Students of Our School Win Second Prize in the 19th “Challenge Cup” National Undergraduate Curricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition

From October 31 to November 3, the 19th “Challenge Cup” National UndergraduateCurricular Academic Science and TechnologyWorks Competition was held at Nanjing University. The project “Development of Catalysts for Metal–Air Fuel Cells for Large-scale Energy Storage” from our School won the Second Prize nationwide after intense competition.

The project addresses major national energy strategies and the “dual carbon” goals, focusing on developing low-cost, high-performance bifunctional catalysts for metal–air batteries to overcome key technical bottlenecks in large-scale energy storage, with significant scientific and application value. Under the careful guidance of their supervisors, the team investigated structure–activity relationships of catalyst materials, optimized synthesis processes and battery devices, and achieved significant breakthroughs in key performance indicators, realizing a full pathway from technological innovation to potential industrial application.

Since preparation began, the University Youth League Committee and the School actively integrated resources and provided comprehensive support to the team. Multiple rounds of expert mentoring, mock defenses, and material refinement were organized to continuously improve the project. During the competition, Professor Yu Lin, Vice President of the University and Dean of the School, together with Party Secretary Zhou Dongbin, visited the site to offer guidance and encouragement, providing targeted advice on presentation skills and pre-competition psychological preparation. The team fully demonstrated strong collaboration, integrating classroom knowledge with research practice and continuously challenging themselves during the competition.

The School will continue to uphold the talent cultivation philosophy of “mutual enhancement of learning and competition, integration of competition and teaching”,build a full-chain innovation and entrepreneurship education system, integrate scientific innovation thinking into all aspects of talent training, further stimulate students’ enthusiasm for innovation, and promote the incubation and transformation of scientific research achievements, contributing to the University’s Double First-Class initiative and the development of a better Guangdong University of Technology.

(Photos by: Competition Team Text by: Lin Pei)