7 April: Professor Zexiang Li, Professor in Electronic and Computer Engineering, HKUST, Co-founder of DJI Technology Co. and President of the Ningbo TechX Institute (NTI), visited the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) with an NTI delegation, seeking future collaboration opportunities to promote the development of entrepreneurship education. He delivered a public lecture on entrepreneurship and innovation, and granted one million RMB for two UNNC entrepreneur teams.

Professor Li and his delegation visited the laboratories and communicated with research fellows and students from the University’s Innovation Lab. In the subsequent seminar, he discussed his experiences and reflections on the development of university startups with University leaders. The two sides intend to cooperate in co-establishing a new innovative talent cultivation system through various entrepreneurship education practices including science and technology education and joint-training programmes.

“The development of entrepreneurship education needs support from both higher education institutes and enterprises,” Professor Li said. To this Professor Patrick Chau, Vice Provost for Research and Knowledge Exchange, strongly agreed. Professor Chau said that he looks forward to exploring the new path of entrepreneurship education at UNNC and establish a new ecosystem for entrepreneurship in collaboration with Professor Li.

Another point on the agenda of Professor Li’s visit was to donate a total of 1 million RMB in grants to two UNNC teams that stood out in the 2021 Entrepreneurial Winter Camp of Xbot Park. Xbot Park is a global startup incubator established by Professor Li that helps young people innovate and start businesses through various professional training provisions.

With the recommendation of the University’s Li Dak Sum Incubator, four UNNC teams participated and competed with students of Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Harbin Institute of Technology and other universities, receiving a variety of awards. Two of the teams, working on smart cosmetic mirror and facial cleanser, respectively, received a grant of 500,000 RMB each.

Yifan Jia, a UNNC graduate and leader of the smart cosmetic mirror team, recalled that his learning at the Entrepreneurial Winter Camp taught him to constantly refine the concepts and polish the products. “It was a precious experience” he said.

In his lecture at UNNC, Professor Li also shared some key sectors for student innovation and entrepreneurship from understanding customer behaviour, defining the problem, designing and developing products, to systematic thinking.

As a renowned entrepreneur and experienced entrepreneurship mentor, he attracted a full attendance. “There are a number of qualities that a successful entrepreneur should have, such as curiosity, teamwork, and the ability to be proactive,” he summarised at the end.