Judges attend the online quarter final of the European track of China Optics Valley 3551 International Entrepreneurship Competition on Dec 15. [Photo/WeChat account of the Talent and Entrepreneurship Office of Optics Valley of China]

The quarter final of the European track of China Optics Valley 3551 International Entrepreneurship Competition was held via video link on Dec 15.

The competition, which is being held in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific by the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC), mainly focuses on four areas – optoelectronics, life and health, artificial intelligence, and digital economy.

There were 30 candidate projects selected during the quarter final, which involve cutting-edge technologies in biomedicine, new energy, software information technology, and internet of things.

The road show of the "Fast Diagnostics for Cancer and Infection" project during the quarter final. [Photo/WeChat account of the Talent and Entrepreneurship Office of Optics Valley of China]

Research teams come from leading institutes and universities, including Cambridge, MIT, Wuhan University, and the National Physical Laboratory of the United Kingdom.

Three first-place prize winners, six second-place prize winners, and 10 third-place prize winners will be selected at the end of the competition. They are expected to receive an award of up to 1 million yuan ($156,778) and a talent supporting grant of up to 10 million yuan. The semifinals of the competition are scheduled for the end of December this year, according to local news reports.