InOctober2019,theMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnologyofthePeople'sRepublicofChinagaveitsapprovalandsupportfortheestablishmentoftheJinan-QingdaoArtificialIntelligence(AI)InnovationandApplicationPilotZone.Sincethen,Shandonghasremainedsteadfastinitscommitmenttopilotandadvancethedevelopmentofthiszone,resultinginsignificantprogressandsuccess.

Currently,therearecloseto1,000leadingAIenterprisesinShandongprovince,ofwhichnearly70%arelocatedwithintheJinan-QingdaoAIInnovationandApplicationPilotZone.Asaresult,theoutputvalueofthecoreindustryhassurpassedRMB10billion,whichhasinturnledtothescaleofassociatedindustriesexceedingRMB100billion.Thesedevelopmentshaveculminatedintheestablishmentofarelativelycomprehensiveindustrialsystem,spanningfromfundamentalsupportandcoretechnologiestobroaderindustrialapplications.

Toreinforcetheadvancementoffundamentalcoretechnologicalcompetencies,Shandongplanstoorganizeaprovincial-levelAIinnovationandentrepreneurshipcompetitionandaprovincial-levelAIintegratedinnovationvocationalskillscompetitionthroughoutthisyear.Byutilizingthesecompetitionsasplatforms,Shandongaimstoattractinnovatorsfromleadinghighereducationinstitutions,researchinstitutes,AIenterprises,andothermakerteamsathomeandabroadtoengageinhigh-levelresearchrelatedtoAIcutting-edgetechnologiesandcoretechnologicalcompetenciesaswellasthemassapplicationofAItechnologiesintoindustries,soastorealizefull-ecosystemcollaborativeinnovationbyjointlyaddressingcriticalproblemsinthefieldofAI.