Nantong rolls out welcome mat for local graduates in talent drive

Participants of the "10,000 Students Tour Nantong" event visit a local company. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Nearly 1,000 students from top universities across China gathered in Nantong on July 24 for the city's annual "Bringing Talents Back to Nantong" campaign, part of a broader effort to lure homegrown talents back to the city.

Attendees took part in a job fair featuring thousands of positions and toured key research facilities, including the Peking University Yangtze Delta Institute of Optoelectronics, as well as major local tech firms such as Zhongtian Technology.

For many participants, the visit offered a fresh look at what their hometown has to offer.

"Coming back to Nantong, I can see it becoming more modern every year. There are so many real-world applications of cutting-edge technologies across different industries here — it makes me want to come back and start my career," said Chen Haojie, a senior majoring in artificial intelligence at Soochow University and a graduate of the city's Tongzhou Senior High School of Jiangsu Province.

Since the campaign began three years ago, Nantong has built a comprehensive database of local graduates and rolled out detailed briefings on its talent policy package. The drive to bring in and keep local graduates has taken on a strong momentum in the city.

During the recent winter break alone, the education bureau, in collaboration with other government departments, organized more than 40 events at high schools throughout the city, including alumni reunions, company visits, policy briefings and employer‑student networking sessions.