On June 16, the HENU selection contest for China International College Students’ Innovation Competition (2024) was held in the conical lecture hall of Jinming campus. Mengya Yang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Henan University, attended the award ceremony. The event featured a distinguished panel of judges including Jinbao Li, a specially-appointed professor from the Henan Provincial Department of Education’s College and Vocational Graduates Employment Guidance Training Center, Ang Yuan, a renowned career guidance teacher for college students in Henan Province, Shiming Li, a provincial-level outstanding guidance teacher, Yong Li, an innovation and entrepreneurship competition project guidance mentor, Huaqin Jiang, deputy director of Henan Higher Education Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management Service Center, Feng Li, a national-level innovation and entrepreneurship competition review expert, and Ke Wang, a national-level innovation and entrepreneurship competition project guidance teacher.

After preliminary rounds, semi-finals and online reviews within the colleges, 40 projects were selected to compete in the finals. During the competition, contestants elaborately presented their team’s brilliant ideas, conducting thorough project reports from five dimensions: education, innovation, team, commerce and social value. The competing projects spanned various fields including new engineering disciplines, new medical sciences, new agricultural sciences, and new liberal arts. The judging panel scored the presentations on-site based on the project roadshows, defenses and overall performance, and offered practical suggestions for each project.

Following intense competition, eight projects won first prize in the Main Track for Higher Education. Three projects received first prize in the Youth Red Dream Building Journey Track. Additionally, twenty-four projects secured second prize in the Main Track for Higher Education, while six projects won second prize in the Youth Red Dream Building Journey Track. Twelve colleges including the School of Software, The College of Geography and Environmental Science, and School of Artificial Intelligence were awarded the “Excellent Organization Prize.”

At the conclusion of the competition, Jinbao Li summarized and commented on the event, offering three suggestions: First, emphasis should be placed on optimizing and adjusting the competition rules, urging that project creations should align with professional characteristics and features. Second, for the Youth Red Dream Building Journey Track, it is crucial for participating projects to emphasize the importance of serving target groups, solving problems and selecting locations. Third, adhering to the original mission of “Learning for the Dream of the Nation,” participants should continue to contribute their youthful energy, maintain enthusiasm and courage for innovation, and pursue excellence on their future path.

This competition not only showcased the innovative spirit and practical abilities of HENU students but also injected new vitality into the innovation and entrepreneurship education. Moving forward, HENU will deeply optimize the participating projects to enhance the overall quality, supporting more students from HENU to shine brightly on their journey of innovation and entrepreneurship.