By Simin Yang, Project Coordinator - Innovation & Entrepreneurship
From Aug 6 - 8, I had the pleasure to attend Plug and Play (PNP) China Day 2020 in Wuxi, Jiangsu. The event attracted more than 340 people and 80 startups, and the livestream of the event was watched by over 1 million people online. The Embassy of Switzerland in China and swissnex China joined the launching ceremony of Plug and Play International Innovation Cooperation Initiative, which aims to facilitating the exchanges of innovative technologies across the world and helping innovative talents to have access to more international resources.
Plug and Play China Day 2020
Plug and Play’s Inno-ecosystem
Plug and Play provides an innovation platform that brings together startups, investors, and blue-chip corporations globally. It is active in over 20 locations including U.S., Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, Indonesia, and Japan. Founded in 2015, Plug and Play China has five main business sectors including investment, corporate innovation, startup incubation and acceleration, cross-border innovation and co-working space.
Plug and Play has built an innovation ecosystem involving corporation, startup, government & city, university, venture capital and mentor.
Plug and Play International Innovation Cooperation Initiative launched
In collaboration with Embassy of Switzerland in China, as well as the Wuxi municipal government, the China-Britain Business Council, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai and others, PNP has launched an international innovation cooperation initiative. The initiative is to facilitate exchanges of innovative technologies across the world and help innovative talents to have access to more international resources.
Launch of Plug and Play International Innovation Cooperation Initiative
William Wu, Liaison & Project Officer, Science, Technology, Education & Innovation Section, Embassy of Switzerland in the People’s Republic of China, joined the launching ceremony
Open innovation software "Playbook China"
Besides the international innovation cooperation initiative launched, the event also launched an open innovation software “Playbook China” which can be useful for Swiss startups to gain insights about the global innovation scene and to approach potential partners.
“Playbook China” is an open innovation software developed by PNP. In this interconnected global platform, users can see a real-time heat map of scientific innovations, track the latest technological development trends, as well as seek for global partners or other opportunities through online registration. It can be a good tool for big corporations looking for cutting-edge technology partners or startups looking to verify its products.
Playbook Interface (picture source: playbook website)
Playbook Interface (picture source: playbook website)
Sustainable Innovation Summit
A side event “Sustainable Innovation Summit” was also held. Entrepreneurs, experts, media, investors, engineers, designers, etc. attended the summit, and contributed their insights and opinions around sustainable fashion and circular economy, innovation in material and energy sector and sustainable food and beverage. The aim was to scaling sustainable innovation in energy efficiency, alternative materials, carbon-neutral supply chain management, circular economy, waste management, and other climate resilient areas.
Sustainable Innovation Summit (side event)
It has been a good experience for me to participate in the PNP China Day, which offers me innovation insight from the industry and it’s also a good occasion to connect with innovation partners such as investors, government, enterprises, startups, venture capital etc.
Picture source: Plug and Play