Qingdao has seen its scientific and technological undertakings growing fast. In 2008, it had 416 items of major research results, of which eight won national award for science and technology and 72 won provincial award for science and technology. Transactions on the technology market have been brisk. In 2008, a total of 1,947 technology contracts were signed, worth 1.02 billion yuan. Also in the year, 8,250 patents were applied and 3,309 were granted, respectively up 62.9% and 23.5% than in the previous year.
Qingdao's education develops to a rather high level. Qingdao has implemented the balance development project of compulsory education, 15-year universal education project, education-service ability enhancing project, education-care people's livelihood project and compulsory talent cultivation project. Compulsory education has been generally provided in urban and rural areas, and school liability insurance was introduced for primary and secondary school students. Textbooks for students under compulsory education stage for free, and free vocational education policy are gradually carried out in rural areas. The school system of "Integration of work and learning, half-work-and-half-study style" has been popularized in the whole country. The construction of ordinary qualified primary and secondary schools in urban and rural areas, and the adjustment work of rural vocational school distribution have been actively started. The collocation of urban educational resources has been further optimized, and Qingdao No. 1 International School has been under construction. There are 2249 kindergartens with 167 thousand children; 961 primary schools with 477 thousand students; 307 ordinary high schools with 374 thousand students including 67 general senior high schools with 112 thousand students and 240 junior high schools with 262 thousand students. There are 99 secondary vocational schools with 263 thousand students, 28 universities (including private university), in which, there are 25 ordinary colleges with 262 thousand students. The enrollment rate is 92.3% for children attending kindergartens for three years before they go to school, and 100% for primary school and junior high school. The graduation rate reaches 92.3% for junior high school students; the gross enrollment rate of college and university reaches 36%.
Qingdao closely combines the import of personnel with the import of projects and the import of capital. Based on the implementation of "111" talents introduction project during the Tenth Five-Year Plan, Qingdao has also implemented "222" talents introduction project during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. Since 2006, in advanced manufacturing industry and modern service industry, Qingdao has introduced 96,527 talents with bachelor degree or above, including 1,295 with PhD degree and 12,851 with master degree, or vice-senior title and high technical ability. The total quantity of introduced talents and the quantity of high-level talents exceed the sum of talents introduction projects during the whole Tenth Five-Year Plan. There are 51 academicians both of the Chinese Academies of Science and Engineering, 57 outstanding young and middle-age exports, 811 enjoying special government allowances granted by the State Council, 13 of 100-Person Plan of the Chinese Academy of Science, and 630 PhD supervisors. There are 16 postdoctoral research centers, 19 mobile research centers and 7 expert research centers. Qingdao has recruited a total of 324 post doctors, 125 postdoctoral researchers and 199 who have finished their post-doctorate training. Qingdao has introduced 1800 person-times foreign experts, introduced and received more than 2000 overseas students. In all, one foreign expert had won the national "Friendship Award", and six experts had won the provincial "Qilu Friendship Award", taking up one third of the number in the province.