Children observing a science learning device in Ningbo. [Photo by Gao Xiaojing]

　　Ningbo marks this year's National Science Popularization Day with a wide range of activities from Sept. 18.

　　The National Science Popularization Day is held in China on the third weekend of every September each year to promote the public's understanding of and interest in science. Every year, Ningbo organizes a series of unique local activities that engages the public in creative ways.

　　Science Activities

　　Held Citywide

　　This year in Ningbo, there are a science fair and numerous other events. Notably, many were collaborations between Ningbo-based scientific organizations, schools, universities, enterprises, and research institutes.

　　New exhibitions at the Ningbo Science Exploration Center focuses on sci-tech innovation, public health, and Ningbo's achievements in sci-tech development. A series of events on popular science literature, health, public safety, and low-carbon lifestyles are held citywide.

　　To encourage public participation while minimizing health risks, many of the activities are organized online.

　　A dedicated official Wechat account for Ningbo's National Science Popularization Day was launched as a portal to all the activities hosted by the city's districts and organizations. This year, over 300 activities can be accessed online, including livestreams, a knowledge contest, virtual tours of popular science museums, and science classes and videos for the general public.

　　"With the city entering a crucial growth and transformation period, environmental awareness, innovation, entrepreneurship, sci-tech progress, and innovation-driven development are needed more than ever," said Chen Wenhui, Chairman for Ningbo Association for Science and Technology.

　　Ningbo Sees Rapid

　　High-Tech Development

　　In recent years, Ningbo has been attaching increasing importance to stimulating scientific innovation.

　　A total of 1,667 Ningbo enterprises met the national criteria for "high-tech companies" in 2020, accounting for 53.7% of the city's total, official data shows. As of the end of last year, Ningbo was home to 3,102 high-tech enterprises, ranking 18th in the nation.

　　Although the total number of high-tech enterprises in Ningbo is still much smaller than first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the pace of increase has been remarkable. Official data shows the number of high-tech companies in Ningbo increased from 1,212 in 2015 to 3,102 in 2020; the number of tech SMEs rose from 6,982 to 14,300 over the same period.

　　Talent introduction has been playing a pivotal role in bolstering the growth of high-tech enterprises in Ningbo. In 2020, the city witnessed an increase of 1,372 new PhD holders and 67,000 new high-tech skilled workers, bringing the total to 9,265 and 551,000 respectively.

　　The local government has set the goal of raising the total number high-tech enterprises to 8,000 by 2025, with 60% making R&D investments, according to an roadmap released in July to bolster Ningbo's scientific and technological innovation during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.

　　The city's innovation capability has also grown significantly during the past five years. It jumped to 15th place in China in the latest ranking for national innovation-oriented cities.

　　Before 2022, the city plans to develop two key laboratories at or above the provincial and ministerial level, introduce six new high-level industrial technology research institutes, and attract more top talents, including academicians from CAS and renowned international institutions.

　　Increasing Public

　　Understanding of Science

　　In the meanwhile, Ningbo continues to enhance the public's understanding of science.

　　There has been an ongoing effort to increase the citizens' scientific literacy. More than eighty municipal science associations, tech parks, and corporate-based science associations have been founded in Ningbo. Five hundred science and technology volunteer teams were formed, recruiting more than 20,000 volunteers.

　　This year, the Ningbo Municipal Science and Technology Association outlined Ningbo's main sci-tech development goals for the 14th Five-Year Plan period:

　　1) Getting Ningbo recognized as one of the first pilot cities of the "Science and Innovation China" initiative;

　　2) Becoming a "national science and innovation model city";

　　3) Raising the population's scientific literacy rate to 20%, or at least 4.6 percentage points higher than 2020.

　　According to the roadmap, this year, Ningbo will build the "Science and Innovation China" Ningbo Center, five "Science and Innovation China" innovation bases, ten industrial innovation service centers, and three to five national or provincial public science venues.

　　By Jin Lu