KAUST Alumni Affairs and its China Chapter, in partnership with the Hangzhou Association of Science and Technology, held the 6th High-level Overseas Talent Projects Matchmaking Meeting of KAUST Alumni last October. These meetings are designed to encourage KAUST alumni to start hi-tech companies or have collaborations with enterprises and research institutions in Hangzhou.

The 21 alumni visited Biopharma Town, Inno&Entre Town, Environmental Technology Innovation Center of Jiande, the major innovation parks in Hangzhou, as well as several private enterprises. The Environmental Technology Innovation Center of Jiande was founded by Pan Jian, another KAUST alum and organizer of the annual meetings. It provides software and hardware support for people who want to form start-ups.

The alumni were invited to engage with local business leaders and government officials about their technologies to find funding, form collaborations, and gain advice for the commercialization of their ideas. The technologies discussed covered a wide range and included security, green energy, advanced materials, environment and health products.

"These annual meetings have grown because of the proven benefits of matching our KAUST alumni with enterprises or research institutions in Hangzhou. ZJUT [Zhejiang University of Technology] is one of the best examples, but we see other organizations gaining by working with KAUST talent," said Jian. Zhejiang University of Technology had eight of its members join the meeting. It and KAUST have formed a tight relationship through its China-Saudi Arabia Joint Laboratory of Microscale Structural Engineering for Advanced Materials.

Dr. Brian Moran, Dean of Graduate Affairs, and Dr. Huang Kuo-wei, Associate Vice President, represented KAUST.