On June 8th, the opening ceremony for the 2020 China-US Young Maker Competition (CUYMC) Wuhan division kicked off online. Hosted by China Ministry of Education and organized by Huazhong University of Science and Technology completely online, the competition adopts a theme of “Co-making the Future”. Yiqing Zhan, the Vice President of HUST attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Vice Dean of Qiming College Gang Huang hosted the ceremony.

Huangzhong University of Science and Technology, as the organizer, has a fine tradition of international exchange and cooperation, Ms. Zhan said. The university has already established partnerships with 26 US universities and trained many excellent entrepreneurs with special funds for students to learn and practice in world class universities. This competition will help to cultivate a favorable atmosphere of innovation in universities of Hubei Province, and even the whole district of central China and build a better platform for innovation exchanges. At the same time, it will help universities fully utilize their advantages, and make further contributions to the development of society.

Yongji Xu, the Deputy Director General of Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges in Ministry of Education, expressed his hopes in his speech. First, the Chinese youth should devote themselves to realizing the Chinese Dream with great passion in innovation. Second, we can make more effort to promote sustainable development in all fields and cooperate in building a human community with a shared future under the complex and grave international environment. Third, young Chinese makers can have sincere exchanges with their counterparts from America to help secure a healthy relationship between China and the US.

The competition this year has an extraordinary significance, for people in Wuhan showing the unique strength and spirit during the battle against COVID-19, said Hongge Ai, the Deputy Director of China Service Center for Scholarly Exchange. CUYMC provides great opportunities for both countries to further friendships, learn mutually as well as an efficient platform for universities and enterprises to cooperate and innovate. The competition encourages young people to discover and solve key and difficult problems in life with a human-based vision to bring more benefits to mankind.

After the keynote speeches, detailed introduction to the competition’s background, requirements, and prize-winning works from past sessions was given.

It is reported that China-US Young Maker Competition is a major event for social and cultural exchange between China and the US. It has been successfully held for seven sessions with an aim to improve the sustainable development of many fields such as community, education, environment, healthcare, energy and transportation. Especially focusing on society and people's livelihood, it encourages competitors to combine innovative ideas and cutting-edge technology to create brand-new products with social and industrial value. The competition has an ever-increasing influence among young people in China and the US.

This year 5 teams in Wuhan division will be elected for the final in Beijing.

Written by: Shengyuan Ma

Edited by: Rong He

Source: Qiming College