Hefei: a promising place for future generations

The city of Hefei has become a promising land for many talents, especially for future generations, experts said on Thursday.

"For me, this is a big surprise. I've worked all around the world, and I feel China has the most hard-working talent anywhere in the world," Gary Hughes, director of the New Product Introduction Engineering Department of carmaker Nio, told China.org.cn. 

"It seems that the government can afford to nurture good ideas and also the new ideas from young people at universities. So, it's very exciting to be a part of this city's life and new development."

He added that he believes that all over China, the education system for improving children and nurturing young talent is better than anywhere around the world.

Hughes, a veteran British engineer who has lived in the city for 7 years, has found a great work-life balance in Hefei. He has also paid attention to young talent and 10% of his team are younger upcoming talents from universities.

Thomas Weise, an artificial intelligence researcher with Hefei University, said Hefei's investment in education builds a promising foundation for good university students.

"Our city has more than 60 universities and colleges. The students who study in these universities will be the next generation of leading scientists," he said.

In his opinion, Hefei has attracted many great national and international scientists. "Many outstanding professors come here to share their state-of-the-art knowledge, to advise PhD students, and give guidance for the development of the city. I met colleagues who are much better researchers than me. I came here to learn."

During recent years, Weise said he saw more and more young scholars like that from all over the world coming to Hefei. Many of them become strong researchers by studying in the city and many of them want to stay. 

"Our city becomes more and more international. It is a booming international city of education, science, research, and tech, and also one of the important national science centers of China. Here, world-class research in quantum communications, nuclear fusion, smog prevention and cancer treatment is conducted," he said.

Kim Sang Jin, a TFT-LCD expert of Hefei BOE, has been living in Hefei for 10 years and witnessed its growth.  

"In the past decade, the pace of Hefei's urban construction has been never stopped, and the development of scientific and technological innovations has been paralleled with the work of attracting fresh talent," he said.

In Kim's eyes, Hefei is now a vibrant city, and it stands at the forefront of the world in terms of living environment, social security, education and medical standards. He called it home.

Just as Yu Aihua, a member of the standing committee of the Anhui provincial CPC committee and secretary of the Hefei municipal CPC committee, said on Oct. 29 at the opening ceremony of the3rd G60 Yangtze River Delta Sci-tech Innovation Valley Talent Summit, "As the most precious resource of regional integration, talents need to be cultivated and shared rather than competed for and stolen."

"We will strive to help more talent come to Hefei. Hefei is really making every effort to implement this philosophy," he said.