SHUI ON SENIOR adviser Professor Woo Chia-wei, the first president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, pictures a symbiotic relationship evolving between the Knowledge and Innovation Community and nearby universities in Yangpu district. The area is home to 14 universities. They include the highly respected Fudan University, Tongji University, the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and the Shanghai University of International Studies. Professor Woo said an exciting aspect of the KIC project was that no one could accurately predict what would transpire in a mixed-use residential district surrounded by universities. 'I see it as a kernel,' he said. 'It sets the tone and gives the area the opportunity to grow and evolve into a community. You cannot build everything, but you can start it. You can provide the proper ambience and wait for the best to happen in a natural way.' KIC aspires to be to Shanghai what the Left Bank is to Paris and Palo Alto is to Silicon Valley in California - areas where art, culture, education, high technology and business intertwine in a way that benefits not just the immediate community but the entire city. 'We won't interfere with the universities,' Professor Woo said. 'We want to provide the facilities that a university wishes to have but does not find appropriate to build - the loft apartments, a piazza, restaurants, the proximity to corporate research and development, and start-up companies, liaison offices of international universities, life-long learning facilities, conference and exhibition space, international schools and clinics. 'Everything will benefit and complement the universities. As to how they will use [KIC], that's up to them. It will come naturally. It always does,' he said If the professor is right, the benefits will be tangible for generations and provide a reference point for other cities.