Wu Guangqiang

    jw368@163.com

    DRONES produced by Shenzhen-based DJI Innovation Technology are soaring in skies all over the world, making Shenzhen known as an innovative city near and far.

    Now another product of the most cutting-edge technologies in the world is raising Shenzhen’s status as a trendsetter to a new height.

    The Martin Jetpack, the world’s first practical commercial jetpack, developed by Kuang-Chi Science Ltd., an innovative high-tech firm in Shenzhen, can carry commercial payloads of up to 120 kilograms with a maximum flying time of 45 minutes at a speed of up to 80 km per hour.

    The company said that it has 200 orders for the innovative aircraft, which has appeared in sci-fi movies, at the price of 2 million yuan (US$308,640) each.

    The jetpack, powered by a gasoline engine that drives twin-ducted fans, can operate close to buildings, near trees and in confined spaces that other aircraft are unable to access. Potential customers include firefighters, police, rescue teams, and even the military. A rescue team in Dubai ordered about 30 units because it is easier to operate them than helicopters in a city full of skyscrapers.

    Very similar to DJI, which was started by a university student filled with dreams, Kuang-Chi was established by five students who came back to China after studying abroad.

    Both companies have made dreams come true in Shenzhen partly thanks to a unique program, the “Peacock Program.” The Peacock Program was launched in October 2010 by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission to attract tech talent.

    The program is aimed at pushing forward emerging industries of strategic importance, such as high technology, finance, logistics, cultural and creative industries, new energy, the Internet, biology, and new materials.

    According to the program, in the five years starting from the beginning of 2010, Shenzhen lured over 50 teams made up of high-level experts or specialists and 1,000 individual talents from overseas to conduct research and start enterprises in Shenzhen.

    A package of incentives were introduced to attract talent: once identified as qualified overseas talent, each beneficiary is entitled to a subsidy ranging from 800,000 to 1.5 million yuan in addition to other preferential measures including residence, immigration, children’s education, spousal employment, health care and medical insurance.

    A maximum of 80 million yuan in special funds will be allocated to any top-level team. Such teams will also receive governmental support in starting up a company, doing research, the application of research results and others.

    The peacock is a rare bird, with its colorful tail and graceful bearing. It is seen as a symbol of peace, luck, wisdom and talent in China. Shenzhen’s Peacock Program shows how eager the city is to draw talent from all over the world.

    The program has achieved tremendous success so far. By the end of 2015, 1,219 high-level talents from overseas have been introduced, of whom 58 percent have doctorate degrees and 40 percent have master’s degrees. Most of the talents studied or worked in such prominent universities as Princeton, MIT, Duke University and Columbia University. Others used to work for famous companies and hold patents for inventions.

    Of all the talents, 74 are foreign experts and the rest are overseas returnees. They are very young, with an average age of 36.2!

    As “the king of birds,” a peacock will attract many followers. A leading figure in a particular field will assemble numerous outstanding talents. Mindray Medical hired Dr. Huo Zhilin, and Huo formed a core R&D team consisting of over 20 doctors from overseas. The team has developed a string of products up to the internationally advanced levels.

    Some of these talents’ research results are world class. The third neutrino oscillation mode discovered by scientists in the Daya Bay experiment was named one of the world’s top 10 scientific breakthroughs in 2012 by the magazine Science.

    By the end of 2010, 3,300 enterprises had been established by returned overseas students in Shenzhen, with over 30 of them generating annual output value of 100 million yuan.

    To name a drawback in Shenzhen that turns away talent, I point to runaway housing prices. After all, few talented people have deep pockets.

    (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)