As an important part of the regional innovation system, the innovation ability of local universities is crucial to the high-quality development of the regional economy. Based on the panel data of 27 provinces in China from 2010 to 2022, the impact of data elementalization on the innovation ability of local universities was empirically explored. The results show that data elementalization significantly enhances the innovation ability of local universities, and the positive effect of different innovation quantile points is gradually enhanced. Data elementalization indirectly promotes the improvement of the innovation ability of local universities through intelligent innovation drive and industrial structure optimization. In the central and western regions, where the innovation intensity and industrialization level are low, the promotion effect of data elementalization on the innovation ability of local universities is more obvious.

data elementalization  /  innovation ability of local universities  /  intelligent technology innovation  /  industrial structure upgrading