Universities in East China's Jiangsu province have made significant achievements in scientific and technological innovation over the past 10 years, officials said at a news conference held by the Ministry of Education on July 19.

Xu Zimin, deputy head of the education commission of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, said Jiangsu universities are home to a great number of innovation teams. By the end of 2021, the universities had 92,000 sci-tech personnel, up 50.8 percent compared to 2012, and 79 academicians at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

A total of 188 billion yuan ($27.8 billion) has been spent on scientific research on campuses over the past decade and more than 7,000 research centers and platforms have been built by the province's universities, said Xu.

As a result, the institutes have made notable contributions to the upgrading of traditional industries and even many strategic national programs, including those related to manned space flights and lunar exploration, Xu added.

During the news conference, Chen Fadi, principal of Nanjing Agricultural University, presented his school's achievements in overcoming agricultural technological bottlenecks to safeguard the nation's food security and boost rural vitalization.

One of these achievements is helping more than 20 cities in China strengthen their chrysanthemum industrial chains and increase tourism revenues, said Chen.