From October 12 to 15, our university achieved outstanding results at the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition (2024), securing three gold and two silver awards. This brings our total national innovation and entrepreneurship competition achievements to 15 golds and 11 silvers, maintaining our position at the top of the national vocational college leaderboard for gold and overall medals.

Among the winning projects, the “Defect Detection Pioneer” from the School of Artificial Intelligence, the “Welding Guardian” from the undergraduate college and the Institute of Intelligent Manufacturing, and the “Valve Master” from the School of Management and the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering received gold medals in the vocational education track. The “LingXiu” project from the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering won a silver in the same track, while the “Veterinary Mastitis Microneedle” project from the School of Food and Drug received a silver in the higher education main track.

Over the course of eight months, mentors led students through hands-on experiences in company workshops and rural areas, conducting practical training. Through intensive training, team members significantly enhanced their professional knowledge, business skills, technical abilities, collaboration spirit, and practical competencies.

The preparation boot camp “Lihu Elite Innovation Camp,” closely linked to the competition, is embedded in SZPU’s progressive “Four Integrations” innovation and entrepreneurship education framework. Having evolved over many years, the camp has become a reputable light-weight business management education program. Emphasizing “learning through competition”, it promotes academic, teaching, and entrepreneurial growth, guided by its core values of “mission-driven mindset, knowledge breadth, and practical depth”. Students are encouraged to embody the spirit of “getting hands-on in the frontlines of industry” and “rooting themselves in the country’s foundation”. The eight-month training process spans five stages—campus, provincial preliminaries, provincial finals, national preliminaries, and national finals—and includes over 20 courses on topics like classic readings, business design, team building, entrepreneurship management, integrated marketing, investment and financing, tax and financial guidance, and business etiquette, all aimed at talent cultivation.

The China International College Students’ Innovation Competition (2024) and related activities were held in Shanghai from October 12 to 15. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and 11 other national departments, alongside the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, the event featured 5.14 million projects and 20.84 million participants from 5,406 institutions across 153 countries and regions. A total of 450 projects received gold awards. Centered on the theme “I Dare, I Create”, the competition encourages students to integrate their expertise into innovative practices, fostering a spirit of innovation among students in various disciplines and establishing itself as a highly anticipated global innovation event for young students worldwide.

(Tan Lixi, School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship)