From December 4th to 6th, the 2023 China International University Student Innovation Competition, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Education, the United Front Work Department, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the National Intellectual Property Administration, the National Rural Revitalization Bureau, the Communist Youth League Central Committee, and the People’s Government of Tianjin Municipality, was held at Tianjin University. This event attracted a total of 151 countries and regions, 5,296 universities, 4.21 million projects, and 17.09 million participants. The School of Environment and Energy at South China University of Technology, with doctoral student Zhong Wenye as the leader and Associate Dean Chen Yan as the advisor, won the gold award, achieving a historic breakthrough for the school!

Image 1: Team photo at the final competition site, Tianjin University

At the final competition site, project leaders from universities across the country successively took the stage to present creative and innovative product services and business models. Our school’s project, “Super-N—Leader in Waste Water Valorization,” aims to selectively convert nitrate pollutants in wastewater into clean energy, achieving both wastewater treatment and green ammonia preparation at the same time. The project successfully developed high-performance, low-cost electrodes and innovatively designed an electrocatalytic coupled membrane separation reactor, realizing the resource and energy utilization of wastewater. It has been applied in practical scenarios such as uranium mine nuclear industrial wastewater, with significant effects. The technology has been selected as a key project in the Guangdong Province “Climbing Plan” strategic science and technology special project, providing a green solution for wastewater treatment and receiving high recognition from experts, including academicians. The project team contributes youthful energy to ecological civilization construction, fully supporting the national “dual carbon” strategy!

Image 2: Scene at the final competition

It is reported that the project leader, doctoral student Zhong Wenye, and the main members come from the second party branch of the fourth batch of model party building units in Guangdong Province - the Graduate Second Party Branch of the Institute of New Energy. This award is also one of the achievements of the model party branch. In recent years, the School of Environment and Energy has further intensified its work in cultivating innovation and entrepreneurship among students. The school leaders conducted a special investigation on the key projects of innovation and entrepreneurship among students in the School of Environment and Energy, understanding the needs of students and teachers. The school hosted the Yida Creative Competition and the Hualv Environmental Protection Innovation Competition, exploring student innovation and entrepreneurship projects. Regular “Gathering Energy” luncheons were held to build a communication bridge between teachers and students for innovation and entrepreneurship competitions. Teachers from relevant departments of the school invited to explain the policies of innovation and entrepreneurship competitions. In-depth integration of school-enterprise resources was carried out to further strengthen industry-university-research exchange and cooperation. School leaders took the leadership in organizing project expert guidance and polishing meetings to improve the quality of participating projects. In 2023 alone, student teams from the School of Environment and Energy won important awards in major innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, including the National Gold Award in the China International University Student Innovation Competition, the Second Prize (Provincial Grand Prize) in the “Challenge Cup” National University Student Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, the only grand prize in the Yida National Creative Competition, and the First Prize in the National University Student Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Social Practice and Technology Competition.

Text/Image: Super-N Team, School of Environment and Energy

First Reviewer: Li Wenjie

Second Reviewer: Lv Xiaoting

Final Reviewer: Wu Honghui