Seven elite HKSAR teams snatch eight National awards at “3Chuang Competition” National Finals

The National Finals of the 16th National E-commerce “Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship” Competition for College Students (3Chuang Competition) concluded on 11 August. Seven elite teams from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) that had advanced to the National Finals snatched eight National-level awards. Six teams were led by PolyU students, among them the “HK Knowledge-in-Action Innovation Team” and “Dr.Fresh”, both winners of the National First Prize. The former also stood out from over 300 teams in the Regular Track as one of the 20 recipients of the National Best Innovation Award.

This year’s 3Chuang Competition saw the first Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Contest, with PolyU as the organising university. After regional contests, over 1,100 teams qualified for the National Finals. The seven Hong Kong teams comprised members from 10 higher education institutions from across Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas. In addition to the Hong Kong universities, prestigious institutions such as Jinan University, Southern University of Science and Technology, and the University of Toronto in Canada were represented. The teams travelled to Zhengzhou in Henan Province, Lingshui Li Autonomous County in Hainan Province and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province to compete in different tracks of the National Finals, winning one National Best Innovation Award, three National First Prizes and four National Second Prizes.

Prof. Christopher CHAO, PolyU Senior Vice President (Research and Innovation), remarked, “As the sole organising university of the HKSAR Contest of the 3Chuang Competition, PolyU is pleased to see students from different regions fostering cross-regional and cross-institutional innovation through this competition platform and achieving outstanding results in the National Finals. The teams addressed real-world needs and industry pain points by developing feasible solutions through innovative thinking, demonstrating the social value of youth innovation. Teams participating in the National Finals in Ningbo encountered severe weather conditions caused by Super Typhoon Dolphin. Despite various unforeseen difficulties, they persevered and completed the competitions, displaying remarkable tenacity that is equally worthy of commendation.” Prof. Chao encouraged all teams to continue striving for excellence, refining their innovative projects and persevering in their entrepreneurial journeys, thereby contributing to society and the Nation.

Receiving the National Best Innovation Award, the project “Smart Sandplay Therapy System for Children with Autism”, developed by the “HK Knowledge-in-Action Innovation Team”, addresses problems commonly faced by children with autism, including difficulties in emotional expression, inadequate social interaction and low continuity of family intervention. Through sandplay therapy, the project integrates multimodal sensing, intelligent assessment and a digital companion service to build an end-to-end integrated service system. The other recipient project, “Space Mold Prevention Expert: Full-Chain Moisture & Mold Control Management and Optimization for Warehousing”, created by “Dr.Fresh”, combines calcium chloride technology with a visualisation window to address the problem of low efficiency in humidity control in e-commerce warehouses. It significantly reduces the risk of moisture damage to high-value goods during transportation and storage in cross-border logistics, redefining green supply chain standards for cross-border e-commerce with a low-cost, zero-energy approach.

The results of the HKSAR teams at the National Finals of the 16th 3Chuang Competition are as follows:

Founded in 2009, the 3Chuang Competition is a national entrepreneurship competition endorsed by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. With the aim of fostering among tertiary students an innovative mindset, creative thinking, entrepreneurial capabilities and team collaboration in practical scenarios, it is one of the largest and most influential innovation and entrepreneurship competitions focused on e-commerce for the Nation’s tertiary students. The Competition has attracted numerous aspiring student entrepreneurs over the years, and this year alone saw over 280,000 teams from nearly 1,500 universities nationwide across 34 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and Special Administrative Regions sign up. For more information, please visit the official website.

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