Zhang Zhenjie demonstrates equipment at the State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology at Nankai University. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Scaling the breakthrough

Beyond the campus, Tianjin's innovation chain extends into office buildings, industrial parks and factories, where research outcomes face the test of mass production.

The Tiankai Higher Education Innovation Park, established in 2023 and developed with strong links to NKU and Tianjin University, has become a key platform connecting research institutions with industry.

It provides rent subsidies, shared facilities, financing support and technology transfer services, reducing the friction between laboratory research and commercialization.

Ren Chengzu, founder and chief scientist of Tianjin Chuangjin Jinggong Technology Co Ltd, credited Tianjin's broader innovation environment for his company's long-term progress.

"In the early stage, we received rent reductions and access to shared facilities, which significantly lowered operational pressure," Ren said. "More importantly, it allowed us to focus on technical challenges."

Ren's company is engaged in the development of ultra-precision bearing rollers, key components in high-end manufacturing systems.

In this field, the challenge is not only achieving precision in controlled laboratory conditions but maintaining it consistently in mass production.

Through years of process optimization, Ren's team has reduced dimensional deviations to below 0.5 micrometers, surpassing widely used international benchmarks.

He said such precision is critical in advanced equipment such as robotic systems, where component stability directly affects performance and reliability.

"The final step from research to industrial application is always the hardest. It takes time to stabilize processes and solve problems that do not exist in theoretical models," Ren said.

"As application scenarios expand, precision requirements will become even more demanding," he continued.

Precision manufacturing is only one part of the picture. In computing and digital services, companies such as Sugon are also helping connect academic research with industrial demand.

Zhang Lei, general manager of Sugon's solutions and innovation business, said Tianjin has developed a diversified industrial base covering computing, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies.

He noted that closer collaboration among universities, research institutes and enterprises is helping accelerate the transformation of research outcomes into practical applications.

In recent years, such collaboration has become increasingly central to Tianjin's innovation strategy.

"Tianjin has built a relatively complete industrial chain. That makes it easier for technologies to move from laboratories into real-world use," Zhang Lei said.

Sugon maintains close ties with universities and continues to recruit talent from academia, while expanding joint training programs to better align education with industrial demand.

During the four-day research tour, journalists moved between laboratories, research centers and manufacturing sites.

What they observed varied widely in form but shared a common thread: a city steadily building the capacity to turn scientific ideas into industrial reality.

In Tianjin, innovation is no longer an abstract idea or a laboratory pursuit. It is taking shape across a connected ecosystem — from research institutes to production lines — as the city works to turn scientific discovery into everyday reality.