergency aid  system for production safety and environmental pollution outburst in the  Tianjin Lingang Industrial Area”, Industrial Engineering Department’s  “Logistics development plan for chemical  industry in Tianjin Lingang Industrial Area”, School of Economics and  Management’s “Functional orientation, architectural scale and development mode  research for CBD in Binhai New District” in Tanggu, the core area of Binhai New  District. Such transfer of such key scientific research projects provides great  scientific and technological support for regional economic development, and has  provided great social and economic benefits.

1. 2) Establishing university-region scientific and  technological collaboration funds

To  better serve both national and regional economic development needs,, Tsinghua  University has been actively integrating various resources to promote the  transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological results by  setting up scientific and technological collaboration funds with regional  governments in Wuxi, Hebei, Yunnan and Guangdong. In each case, the collaboration  fund is tailored to meet specific local requirements and follows the principles  of either “led by local government, benefiting enterprises directly” or “co-led  by university and local government, benefiting the university and enterprises  jointly”. The innovative “fund + base” mode established by Tsinghua University  provides an important guarantee for the effective operation of university-region  collaboration, of which the basic concept is to use specific funds to support  transformation projects, and to facilitate the transfer of scientific and  technological results into actual productivity gains. In addition to these  funds, Tsinghua has also endeavored to set up several R&D and  industrialization bases. As a result, Tsinghua University and regional  governments have set up 7 such funds: the Suzhou-Tsinghua Innovative Leading  Project, the Hebei-Tsinghua science and technology cooperative development  fund, the Yunnan-Tsinghua science and technology collaboration fund, the  Anshan-Tsinghua R&D seed money fund, the Wuxi-Tsinghua science and technology  results transformation fund, the industry-university-research project fund of  the Ministry of Education in Guangdong, and the Tongling-Tsinghua  industry-university-research collaboration fund. These efforts have not only  supported the industrialization of Tsinghua’s scientific and technological  results, but also made a significant contribution to national and social  development.

1. 3) Jointly establishing “industry-university research collaboration offices” with key regions

In  2003, to further strengthen Tsinghua University’s social service outreach, the  Domestic R&D Management Office initiated a new cooperative mode by jointly  setting up industry-university-research collaboration offices with regional  technological departments.

The  goal of these offices is to better utilize Tsinghua and its partner cities’  advantageous resources, to reinforce their technological collaboration, and to  accelerate the partner cities innovation and transition development.

The  main role of each office is to provide support for regional economic  development and to reinforce the region’s independent innovative capacity.  Focusing on the specific industrial, technological and economic needs of the  partner city, the offices integrate Tsinghua’s scientific and technological  resources to provide both general and customized services, and to promote the  sustainable development of both sides. 

Role of “industry-university research collaboration offices”

• Regularly organize technological events according  to the needs of both local governments and local enterprises, and help  establishing projects with a strong technological innovation component, a  prosperous market vista and a solid industry-university research collaboration  foundation.

• Organize relevant experts to examine and evaluate  the current situation of enterprises and investigate the potential for  technological and managerial innovation.

• Utilize Tsinghua’s intellectual resources  to provide support for local governments’ planning and decision-making  according to local requirements.

• Utilize Tsinghua’s extensive international  technological cooperative resources to actively introduce international  high-tech projects in targeted regions.

Organizing and attending technology transfer events

Each year, the Domestic  R&D Management Office carries out over 120 activities to introduce and  promote technological projects and products.

To speed up  the process of converting technological achievements into productive  capability, and to enhance support for the enterprise development, the  University-Industry Cooperation Committee (UICC) of Tsinghua University was  established in 1995, and the overseas-industry branch of this committee was  then set up in 1996.
In recent  years, UICC has significantly strengthened its collaboration and coordination  with its members by further enhancing its services to them. As a result, it has  helped to promote collaboration on setting-up key projects and constructing  university-industry platforms.

About UICC

1. 1. Function

The main purpose  of UICC is to speed up technology transfer, to promote industrialization of  technological achievements and to strengthen Tsinghua University’s collaboration  with domestic and overseas enterprises. Currently, UICC is jointly managed by  Tsinghua University’s Domestic R&D Management Office and Overseas R&D  Management Office.

1. 2. Target membership

UICC is  mainly focused on providing services for overseas enterprises and state-owned  conglomerates that are leaders in pillar industries.

1. 3. Services

Operating  under a membership system, UICC provides services such as technological advice,  educational support, and consultation services for its member enterprises.

Objectives of UICC

The  goal of UICC is to:
›  Strengthen  Tsinghua University’s cooperation with enterprises in the areas of technology,  working personnel and information exchange by taking advantage of resources  within the university.
›  Building platforms that integrate industry, education and research to promote  the industrialization of high-tech achievements.
›  Providing multi-dimensional, diversified services to assist enterprises in  solving technological and managerial problems, and strengthening their  innovation capability and market competitiveness.
›  Serving as a bridge between domestic enterprises and their overseas  counterparts to promote the  exchanges of  technology, working personnel and information.
›  Accelerating subject development and talent cultivation within Tsinghua  University, and strengthening its independent innovation capability.

Scope of services

Catering  to the practical needs of enterprises, UICC provides one-stop,  multi-dimensional and tailor-made services by utilizing Tsinghua University’s  advantages in the following areas.

1. 1. Information services

UICC  provides its member enterprises with information about the academic research  potential and capability within Tsinghua University, as well as information on  development teams, new technology, new achievements, patents, activities in  integrating industry, education and research, personnel training, etc.

1. 2. Technology services

UICC  organizes academicians, experts, professors and other key players in scientific  research to provide services for its member enterprises in technology  development, technological diagnostics, and technology management.

1. 3. Talent services

UICC  encourages Tsinghua University graduates to work as employees or interns in its  member enterprises. It also provides opportunities for member enterprises’ personnel  to conduct training, further education and research work on campus.

1. 4. International collaboration

UICC  helps keep its member enterprises updated about the latest technological  achievements both at home and abroad, and provides assistance for their  international collaboration.

1. 5. Jointly establishing research institutions

UICC  helps its member enterprises to establish joint research centers, institutes  and laboratories. It also helps provide other special training programs for  enterprises on an ad hoc basis.

1. 6. Exchanges and visits

UICC  organizes exchanges and visits between Tsinghua and its member enterprises, as  well as among the member enterprises.

1. 7. Meetings and conferences

UICC  organizes annual meetings, academic seminars, symposiums and workshops for its  member enterprises.

Member enterprises of the Committee

As of  December 2017, UICC had more than 150 domestic and 40 overseas partners. In  Mainland China, it includes Baosteel Group, China Telecom, Shanghai Automotive,  China Metallurgic Group Corporation, China Huaneng Group Corporation, Shenhua  Group, Yalong Hydropower, Huawei, Sichuan Changhong Electric, Dongfang  Electric, Guangdong Nuclear Energy Development Group, Juhua Group etc. The overseas partners include  Toyota, UTC, P&G, Siemens, Boeing, Hitachi, Toshiba, Samsung, Microsoft,  Nissan, Sony, Veolia, KONE, EMC, Eternal etc.

Strategic collaboration

1.  Domestic collaboration
In  recent years, the UICC has worked to establish strategic collaboration between  Tsinghua University and national key enterprises. Strategic cooperation collaboration  agreements have been signed with a number of key enterprises, which including  China Electronics Corporation, COMAC, Sichuan Changhong, China Hydropower  Engineering Consultant Group, China Dongfang Electric Corporation, China  Huaneng Group, Datang Electric Group, China State Construction Engineering  Corporation, Hainan Rubber Group, Capital Airport Holding Company, CSPC  Pharmaceutical Group Limited, China Three Gorges Corporation, and SICHUAN  RAILWAY INCEDTMENT GROUP CO., LTD, . New domestic members of the UICC signing  membership agreements include China Telecom, China 22nd Metallurgic Group,  Ningxia Pagoda Petrochemical Group, and Hainan Development Holding etc.

2.  International Collaboration
Based  on partnerships with 110 of companies on the fortune 500 list, a diversified  range of cooperation modes has been established, including joint research  centers, corporate funds, contract research, technology licensing, and  consultation. The overseas UICC family consists of over 40 MNCs, including Toyota,  Siemens, P&G, Intel, Microsoft, Hitachi, Samsung, Toshiba, Boeing.

Conferences

UICC emphasizes the  importance of holding conferences on a regular basis. Such conferences offer an  excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs, experts, scholars and government  officials to share information and exchange ideas on important scientific,  technological and societal issues. These conferences are usually in the form of  annual conferences or special forums on selected topics.

Guided by the principles of “complementary advantages,  reciprocity, world-class achievements and mutual development”, Tsinghua  University has established extensive collaborations with many world leading universities, research  institutes, and multinational enterprises. This These forward-thinking  and high-level scientific research collaborations and communications takes diversified and  flexible forms, including setting up joint research institutes, framework collaboration agreements, commissioned research and development projects,  joint research and development projects, joint research funds, and overseas  licensing and technology transfer. The goal of all these collaboration modes is to help Tsinghua University improve its scientific  research practices and enhance its academic development, as well as to educate  talented students with a global vision, thereby further establishing Tsinghua’s  international influence and reputation.

Alliance for international science and technology  collaborations

By utilizing a  joint funding mechanism, Tsinghua University initiated substantial  technological collaboration on cutting edge areas with a lot of top level  universities, with its goal of becoming an internationally renowned first-class  university. The joint collaboration funds can be focused on one or more  specific research areas, or they can simply be used to encourage  university-wide faculty and student exchanges and to provide seed funding for  joint research projects.,

Joint research centers

Joint research  centers usually represent long lasting  relationships， and are often interdisciplinary in nature. They play an  important role in the overseas scientific and research collaborations.  Based on mutually beneficial strategic  partnerships, Tsinghua University has set up joint research centers with many  world-class universities and institutes such as Johns Hopkins University, and  the National University of Singapore, and with more than 30 overseas  multinational enterprises, including Toyota Motor Corp., Siemens, Boeing  Company, Microsoft and Samsung. By actively and effectively utilizing the  technological, intellectual and financial resources from both sides, many high impact  scientific achievements have been made.

Joint  research projects

In some key research  areas, Tsinghua University has concentrated efforts in establishing contacts  with world-class universities and leading enterprises in the industry to  jointly launch research projects.  By  thoroughly understanding the needs of industry and introducing high-quality  research resources from leading international enterprises, Tsinghua University  is able to enhance the collaboration between industry and academia, which  promotes technological innovation.

Center  of Knowledge Interchange with overseas enterprises

Tsinghua is a  member of Siemens’ Center of Knowledge Interchange (CKI), which is the highest  level of Siemens’ global academic collaboration with educational  institutions.  It serves as a bridge and  platform to deepen and broaden collaborations between Tsinghua and Siemens in  scientific research and talent training.
With the support  of Siemens, the joint research project between Tsinghua University and UC  Berkeley “Green Online Experimental Platform” was established. This project, in  the area of intellectual architecture, covers research on information  technology, such as green electro-communication, and intellectual network  control, with the aim to develop new information and energy technology to  reduce energy consumption and to protect the environment. This project  pioneered a new cooperative model of University-Industry-University (U-I-U) collaboration.

Commissioned  R&D

Over the years,  Tsinghua University has established long-term partnerships with many overseas  enterprises in the form of commissioned R&D projects. These commissioned  R&D projects not only assist the overseas enterprises to solve  technological and management problems, but also provide opportunities for  scientific research in key areas and help enhance academic development at  Tsinghua University. Such projects also provide important information to  faculty and students at Tsinghua University regarding new trends in industrial  technological development, and help to promote the application of Tsinghua’s scientific  research achievements in industry.

Technology-transfer  projects

The long-term and  consistent scientific research collaborations between Tsinghua University and  overseas enterprises have generated many remarkable achievements, including new  technologies that of great social and-economic value. Many of such technologies  have been applied in practical production by overseas enterprises through  technology-permission or technology-transfer agreements.