People take photos at the Bund in Shanghai on July 21. [Photo/IC]

Shanghai will enhance efforts to become an attractive hub for talent and innovation, according to the city's conference on talent-related work held in November.

Local officials agreed at the conference that talent plays an important role in Shanghai's development and that they will continue to improve talent selection and cultivation as well as make good use of human resources.

The city's latest move to improve its talent policies is in response to the country's work conference on human resources held in September which called for efforts to speed up China's transformation into a major global hub for talent and innovation.

Greater emphasis will also be given to training talent and establishing a competitive edge in human resources.

To upgrade itself, China would need to cultivate talent as well as attract talent.

In Shanghai, the education system has been tasked to help the city broaden its high-level talent pool.

In this vein, the education system of Shanghai will sharpen the city's competitive edge in human resources. With the support of pilot policies, the city has more than 50,000 doctoral and master graduates and nearly 140,000 college graduates every year.

It is also building an early identification and training mechanism and implementing a flexible academic system and early training pilot programs to cultivate outstanding innovative talent. Efforts have also been made to train high-quality talent for key areas and urgently-needed positions.

Technology and talent are becoming increasingly important in enhancing international competitiveness, making the training of leading talents an important part of talent-related work.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a prestigious university in Shanghai, is committed to making outstanding talent an important driving force in the development of China's science and technology sector, and has been working to solve bottleneck problems.

The university is guiding and supporting scientific researchers to make cutting-edge technological breakthroughs and solve major engineering and technical problems. It has built platforms and focused on advancing basic research. The university also encourages and supports scientific researchers to solve the world's most cutting-edge scientific issues.

To help Shanghai build a global science and technology innovation center, the university has built the Tsung Dao Lee Library, bringing together a group of outstanding scholars including Nobel Prize winners and young talent from across the world.

According to the Shanghai Institute of Aerospace Technology, the aerospace science and technology sector, which is a strategic field that affects national security, must be self-reliant. The institute cultivates and makes good use of leading talent for national major projects.

Development is of primary importance, talented personnel are the primary resources, and innovation is the primary driving force for development.

For Shanghai's Pudong New Area, talent is the driving force for its development. The area has been gathering talent from all over the world and creating a high-quality ecosystem for them so as to accomplish the mission assigned by the central government to turn the area into a pioneer area for socialist modernization.

Pudong New Area has taken the lead in implementing a more open and convenient talent introduction policy, and is striving to build a talent system with global competitiveness.

The area provides a broad stage for talent to start their own career and businesses through its innovation incubation system, science and technology public service system and intellectual property protection system.

Pudong is also focused on strengthening the overall allocation and precise supply of various service resources such as administrative approval, community construction and living facilities.

Efforts will be made to promote higher-level reform and opening up for talent and build a leading area for the development of international talent in Pudong New Area.

The creativity of talented personnel is a boon to industrial development. Xuhui district in Shanghai is striving to develop strategic industries such as digital economy, healthcare, cultural creativity, and modern finance so as to attract talent and promote industrial development with the support of the talent pool.

Last year, after Turing Award winner Yao Qizhi set up a scientific research institute in Xuhui, the district attracted many high-level talents, top research institutions and leading enterprises which helped form a strong artificial intelligence industrial cluster.

Xuhui has been accelerating the construction of a national innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration base and building an innovation and entrepreneurship service system covering maker spaces, incubators, accelerators and tech parks.

It is also improving intellectual property operation services, increasing government investment for talent and has built a regional technology transfer office.

Xuhui has attached great importance to the soft environment, transforming the soft power of innovative ecology, quality life, excellent culture, and efficient governance into tools to attract talent. It also provides high-quality scientific, educational, cultural, healthcare and sports resources for talent.