BEIJING: The 2026 World Young Scientist Summit was held in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, on Saturday and Sunday, to explore how youth-led innovation and international cooperation can address global challenges.
Under the theme “Gathering Talents Worldwide to Create a Better Future”, it brought together nearly 800 young scientists, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from more than 60 countries and regions.
At the opening ceremony on Saturday, Gao Chunbo, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the World Young Scientist Federation, released a report on the distribution and mobility of young scientists in embodied intelligence, examining where researchers work, how they move across borders and regions, and their professional backgrounds.
The report covered 1,836 researchers and found that their average age was 34, and nearly 70 percent had studied or worked in different countries and regions. Academic institutions accounted for more than 60 percent of their affiliations, followed by enterprises, while about 60 percent had industry experience. The 10 institutions with the largest numbers of researchers were mainly based in China and the United States.
Tracking young scientists’ distribution and mobility was a key research initiative of the event. Following a similar study on young AI scientists released last year, this year’s report focused on embodied intelligence, a field that connects the virtual digital world with the physical world and could significantly reshape production and daily life.
To broaden opportunities for academic exchange, organizers launched a journal partnership program, with 56 academic journals from 11 publishing organizations at home and abroad joining the first batch.
Turning research into industrial applications was another focus. The 2026 World Young Scientist Innovation and Entrepreneurship Growth Support Program was expanded to include five new companies under the Spark Program: Panhua Power, Huafon Group, Bethel Automotive Safety Systems, Yiming Co, and Huayou New Materials. A Spark Angel Fund with a scale of 500 million yuan ($75 million) was also established to support early-stage innovation and entrepreneurship.
The 2027 World Young Scientist Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was launched to help young innovators in frontier fields such as quantum technology and embodied intelligence showcase projects, connect with resources and accelerate commercialization.
While these initiatives support the transition from research to industry, the Young Scientists Pioneers 2035 initiative recognizes achievements in frontier basic research. Launched last year, the initiative has announced its first cohort of 20 young scientists working in quantum materials and quantum information. Selected through multiple rounds of expert review based on global academic data, they represent five areas: materials, computing, algorithms, measurement, and networks.
The event also highlighted the importance of aligning scientific research with humanity’s shared needs. The World Young Scientist Federation and the Wenzhou World Young Scientists Growth Foundation jointly established the Young Scientist Award for Sustainable Development to encourage young researchers to use science to advance sustainability and improve human well-being.
This year, 347 young scientists from 31 countries and regions applied for the award, with four selected after review.
Bai Chunli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chair of the award’s review committee, said the selection process revealed an encouraging trend.
“We are pleased to see that more and more young scientists are closely connecting scientific exploration with social needs, and aligning their personal research ambitions with the development needs of human society,” Bai said.
“Through more high-level innovative achievements, they are contributing to sustainable development and the improvement of human well-being.” –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
