The Comprehensive Solution Centre of the Innovation Factory serves as a platform and clustered system centred on delivering comprehensive solutions to one or more key issues identified within specific industry contexts prioritised by the XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang). Its business model is illustrated in the diagram. The establishment of such centres begins with industry environments and challenges that demonstrate long-term sustainability. As such, collaboration with industry partners is required to introduce authentic business scenarios or operational problems. For example, the Robotics Comprehensive Solution Centre collaborates with Haier Group to develop robotics-based solutions for the smart home sector. Focused on smart home environments, it seeks to address the challenge of intelligent household integration by developing smart home robots.
Within the identified industry context, the second step is user needs analysis. For fields without established products, this may start with defining user requirements. Although the centre is technologically supported, it does not begin from a technology-driven perspective; instead, market analysts are brought into the team to clarify user needs. The third step is idea generation based on the defined needs, followed by the development of technical requirements and technical solutions, involving users, technical experts and product managers.
The fourth step is product design, focusing on defining product functionalities and configurations based on the technical solution—mainly carried out by technical experts and product managers. The fifth step is prototype development, where a minimum viable product is built to test its technical feasibility, primarily led by technical experts. Once successfully tested, industry partners lead the final steps of market deployment and scaling.
In summary, the Comprehensive Solution Centre collaborates with enterprises and government while promoting cross-disciplinary cooperation within the College to build industry-leading public service platforms. The centre includes Proof-of-Concept Centres, pre-research and development centre, Innovation Centre and specialised research clusters (e.g., Materials Research Centre, AI4Science Centre), advancing deep integration between technology and industry.
The six-step workflow of the Comprehensive Solution Centre involves collaboration with four key categories of stakeholders:
Collaboration with Government: Through establishing Proof-of-Concept Centres, public service platforms and jointly issuing innovation vouchers, the Centre works with government institutions to advance the development of technological innovation infrastructure, providing a solid foundation for the transformation and application of research outcomes.
Collaboration with Enterprises: By bringing in real business scenarios from enterprises as the starting point for solution development, the Centre collaborates with the R&D and innovation centres of industry-leading companies. Joint laboratories and pre-research and development units are established to deepen university–industry–research collaboration and jointly drive technological innovation and industry advancement. The Centre also provides innovation support and services for small and medium-sized enterprises, helping them achieve breakthroughs in technology development and market expansion, enhancing their competitiveness and innovative capabilities, and contributing to the prosperity and sustainable development of the broader industrial ecosystem.
Collaboration with Universities and Research Institutions: The Centre jointly establishes industry-oriented research clusters with universities and research organisations—such as Materials Research Centre and AI4Science Centre—to pool resources and expertise, address common industry-wide challenges and promote technological innovation and progress within the sector.
Cross-School Collaboration within the University: Industry-focused public service platforms are established through collaboration among different Schools. Examples include:
Robotics Team – integrating laboratory resources across various buildings to provide one-stop robotics assembly services.
Quality Control Testing Centre – offering more than 15 mainstream quality testing methods, such as machine vision, laser and ultrasonic inspection, to provide third-party testing services for industry partners.
3D Printing Centre – consolidating 3D printing resources within and beyond the University to meet commercial or personal printing needs of students, staff and industry collaborators.These platforms provide comprehensive technical support and services to industry, driving industrial development and innovation.
The Comprehensive Solution Centre of the Innovation Factory serves as a platform and clustered system centred on delivering comprehensive solutions to one or more key issues identified within specific industry contexts prioritised by the XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang). Its business model is illustrated in the diagram. The establishment of such centres begins with industry environments and challenges that demonstrate long-term sustainability. As such, collaboration with industry partners is required to introduce authentic business scenarios or operational problems. For example, the Robotics Comprehensive Solution Centre collaborates with Haier Group to develop robotics-based solutions for the smart home sector. Focused on smart home environments, it seeks to address the challenge of intelligent household integration by developing smart home robots.
Within the identified industry context, the second step is user needs analysis. For fields without established products, this may start with defining user requirements. Although the centre is technologically supported, it does not begin from a technology-driven perspective; instead, market analysts are brought into the team to clarify user needs. The third step is idea generation based on the defined needs, followed by the development of technical requirements and technical solutions, involving users, technical experts and product managers.
The fourth step is product design, focusing on defining product functionalities and configurations based on the technical solution—mainly carried out by technical experts and product managers. The fifth step is prototype development, where a minimum viable product is built to test its technical feasibility, primarily led by technical experts. Once successfully tested, industry partners lead the final steps of market deployment and scaling.
In summary, the Comprehensive Solution Centre collaborates with enterprises and government while promoting cross-disciplinary cooperation within the College to build industry-leading public service platforms. The centre includes Proof-of-Concept Centres, pre-research and development centre, Innovation Centre and specialised research clusters (e.g., Materials Research Centre, AI4Science Centre), advancing deep integration between technology and industry.
The six-step workflow of the Comprehensive Solution Centre involves collaboration with four key categories of stakeholders: