By Chen Jing, April,19 (Shanghai news of China News)--The launching ceremonies of the Trial among Students from Vocational Colleges (Shanghai Division) of the 5th China College Students' "Internet Plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, the 7th Shanghai Higher Vocational College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and the Practice Association for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Vocational Colleges in the Yangtze River Delta Region were held at Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College on Friday, April 19th.

Based on the overall requirements of work for interconnected development of education in the Yangtze River Delta, the activity aims to promote the establishment of the practical education cooperative working mechanism featuring multi-field support, cross-regional synergy, and innovative management and to focus on integrating the innovation and entrepreneurship practice education of vocational colleges in the Yangtze River Delta into the whole process of cultivating the initiative spirit, entrepreneurial sense, and innovation and entrepreneurship ability of all students in an all-round way. Deng Zhihua, researcher of the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mao Lijuan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Wang Jianzhang, vice chairman of the Shanghai Women's Federation, Shi Yichan, part-time deputy secretary of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Youth League, and related leaders from provincial education departments and vocational colleges, relevant principals of enterprises and institutions and over 200 participating student representatives in the Yangtze River Delta attended the event.

At the meeting, the Practice Association for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Vocational Colleges in the Yangtze River Delta Region was established. Under the guidance of the education authorities in the Yangtze River Delta region, the association was organized and jointly initiated by the universities and related enterprises and institutions of the three provinces and one city. They will work together to explore new space and build new platforms for training innovative talents, so as to better serve the high-quality and integrated development of vocational education in the Yangtze River Delta. The participating leaders and guests jointly awarded the strategic cooperative units. At the same time, the website of Higher Vocational College Entrepreneurship Education Committee of Shanghai Association of Higher Education was also launched.

Deng Zhihua, researcher of the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission and director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Office, pointed out that the establishment of the Practice Association for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Vocational Colleges in the Yangtze River Delta Region will boost the integrated development of education, economy and society in the Yangtze River Delta region, and create larger and newer space and platforms and provide more and better opportunities for the cultivation of innovative talents. Focusing on school-enterprise cooperation and the integration of industry and education, it explores a path for cultivating innovative, applied and entrepreneurial talents, provides impetus for our country’s ongoing reform of vocational education, and contributes wisdom of the Yangtze River Delta to the early realization of the modernization of vocational education in China. At the same time, the founding of the Practice Association for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will set a benchmark for the establishment of other regional associations in China, be the leader and pacesetter in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship, and take the lead in exploring a replicable and propagated path for cultivating innovative and entrepreneurial talents.

Mao Lijuan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, said that the State Council issued the "National Plan for the Implementation of Vocational Education Reform" in January this year, which defines the top-level design and construction blueprint for comprehensively deepening the vocational education reform in article 20 of vocational education. The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission issued the “Pilot Program for Shanghai to Deepen the Integration of Industry and Education and Promote the Construction of First-class Higher Vocational Education” and will deepen the reform of school-running system, integration of industry and education, and school-enterprise cooperation in the development of vocational education to continuously improve the training system for high-level applied talents. Mao Lijuan pointed out that actively integrating into and serving the Yangtze River Delta integration strategy is an important task and opportunity for the development of vocational education. It is the trend of the development of vocational colleges to vigorously put the Yangtze River Delta integration strategy into practice. Vocational colleges should take the initiative to integrate into the wave of innovation and entrepreneurship education and build a new pattern of collaborative development. They also should make good use of the advantages of "Internet Plus" to build a big brand of entrepreneurship education.

At the ceremony, the Trial among Students from Vocational Colleges (Shanghai Division) of the 5th China College Students' "Internet Plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and the 7th Shanghai Higher Vocational College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition were also launched. It is reported that this China College Students' "Internet Plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition firstly opened to vocational education groups—higher vocational education group and secondary vocational education group, so as to further increase new force for innovation and entrepreneurship, accelerate the cultivation of innovative entrepreneurial talents, continue to stimulate students' enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship, and showcase the achievements of innovation and entrepreneurship education. The trial of Shanghai Division was under the full guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, sponsored by the Higher Vocational College Entrepreneurship Education Committee of Shanghai Association of Higher Education and Shanghai Center for Student Affairs, and jointly hosted by the Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, Shanghai Vocational College of Science and Technology and Shanghai Information Technology College.

After the launching ceremony, a keynote report themed "Opportunities for National Strategy of Yangtze River Delta Integration and Vocational Colleges" was held, and teacher training was carried out according to relevant requirements of this China College Students' "Internet Plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.