A view of Futian, Shenzhen. Shenzhen, as well as other Guangdong cities, has boosted incentives for international talents due to an acute shortage of high-level professionals. But soaring homes prices in the city have increased costs for businesses, and there needs to be a solution, experts say. Edmond Tang / China Daily

Guangdong tertiary institutions step up efforts to boost innovation center status

Guangdong province has taken a major step forward to quench its thirst for talents as it strives to upgrade itself from a manufacturing hub into an innovation center, with 16 provincial universities and colleges going abroad to lure talents later this month.

The move comes after Shenzhen set up the country's first Sino-Russian University last week to expand its pool of human resources by cultivating international talents.

The project, comprising 11 universities in Guangzhou and one each in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Shantou and Zhanjiang, will launch a job fair at Harvard University this week to look for academics, professors, researchers and talents of other levels.

Those recruited will be offered a slew of incentives, including housing subsidies, research funds and job offers for their spouses.

A large number of talents are needed at universities and colleges, and tapping the vast international market is an ideal way to solve the problem, said an official from Shenzhen University, which is a member of the group.

"Despite the incentives on offer, we still find it hard to recruit top-level talents as there's an acute shortage of such talents, while universities are competing with each other," said the official, who declined to be named.

The universities' move reflects the increasing demand for creative talents as Guangdong strives to upgrade its industries and develop an innovation-based economy.

Besides attracting talents from abroad, the province is making every effort to strengthen its capability in creating international talents.

The Sino-Russian University, jointly run by Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) and the Shenzhen government - Shenzhen MSU-BIT University - said it aims to enroll its first group of students in September this year after getting approval from the Ministry of Education.

Students will be equipped with interdisciplinary knowledge and multilingual skills as the classes will be taught in Chinese, English and Russian.

The new university will help enhance Shenzhen's internationalization level of education and support its development of high-tech industries, said Zhao Ping, principal of MSU-BIT.

"International talents will be created to pave the way for Shenzhen's building of a modern, international and innovative city," he said, adding that 30 to 50 percent of the students are expected to come from the Belt and Road countries (and regions).

According to official statistics, there are now 10 universities and colleges in Shenzhen with more than 90,000 students. The institutions' total research and development expenditure last year was estimated at 1.41 billion yuan ($216.6 million) - more than four times the amount for 2010.

Some overseas talents say Shenzhen is the ideal place for settling down for a career, but are worried about the city's astronomical property prices.

"From the aspect of government administration and environment, Shenzhen, I believe, is the best place to set up business in the country," said Peter Fuhrman, chairman and chief executive officer of investment bank China First Capital.

"But, from the aspect of costs, it's not the best. Soaring homes prices in the city have increased costs for businesses, and there needs to be a solution," he said.

sally@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 05/10/2016 page7)