The 2025 Optics Valley of China 3551 International Entrepreneurship Competition's Europe & America Division Preliminary Competition was held at the China Belgium Technology Center (CBTC) in Belgium on Sept 9.

This event serves as a crucial platform for Optics Valley of China (OVC) to connect with European innovation resources and deepen international technological cooperation. It showcased Europe's cutting-edge innovation projects and highlighted OVC's industrial strengths and openness to the European community.

The 2025 Optics Valley of China 3551 International Entrepreneurship Competition is held in Belgium. [Photo/OVC Talent Special Zone]

An impressive 90 percent of the participants held master's or doctoral degrees from prestigious institutions like KU Leuven, the Technical University of Munich, and Imperial College London. Their strong academic backgrounds and innovation capabilities were evident.

During the competition, many projects demonstrated significant technological barriers, with some already securing four patent certifications, showcasing their R&D advantages and originality. Others have stood out in the market, securing 10-million yuan ($1.4 million) orders, proving their viable business models and strong growth potential.

A participant presents his project at the roadshow section. [Photo/OVC Talent Special Zone]

Many advancing project teams mentioned their research on Wuhan and OVC's industrial environment during their presentations. As Song Zhiwei, executive chairman of the World Young Scientist Summit (WYSS) European Secretariat, said, "Many speakers demonstrated a deep understanding of OVC's industrial foundation, policy support, and market opportunities, and are willing to establish their projects there."

To support the development of outstanding projects, OVC is optimizing a diversified funding model combining fiscal, State-owned, and social funds, forming a dual-drive approach of policy and market-based investments. Focusing on projects emerging from competitions like this one, OVC has created the Concept Validation Fund and Innovation Seed Fund this year.