The 11th China Postgraduate Energy Equipment Innovation Design Competition opens

On October 19, the 11th China Graduate Energy Equipment Innovation Design Competition officially kicked off at the Xi’an Innovation Port for Science and Technology. This year’s theme is “Innovative Energy Equipment: Talent Leading the Future,” featuring 434 teams from 290 universities and graduate training institutions nationwide that have qualified for the finals.

The competition aims to inspire graduate students’ innovative passion, cultivate their creative thinking, enhance their practical innovation abilities, and promote the innovative development of the national energy equipment industry. A total of 1,786 teams submitted their entries for the competition, involving 7,478 graduate students and 2,378 supervising teachers. The 434 finalist teams will compete through a combination of presentations and defenses.

This year, the competition expanded from six events to nine, covering a broader range of energy technology fields. New topics include cutting-edge areas such as energy storage and low-carbon energy equipment, thermal power engineering devices, and efficient electric energy equipment, aligning specifically with national strategic needs in energy transition.

The competition also places a strong emphasis on collaboration between government, industry, academia, and research, facilitating deeper integration between enterprises, research institutions, and universities. A special segment was introduced for industry-driven topics, allowing real-world demands from the industrial sector to be directly incorporated into the competition, enhancing its practicality and relevance.

In addition to the traditional final presentations and project displays, this year’s event features the Qin Chuang Yuan Business School’s Qin Cai Academy lecture series, a “Science and Future” frontier forum, and key enterprise recruitment fairs, bringing in well-known experts and scholars to share pioneering knowledge and practical experiences. This provides participants with a forward-looking platform to explore future energy technology innovations and gain insights into industry dynamics, further strengthening the close ties between industry, academia, and research.

Hong Jun, Vice President of Xi’an Jiaotong University, noted that this competition represents a valuable opportunity to implement the integrated development strategy of “Education, Science, and Talent,” uncovering ways for talent cultivation to mutually enhance regional and industrial development.

Liu Hongbin, President of the China Petroleum and Chemical Equipment Industry Association, stated that during the competition, the association will identify potential projects, build platforms for university-enterprise exchanges, and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Corporate representatives will gain close access to innovative results from universities, allowing them to connect directly with outstanding graduate tech talent.

The China Graduate Energy Equipment Innovation Design Competition has been an essential part of the “China Graduate Innovation Practice Series” since its inception in 2014. Over the past decade, it has successfully engaged numerous participants, providing a stage for innovation practice and academic exchange for over 34,000 graduate students across more than 300 universities and research institutions, covering various disciplines such as mechanical engineering, power engineering, thermophysics, and petroleum and natural gas engineering. It has gradually evolved into a collaborative innovation platform that integrates government, industry, education, research, and application.