As we celebrate the Lunar New Year, a time brimming with hope and joy, the DKU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (DKU InE) extends our heartfelt holiday blessings to all students, faculty, staff, and partners who have passionately participated in and supported us. May the new year bring us closer together, igniting the flame of innovation and entrepreneurship in each of our hearts, and lighting the way forward.
Now, let’s take a journey through time to review the achievements made by the DKU InE over the past year.
As the bells of the Lunar New Year draw near, we stand at a new starting point. Looking back on the past year, the DKU InE has taken solid strides on the path to cultivating internationally-minded innovation and entrepreneurship talents. In 2023, we successfully supported 53 student teams, including 27 newly established teams, involving 251 students from all undergraduate grades —— a 17.8% increase from the previous year. In the field of artificial intelligence, we celebrated remarkable breakthroughs, such as the Dreamlit AI project led by student Maoxuan Shan, which received an early-stage investment of $400,000, becoming the first entrepreneurial project recognized by leading venture capital firms. Behind these achievements lies our relentless pursuit of innovation and entrepreneurship education, coupled with continuous optimization of resource utilization.
In the past year, we reformed the operation of the DKU University-Corporation Innovation Lab (U-Corp) based on the multi-project operation, adding innovative practice projects with different operational cycles. By continuously improving the short-term and long-term mechanisms for school-enterprise cooperation, we actively mobilized resources within and beyond the school to cater to the diverse cultivation needs of students and enterprises. The U-Corp platform provided DKU undergraduate and graduate students with practical opportunities to participate in corporate projects, allowing them to acquire and master market-oriented, production practice, and industry-validated innovation methodologies. Concurrently, DKU’s pool of talent and cutting-edge research resources provided partner companies with forward-thinking insights and innovative solutions.
Additionally, with the completion of the new Phase 2 campus, the DKU Innovation Lab (InLab) has expanded both in scale and functionality. Currently, three laboratories are continuously enriching entrepreneurial guidance books, adding new equipment such as high-performance computers, brain-computer interfaces, DIY tools, virtual reality/augmented reality glasses, motion capture kits, and drones, and purchased a new high-speed multi-color 3D printer on top of the original three 3D printers. Moreover, the laboratories also regularly hold various innovation workshops, allowing students to learn and experience innovative technologies and methods in different fields. Through the establishment and activities of these laboratories, students not only gain access to abundant resources and entrepreneurial opportunities but also cultivate their innovative capabilities and mindset.
We have also deepened exchanges and cooperation with various sectors outside the campus, including government, enterprises, and non-profit organizations, introducing high-quality social resources to stimulate students’ enthusiasm for scientific research and innovation. In 2023, we planned and hosted 18 lectures and more than 10 creative workshops related to innovation and entrepreneurship, providing students with more practical opportunities and a platform for experience guidance, achievements exhibitions, and resource sharing.
To allow students to access world-class teaching resources and a fully English higher education environment, thereby having a greater impact on society, we successfully held a one-week “Design Thinking and Social Entrepreneurship” summer program in 2023, which attracted more than 37 students from both domestic and international universities.
To expand undergraduate students’ engagement in interdisciplinary innovative research and to nurture potential innovative and entrepreneurial projects, the DKU InE introduced the forward-looking interdisciplinary research special interest group Future Society ENGINE (FSE) in 2022. Using a Mini research project format, it aims to provide a platform for DKU students with spare capacity to systematically understand problem-oriented interdisciplinary research thinking, methods, and processes. In 2023, three projects nurtured by FSE were established in the National College Students’ Innovation Project, and two new topics began early-stage research.
Our accomplishments extend beyond merely increasing the number of projects; they also underscore the enhancement in quality. In 2023, 14 out of the 21 projects we supported were completed, marking a significant improvement from the 35% completion rate of the previous year Spanning diverse fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, healthcare, robotics, and rural revitalization, these projects epitomize the breadth and depth of student innovation and entrepreneurship. Moreover, our collaborations with enterprises, exemplified by initiatives like the Houlang Public Welfare Organization, not only flourished within our campus but also extended to educational support endeavors in locations such as Atushi, Xinjiang—a testament to DKU’s commitment to social responsibility and its far-reaching influence.
Looking forward, we will continue to deepen innovation and entrepreneurship education, developing more online courses, such as two existing course video modules planned for release in 2024, and a new innovation and entrepreneurship course. Additionally, we are committed to enhancing the U-Corp platform, diversifying our school-enterprise cooperation projects, and establishing a mentorship network and management mechanism tailored to innovation and entrepreneurship, thereby offering comprehensive support to our students. We plan to expand the student participation group, not limited to undergraduates, but open incubation applications to graduate students, aiming to nurture innovative thinking in a broader field.
In terms of resources, we will strengthen communication and collaboration with other school departments to build a basic and complete innovation and entrepreneurship curriculum system within three to five years. We will also focus on students’ entrepreneurial practice experience, provide more real-life scenario training through deep cooperation with enterprises, help students transform entrepreneurial ideas into feasible projects, and establish a more comprehensive guidance system to encourage greater student participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, thereby enhancing their practical skills.
In the new year, the DKU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative will continue to collaborate with every ambitious student, facing challenges together and shaping the future. We believe that through relentless effort and innovation, we can cultivate more talents in innovation and entrepreneurship with international perspectives and social responsibility, contributing to the development of society.
Here, we extend our heartfelt wishes for the new year to all our supporters. May we together script a new chapter in innovation and entrepreneurship, allowing the seeds of innovation and entrepreneurship to take root, blossom, and bear fruit in the fertile ground of Duke Kunshan University. Let us walk hand in hand, creating a brighter future together!
