On October 13^th, nearly a hundred teams comprised of students from more than 10 Beijing universities gathered to compete at the Beijing Division Finals of the 13th iCAN International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The event was held at the Chinalco Research Institute in Changping Future Science City. A total of 30 teams from USTB participated in the competition, of which 8 won first prizes, 5 won second prizes, 1 won third prize, which also made all 14 teams eligible to participate in the national finals. Among those attending the competition were Liu Xiaojie, deputy director of the Department of Admissions and Career Services and director of the Career Services Center, and Mr. Yang Jian, associated dean and deputy secretary general of the School of Computer and Communication Engineering.

To open the competition deputy director Liu addressed the participants. She spoke of how USTB had organized the iCAN competition for the last nine years in order to promote innovative thought and entrepreneurial skills among students. As part of the university’s “double first-class” construction efforts it has implemented courses and hosted activities like the iCAN competition in order to produce new high-class talents. To conclude her speech she called upon the students to embrace their creativity and use it in their future endeavors to benefit the nation and contribute to its continuing social and economic development.

After a day of intense competition, the closing ceremony was held and awards were handed out. Of USTB’s 30 teams, 14 won awards, of which there were 8 first prizes (which accounted for half the first prizes in the Beijing Division Finals). The university also won its third straight Outstanding Organizational Unit award. The competition’s closing address was delivered by Professor Zhang Haixia of Peking University, who praised the students for their hard work and innovative thinking, encouraging them to continue their efforts for years to come. She particularly complimented the CalmSpoon project of one USTB team, and also thanked the university for its efforts in organizing the iCAN competition.

Since its founding in 2007, and becoming an international event in 2010, the iCAN International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition has seen fierce competition among students eager to be recognized for their forward-thinking projects. It has been praised by the Ministry of Education, and those who have performed well have seen much success in their future endeavors. USTB has organized the competition since 2011 and has seen a number of excellent teams come up through the university, including in 2017 when the Aeroband air-dialing team won second prize at the National Finals, and in 2018, when the iRead Intelligent Book Management system team won first prize at the National Finals.