The center, the first of its kind in China, now has a 500,000 yuan-worth of fixed assets and 75 undergraduates involved in research programs. The center has 16 subordinate scientific and technological invention associations for university students, with several thousand members.

　　The first group of research programs registered at the incubation center include a service program involving information technology for water supply and discharge, a program involving the development of an intelligent system for identifying fingerprints,and a network and software development program.

　　Ding Genfang, an undergraduate of the Hefei Polytechnical University in this capital of east China's Anhui Province, has been engaged in research into information technology for water supply and discharge since March 2001.

　　He said he was confident that his research program will make new progress with the help of the incubation center.

　　"The center provides us with equipment, capital and laboratory space, and we may be able to introduce venture capital investment in the future," Ding said.

　　Ding said he and his cooperative partners are preparing to establish a company of their own.

　　The incubation base is also designed to help the application tothe economy of research achievements made by university students, a university official said.