On July 12, the grand final of the 8th Youth Innovation Competition on Lancang-Mekong Region’s Governance and Development (YICMG) was closed at the Phuket Campus of Prince of Songkla University in Thailand. The event, under the theme Sustainable Development of Cities and Communities, was hosted by Fudan University, Shanghai International Culture Association (SICA), amongst others, and organized by the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University.
A total of 96 projects were submitted by 288 students from 9 universities across the six Lancang-Mekong countries, with 20 teams comprising 60 competitors making it to the final. The competition awarded four categories: The Most Valuable Question, The Most Creative Team, The Best International Team, and The Best Project for Incubation.
This year, three teams from Fudan University participated, illuminating the ideal life for people in the Lancang-Mekong region.
BuzzFree focuses on mosquito-borne diseases troubling the Lancang-Mekong region, aiming to popularize affordable, eco-friendly, and sustainable mosquito control methods. SilverCare is an app designed to provide home care for the elderly, matching suitable caregivers based on their locations and needs. RecycleWatt is a waste collection and recycling platform, that uses big data and smart technology to empower waste recycling.
In Round 2 of the final, teams from the six Lancang-Mekong countries are regrouped into international lineups.
I major in finance and economics, so I usually focus on the market end. However, through collaboration with students from Thailand and Vietnam majoring in international affairs, I started considering the culture and customs of people from different regions. And we transformed the original air filter for buildings into a face mask filter that better meets the urgent needs of the Lancang-Mekong people, said MENG Shiting from Guangxi University of Finance and Economics, a contestant from one of The Best International Team.
A contestant from another team winning The Best International Team, UK Sophearith from the Royal University of Phnom Penh expressed his gratitude for his teammates. I am very happy to meet my two international partners. XU Yinghao (from Qinghai University, China) is very easy to get along with, and Ngo Thuy Linh (from Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam) encouraged me to speak out my ideas.
In Round 2, LU Yilin from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, joined a project on sustainable solutions for urban and rainwater management. This area is very far from my major. However, the exchanges in 'Lancang-Mekong Cafe' with experts and scholars cleared my confusion. We talked to two Thai professors with backgrounds in business and architecture which are closely related to this project. They helped us identify key points for improvement in the original design.
These contestants have a fertile imagination and a strong desire for face-to-face communication, and they also use AI to assist in the development of projects, said Professor ZHENG Yu from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University.
They take the needs of their peoples into consideration, which helps them propose applicable solutions for the entire Lancang-Mekong region, Southeast Asia, and even the world, said ZHANG Li, Deputy Secretary-General of Lancang-Mekong Youth Exchange and Cooperation Center, Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Belt and Road and Global Governance of Fudan University.
Based on the current university network in the Lancang-Mekong region, a satellite for astronomical research co-developed by Fudan University and Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology will be launched soon. Within the Lancang-Mekong region, Fudan University plans to establish a joint laboratory, share experimental data with young researchers, and set up scholarships for students wishing to pursue master's and doctoral degrees in China.
Meanwhile, Fudan University and Prince of Songkla University signed a five-year MoU to promote exchanges between faculty and students of the two universities in academic projects and practical work.
It has been announced that YICMG 2025 will be held at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Hanoi. Let’s eagerly anticipate another wave of groundbreaking ideas from next year’s contestants!
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Presented by Fudan University Media Center
Writer: LI Yijie
Photographers: LIAO Heng, HU Xue
Editor: WANG Mengqi
