On 9 May, Dr Xiaodan Yu, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China), was invited to participate in the Zhejiang Provincial Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Launch Ceremony and the Yongjiang Science and Technology Innovation Youth Talent Summit. Dr Xiaodan Yu gave her unique insights on how university students can make career plans in entrepreneurship and innovation, and how to attract more students studying aboard to return to China for employment and entrepreneurship. By introducing cutting-edge business concepts from around the world and cultivating international business talents, NUBS China has been committed to fostering local economic development and promoting Ningbo's high-level construction as the "Global Capital of Intelligent Manufacturing and Innovation".
As an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, what qualities do you think are needed for university students to be young innovative entrepreneurs or how should they properly plan their career in entrepreneurship and innovation?
In terms of the personality traits of entrepreneurs, students with the following three qualities generally have stronger entrepreneurial intentions and better entrepreneurial performance.
Firstly, there is "openness" and this refers to students maintaining an open attitude towards external experiences and knowledge, possessing a strong curiosity, imagination, creativity and a certain level of adventurousness.
Secondly, a "sense of responsibility" refers to students being able to complete their plans with great self-discipline, care and organisation. And after completing an objective, there is a strong sense of achievement.
Thirdly, 'extroversion' refers to traits such as confidence, talkativeness and energy that students need to have. There is also a life and work philosophy that expresses, "Believe in me, I can accomplish it."
The personality traits I mentioned above can be gradually formed through cultivation and exercise. Therefore, we can stimulate entrepreneurial enthusiasm in students through innovation and entrepreneurship modules and competitions at the university. Through the process of learning and practice, students can initially cultivate and discover their entrepreneurial qualities. For example, NUBS China offers the compulsory module Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice to all year two students. This module provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to explore and discover problems. These 'problems' are actually 'pain points' in the market, and tackling them is also an opportunity for entrepreneurship.
Furthermore, the entrepreneurial environment of the wider society will also stimulate the entrepreneurial vitality of university students. As one of the most active cities for private enterprise in China, Ningbo has its own entrepreneurial culture and impact. Of course, the government, research institutions, universities and enterprises need to jointly create an active innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
You have many years of experience visiting and studying abroad. What do you think is the biggest difference between the innovative and entrepreneurial environment for young people abroad and in China? How can we attract more students studying abroad to return to China for employment and entrepreneurship?
The innovative and entrepreneurial environment varies among different countries and regions. For example, many European countries lack an environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, making it difficult to create unicorn companies. However, the United States can continuously generate highly influential unicorn companies, such as ChatGPT, launched by the American company OpenAI, which was born in Silicon Valley, San Francisco. This place gathers the best universities in the world, such as Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, and with its many national research institutions, attracts the world's best talents. It also has the most experienced high-tech venture capitalists. All these factors constitute a very complete innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. At the same time, advanced entrepreneurial education concepts have also emerged in the local area because entrepreneurship education is closely related to local technological innovation and the industrial structure.
The key to attracting more students studying abroad to return to China for employment and entrepreneurship lies in creating an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem based on the local industrial structure and its advantages. This system requires high-quality foundations, basic and applied research institutions, talent training institutions, efficient financial service institutions, high-quality infrastructure (such as digital infrastructure), high-quality large enterprises and a relatively relaxed institutional environment to provide space for students studying abroad to innovate and start businesses. These factors complement each other in an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.