Shanghai offers grants to attract new talent
Shanghai is to boost efforts to attract more overseas talent to help its development, with a focus on the aviation and transportation industries.
The government this week launched the latest round of a scheme called the Pujiang Talent Programme, which is mainly directed at Chinese students returning from overseas, the Wen Hui Daily reported.
Besides traditional areas such as biochemistry, the programme focuses on aviation and urban rail transport, which will benefit long-term planning and development.
Shanghai is helping to build a new regional plane and also hopes to take part in a project to build a larger jumbo jet. The city has also embarked on a massive expansion of its metro system ahead of the 2010 World Expo.
The programme - initiated in July 2005 by the Shanghai Personnel Bureau and the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission - offers grants for projects in four categories: scientific research, science and technology entrepreneurship, social sciences, art and culture, and 'urgently needed' skills. It gave no details.
The sponsorship ranges from 100,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan. Since the programme was initiated, 423 people have received sponsorship, amounting to 85 million yuan.
Two years ago, Shanghai initiated a separate plan to attract 10,000 overseas talents - including students returning from overseas, foreign nationals, and professionals from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
