CCTV9英语新闻：大学教师鼓励创业

In China, teachers in universities used to be forbidden to start businesses of their own unless they first quit their jobs. But now, in the latest measure to boost technology creation, Shanghai has been the first to lift the ban. University teachers can now establish start-ups while retaining their titles. 

Gan Yong (R) is a researcher in the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s top medicine research body. He registered a company in January to bring his research to the market.

Gan Yong is a researcher in the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s top medicine research body. He registered a company in January to bring his research to the market. Now, he has ten percent shares of a pharmaceutical enterprise which develops medicines for cancer.

"Our job is to develop new medicines; it doesn’t matter whether we do it in the institution or outside. As a matter of fact, the ultimate goal is to industrialize our technology and products, and benefit patients," Gan said.

While Gan works with the company, the institute will maintain the title and position of Gan’s team, as long as they fulfill their research and teaching duties. Also being primarily a researcher, Gan has no plans to go into business. He will take the company through its start-up stage and hand it over to professional managers.

In the past, researchers like Gan Yong were restricted to working solely within their academic institutions, meaning they were unlikely to benefit personally from the fruits of their research. Perhaps more importantly, vital scientific findings and even breakthroughs would often stay in the lab for years, with no market incentive to release them to the outside world.

Establish a start-up, test it in the market and further enhance research. This is the mantra many research teams are now considering in Shanghai.

"We are showing our support by releasing the restrictions on creativity. We encourage teachers to retain their position, suspend salary and go found a business. Surveys have shown that in the past several years, the transfer rate of technology from research schools has been low, because teachers were not allowed to set up business," said Jiang Sixian, Party Secretary of Shanghai Jiao long University.

Universities in Shanghai are now working on detailed measures to ensure researchers have no trouble coming back to university by allowing them to return to their original positions, while keeping social security and contracts.