About Tianjin

Tianjin tasks youth with innovation and patents

By Lu Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-02 07:52

To overcome the nation's weak awareness of intellectual property rights, patent creation should begin with the youth, said He Zhimin, director of Tianjin Intellectual Property Office.

The city's intellectual property administration and departments in education, science and technology have organized invention and design contests for youth since 2008 that received more than 2,000 entries, He said.

As well, "more than 1,100 students from over 100 primary and middle schools attended the contest last year," he said.

The effort aims to strengthen cooperation among educational, intellectual property and scientific professionals while improving the abilities of young people for independent thought.

Involvement in the process imparts a sense of accomplishment and improves respect for the labor, knowledge, talent and creation needed for new ideas, He said at a youth event in Tianjin last month.

Nearly 200 people, including government officials, school principals, instructors and student representatives, participated in the activity.

Zhang Xieyi, a student who began studying computer programming from primary school, has participated in the contest both years it has been held. His invention - an "anti-cold alarm for children" - won the sixth China Youth Science and Technology Innovation Award in 2009.

According to He, the students have filed more than 3,000 patent applications with local authorities over the past two years.

The invention and design contest this year is open for entries until the end of October. All the primary and middle school students in Tianjin are eligible for the contest.

Fostering an intellectual property culture is a long-term and demanding task that requires persistent struggle by many generations, He said.

"We should fully utilize education and encourage more schools to participate in innovation activities for young people," He said. "We also need to give great importance to training instructors, who will be the guides in scientific and technological areas."

China Daily