Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Xiangzhou's science and technology innovation competition which opened on Oct 18 has selected 80 projects to make it through to the quarter finals to be held from Dec 22 to 23.

Of the 80 selected, 50 are from the competition's startup category and 30 are from the Zhuhai-based enterprise category.

The evaluation panel examines projects for Xiangzhou's science and technology innovation competition on Dec 12. [Photo / science.china.com.cn]

An evaluation panel of experts and professionals judged a total of 229 submitted projects in terms of the commercial value, innovativeness, and feasibility at the Nanping Science and Technology Park's Tsingchuang Space incubator on Dec 12.

The shortlisted projects ran across a gamut of industries and sectors and featured companies specializing in artificial skin, non-invasive glucometers, and intelligent examination of pregnant women.

"For good startups or projects, what matters most are to find what the market wants most and how to make profit," said Professor Lu Guangwen, one of the judges from Southern Medical University's School of Biomedical Engineering.

A sci-tech innovation contest gets underway on Oct 18 in Zhuhai's Xiangzhou District in response to a national call for innovative development. [Photo / Zhuhai Daily]

The contest, which has 5 million yuan ($741,928) in prize money up for grabs, has received applications from home and abroad. Many entries have come from sectors of innovation, such as the internet, new energy resources, and biotechnology.

The competition is sponsored by the Xiangzhou government and is running against the backdrop of the nationwide Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation Week. One of its aims is bringing in talents and investment to serve Xiangzhou's economic upgrading.

Professional training on business administration, presentation skills and policy knowledge will be given to the finalists.