Analysis of the current situation of university-city integration development based on data mining technology and exploration of the optimization path

University is an inevitable product of a city’s development to a specific stage. In different social environments and historical stages, universities always develop symbiotically with cities, and the integration of the higher education system and emerging technologies can accelerate the regional economic development of universities and cities. Based on data mining technology, this study uses a neural network algorithm to establish an algorithmic model and sigmoid function as the incentive function to analyze the integration development of the emerging technology industry and university in Dongguan city and provide an optimization path for the integration development of the city and university. The research results show that in the field of scientific and technological research results, the universities in Dongguan City applied for 49,726 patents in 2021 and authorized 25,523, with an efficiency rate of 51.33%. In the area of urban economic development, Dongguan’s GDP in 2021 showed strong momentum, achieving a regional GDP of 108.554 billion yuan, up 8.2% over the previous year.