MORE foreign universities are taking part in the China International Industry Fair 2011 to tap the Chinese market in hopes of translating research results into business profits.

Osaka Prefecture University from Japan has brought safe green vegetables grown in its plant factory without soil and which are free of pesticides.

"Chinese people are paying close attention to food safety now," said Hiroshi Osumi, assistant director of the university's General Coordination Office. "Vegetables grown in our plant factory are safe, delicious and nutritious."

Waseda University, also from Japan, is showcasing its electronic micro bus which is environment-friendly.

A total of 60 universities from home and abroad are taking part in the five-day fair, a record high. This includes four foreign institutes, doubling the number of last year.

The trading volume of university technologies has kept rising at the trademark industrial fair, which kicked off at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in Pudong New Area on Tuesday. The volume has grown from 74 million yuan (US$11.7 million) in 2003 to 708 million yuan last year, nearly 10 times in eight years.

Sales of motor drive systems for advanced fuel cell vehicles, developed by Shanghai University, are expected to reach 296 million yuan this year while the scanner developed by Beijing's Tsinghua University has been in operation at some metro stations in Beijing and Shanghai.

Meanwhile, local schools have been busy with their technological creations at the ongoing fair.

Fudan University is displaying a natural lighting device that illuminates rooms with daylight instead of electricity.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, on the other hand, is touting an intelligent helmet which can detect driver fatigue while East China University of Science and Technology is showcasing a degradable material expected to replace plastics.

Source:shanghaidaily