In the Media Spotlight | The First "Volcano Smart Hub Cup" Global Innovation Elite Competition Concludes in Haikou

On August 28, the final of the Chinese Overseas Students Serving the Motherland Tour (No. 31 Overall) — Haikou National High-Tech Zone Station and the First "Huoshan Zhihui Cup" Hainan Free Trade Port Global Innovation Elite Competition came to a successful close in Haikou. Guided by the theme "Gathering Global Talent, Creating a Free Trade Future," the competition has covered five regional divisions at home and abroad since its launch in June. Through successive rounds of preliminary, semi-final and final selection, a group of high-quality projects combining innovative strength with real-world potential emerged at the top.

The final venue. Photo provided by the organizers

The competition featured three tracks — biomedicine, artificial intelligence and the digital economy — closely aligned with the industrial priorities of the Hainan Free Trade Port. The judging adopted a "standard score plus bonus score" system to fully assess both project quality and the potential for local implementation, ensuring that winning projects possessed not only innovative capability but also a genuine willingness to take root in Hainan.

After fierce competition in the final, 18 winning projects across the three tracks were announced one by one at the closing ceremony that afternoon — 3 first prizes, 6 second prizes and 9 third prizes, receiving corporate support grants of RMB 150,000, RMB 100,000 and RMB 50,000 respectively. The first prizes in the biomedicine, artificial intelligence and digital economy tracks went to Research and Development of KK801, a Therapeutic Drug for Chronic Inflammation; the Collaborative System for Intelligent Unmanned Surface Vessels; and the Research, Development and Application of High-Precision Quantum Communication Polarizers.

A contestant presenting the project. Photo provided by the organizers

The strong appeal of these projects is inseparable from the industrial soil and policy support of the Haikou National High-Tech Zone. As the only national-level high-tech zone in the Hainan Free Trade Port, it is home to "Haikou Pharmaceutical Valley," the province's largest pharmaceutical industry cluster, where more than 80 percent of Hainan's total pharmaceutical output value is generated. The zone has built an industrial system in which biomedicine, the digital economy and advanced manufacturing develop in synergy, and the competition's three tracks align closely with its leading industries. To support the landing and commercialization of outstanding projects, the zone has introduced a series of goodwill measures, including start-up space at preferential rents, "invest-first, equity-later" matchmaking, one-stop services covering talent settlement, housing, education and healthcare, open sharing of public technology platforms and pilot-scale production resources, and dedicated one-to-one full-process agency assistance.

The final may be over, but the service continues. On the 29th, the organizing committee will also take representatives of projects interested in settling in the zone on site visits to key industrial carriers, including Maiteng Science and Innovation Park, Hiphing International · Haikou High-Tech Zone Medical Device Park and the Hainan Talent Tower, helping enterprises gain a more direct understanding of the zone's industrial ecosystem and development environment and accelerating the transition from "intent" to "implementation."

Representatives of winning projects receiving their awards on stage. Photo provided by the organizers

From the enthusiastic registration of more than 300 projects worldwide to the top 100 competing on the same stage, the results of this year's competition — "attracting talent through competition, gathering industry through competition, and driving commercialization through competition" — are steadily emerging. It is becoming a standing platform through which global talent come to know Hainan, enter Hainan and take root in Hainan. The Haikou National High-Tech Zone will continue to polish the "Huoshan Zhihui Cup" brand and build it into the Hainan Free Trade Port's premier annual innovation event, so that the spark of innovation burns ever brighter.

This competition was guided by the Overseas Students and Expert Service Center of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Hainan Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security and the Haikou Municipal People's Government, and hosted by the Management Committee of the Haikou National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone.

Haikou Daily

TRAINING

More than 300 global projects registered

Top 100 gather in the Coconut City

Three tracks face off in a final showdown

August 28

Chinese Overseas Students Serving the Motherland Tour (No. 31 Overall)

Haikou National High-Tech Zone Station

and the First "Huoshan Zhihui Cup"

Hainan Free Trade Port Global Innovation Elite Competition Final

Concludes in Haikou

On August 28, at the final of the First "Huoshan Zhihui Cup" Hainan Free Trade Port Global Innovation Elite Competition, a contestant takes the stage for a roadshow presentation. Photo by Kang Denglin, Haikou Media Center

Tapping into potential

A group of high-quality projects stand out

At 9 a.m. that morning, in the artificial intelligence track's roadshow room. Displayed on the large screen was a three-dimensional monitoring system diagram: unmanned surface vessels, underwater robots and a ranch monitoring platform layered together.

The judges began prompting and asking questions:

"Have these robots entered production yet?"

"Where is the profit model?"

"Please focus your presentation on the plan for landing in Hainan."

After a brief pause to think, the contestant on stage moved the red dot of the laser pointer onto the "demonstration applications" column — laboratory, test field and industrial scenarios, three images side by side. The contestant then cited several sets of figures: three contracts already signed, totaling RMB 800,000; two applications for projects such as provincial key research and development programs, totaling RMB 5 million; and plans to establish Hainan Zhiyu Technology Co., Ltd. in the Haikou National High-Tech Zone, directly creating 100 jobs over the next three years and indirectly driving more than 1,000 jobs.

In the digital economy track's roadshow room, a judge asked:

"Where does the core competitiveness of this project lie? Could you focus on the talent team building?"

The contestant replied:

"Our 'AI Production Studio Factory + Talent Center + Global Export Node' project does not start from 'all creators' — it starts from the professional segment with the strongest ability to pay. On the talent side, we have set a three-year target: 50 talents cultivated in the first phase and 300 cumulatively over three years, while engaging roughly 1,000 more people across related parts of the chain."

At the final that day, participating teams covered frontier fields including innovative drugs, high-end medical devices, embodied intelligent robotics and digital industrialization. The judging was conducted using a "standard score plus bonus score" system, fully assessing both project quality and implementation potential, and a group of outstanding projects combining innovative strength with real-world potential stood out as a result.

Attracting talent through competition

Building a seamless path from participation to implementation

The day after the competition ends, the Haikou National High-Tech Zone will launch landing-policy coaching and on-site visits to open up a seamless channel for projects moving from the competition stage to actual implementation.

For advancing projects with a clear intention to settle in the zone, the Haikou National High-Tech Zone will continue to apply its existing "corporate secretary" system, under which dedicated staff provide end-to-end assistance covering business registration, bank account opening and policy application. This is also a continuation of the zone's "evaluation through competition" approach.

The Haikou Three-Year Action Plan for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Science and Technology Innovation (2026–2028) clearly calls for advancing the integration of talent with scientific innovation, and of innovation with industry. As the only national-level high-tech zone in the Hainan Free Trade Port and the city's core innovation hub, the Haikou National High-Tech Zone organizes this competition precisely to attract talent, gather industry and drive commercialization through competition — bringing global seeds of innovation in, helping them stay and helping them grow.

A relevant official of the Haikou National High-Tech Zone

"The competition is about more than ranking — it opens up a full channel from 'participation' to 'matchmaking' to 'implementation.'"

The official noted that all advancing projects can connect to six forms of landing support offered by the zone: spatial carriers, talent recognition, funding support, industrial services, innovation empowerment and government affairs services. Some projects had already expressed a clear intention to settle in the zone during the competition itself. Of the 100 finalist projects, the park aims to have no less than 30 percent complete business registration within six months.

Haikou News Broadcast

TRAINING

On August 28, the final of the Chinese Overseas Students Serving the Motherland Tour (No. 31 Overall) — Haikou National High-Tech Zone Station and the First "Huoshan Zhihui Cup" Hainan Free Trade Port Global Innovation Elite Competition came to a successful close in Haikou. Guided by the theme "Gathering Global Talent, Creating a Free Trade Future," the competition attracted more than 300 high-quality innovation projects from around the world, and the 100 outstanding projects that emerged gathered in the Coconut City.

A total of 18 winning projects across the three tracks received first, second and third prizes, and a number of high-quality projects signed agreements on site to settle in the Haikou National High-Tech Zone.