How to enhance urban innovation? A coupling study of education- technology- talent focusing on China’s Silicon Valley

Human social activities involving education, technology, and talent are closely related to the innovation of a city, which are also important driving forces for sustainable urban development. Currently, there is a lack of tracking analyses of long-term development potential and drivers of urban innovation capacity. This research takes Hangzhou, China’s Silicon Valley, to study the drivers of urban innovation to achieve sustainability from the perspective of human innovative behavior. By building a comprehensive urban development evaluation framework for the integration development of education, technology and talent, this study uses the coupling coordination degree model to analyze the coupling development mechanism and core factors of urban innovation. It finds: (1) Hangzhou’s comprehensive development level of education, technology and talent has gone through three stages, namely steady growth, rapid growth, and slowing growth, presenting an overall upward trend. (2) The coupling coordination degree gradually improves, promoting a sustained increase in the comprehensive development index. (3) Using emerging digital industries and high-tech enterprises as channels, the deep integration and coordinated development of education, technology, and talent will promote urban innovation. This study focuses on the driving forces of urban innovation, contributing to the sustainability of urban development.