In recent days, workers at the production workshop of Longquan Xiazhi Thermal Management System Co., Ltd. have been installing and debugging a second production line for TC11 new energy vehicle air conditioning compressor assemblies. Xiong Shusheng, a "Vice President of Science and Technology" busy providing technical guidance nearby, said with delight: "This production line will achieve an annual output target of 600,000 sets of electric compressors."

A PhD from Zhejiang University, Xiong Shusheng serves as Chief Expert of Longquan Automotive Air Conditioning Industry and President of Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute. Not long ago, under his leadership, the Provincial Key Laboratory of New Energy Vehicle Thermal Management, jointly built by Xiazhi Company and Zhejiang University, was accredited by the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province.

As the only provincial key laboratory in a mountainous and island county of Zhejiang supported by a local physical research institute, it fills a key link in industry-innovation integration connecting "universities + platforms + enterprises + industrial chains", providing a steady stream of innovation support for Longquan to advance in the thermal management sector.

"We have made new breakthroughs in the R&D of the R290 thermal management system. Subsequent high-temperature, high-altitude and high-humidity tests will be conducted, and we will join hands with Geely to promote mass production for vehicle assembly," Xiong Shusheng said with full confidence about the future.

Deepening industry-university-research collaboration and linking the talent chain, industrial chain and innovation chain is a crucial step to promote high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology. In Lishui, many "Vice Presidents of Science and Technology" like Xiong Shusheng are active at the forefront of enterprise production and R&D, accelerating the transformation of scientific research achievements from laboratory samples to market-oriented products and then to large-scale industries.

Enterprises set the problems, experts solve them, and the government provides support. Since the beginning of this year, Lishui has selected high-level scientific and technological talents from universities and research institutes to serve as deputy chief engineers, vice presidents of technology and vice presidents of R&D in enterprises. These experts help enterprises refine projects and tackle key technical problems, resolving corporate difficulties while providing researchers with a practical platform for achievement commercialization.

All efforts revolve around and serve industrial development. So far, the city has signed cooperation agreements between 128 scientific research talents from universities and research institutes and 126 enterprises, covering precision manufacturing, traditional Chinese medicine and healthcare, new energy, low-altitude economy and other industrial sectors.

"The permanent magnet synchronous motor we developed achieves an efficiency of 93.06%, reduces weight by more than 15%, cuts overall energy consumption by over 15%, and saves 810 million kWh of electricity annually." Walking into the production workshop of Zhejiang Cheering Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., You Zhangping, a "Vice President of Science and Technology" from Lishui University, proudly introduced the advanced production technology.

Led by You Zhangping, two provincial-level new products – the direct-drive angle grinder and direct-drive mixer – have been successfully developed. The energy-saving motor drive technology has been applied to an additional 450,000 units, generating over 50 million yuan in new profits.

As talents sink to the frontline, enterprises gain vitality. Leveraging the talent resources of universities, Zhejiang Cheering Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. has successfully transformed from an OEM manufacturer into a Zhejiang Provincial Hidden Champion Enterprise. Its product line has expanded from single motor products to intelligent drive systems, breaking the long-term monopoly of high-end power tools by the United States, Japan and Germany.

For "Vice Presidents of Science and Technology", there are no shortcuts to industry-university-research cooperation. Only by writing research papers on the shop floors of roaring machinery can the seeds of innovation take root, bloom and bear fruit in industrial soil, turning "research value" into "production value".

"Real engineers are forged on production lines," Zhang Ruihua, "Vice President of Science and Technology" at Lishui Jiexiang Technology Co., Ltd., said with deep feeling.

Head of Lishui Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Technology, Zhang Ruihua focuses on key technologies of rolling linear guide pairs, intelligent control and equipment automation. In recent years, she has led her team to independently develop more than 10 sets of intelligent equipment, adding nearly 100 million yuan in annual industrial output value.

For enterprises, hiring a "Vice President of Science and Technology" means connecting with a research university and an entire resource platform.

After joining the enterprise, Zhang Ruihua led a team of 20 teachers and engineering technicians across diverse disciplines, established a technology transformation and application center, and jointly developed intelligent equipment for fully automatic slider assembly, testing and full-process packaging. These products fill domestic gaps in related fields, raising production efficiency by 6–9 times, cutting production costs by over 4%, and boosting corporate revenue by more than 40 million yuan.

For chain-leading and flagship enterprises, Lishui has explored the establishment of "integrated education, science and talent partners" through carriers such as industrial science and technology task forces and the "100 Doctors for 100 Enterprises" program. It has innovated a targeted collaborative tackling model – "one university for one industrial chain, one team for one enterprise" – to deeply integrate scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation.

Lishui University has established in-depth university-enterprise cooperation with Yuheng Battery Co., Ltd. Guo Shengrong, Dean of the College of Ecology, and the enterprise’s Chairman have been mutually appointed as "Vice President of Science and Technology" and "Industrial Professor". Gathering disciplinary resources, the two sides have built a national postdoctoral workstation, a provincial postgraduate joint training base and a provincial college student practical education base at the enterprise, achieving new breakthroughs in technologies such as MOF-modified separators for lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Zhejiang Benefit Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has built a GAP planting base for *Tetrastigma hemsleyanum* in the "Jiangnan Medicine Valley" in Songyang, and cooperated with a municipal industrial science and technology task force for traditional Chinese medicinal material cultivation and processing led by "Vice President of Science and Technology" Wang Ye. Through group-based services, the two sides jointly approved the Lishui Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula Granules and launched major projects for the development and transformation of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. Research on the liquid fermentation process of hericium erinaceus is currently underway.

Against the backdrop of deepening industry-education integration in vocational education to serve local industrial development, Lishui Polytechnic has selected "Vice Presidents of Science and Technology" with both research capacity and practical experience. It has signed more than 10 horizontal technical service agreements covering new material R&D in materials science, production line upgrading in intelligent manufacturing, and monitoring technology optimization in forest fire prevention, solving nearly 30 technical problems for enterprises.

Bai Jingyuan, "Vice President of Science and Technology" at Zhejiang Xiafeng Precision Die Casting Co., Ltd., addressed prominent technical challenges in die-cast light alloy corrosion protection by introducing advanced surface treatment processes. This has significantly improved the material’s corrosion resistance in marine environments by 175% compared with traditional processes, reaching industry-leading levels with technical indicators 23% higher than the average of similar provincial enterprises. He also provided guidance on optimizing magnesium alloy surface treatment, creating an annual new business growth point of 5 million yuan for the enterprise.

A relevant official from the Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology stated that next steps will further focus on industrial technical demands – the renewal and upgrading of traditional industries, the growth of emerging industries, and the scientific layout of future industries – to match more "Vice Presidents of Science and Technology" for enterprise technological innovation and upgrading, accelerating the flow of innovation resources at the industrial end. Policy support will also be provided to talents, sending institutions and host enterprises to achieve "two-way commitment and win-win development" between talents and industries.

Source: Lishui Daily, General Office

Authors: Jiang Jiang, Shu Kang