To All Relevant Institutions of Higher Education:
To implement the important guiding spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping on accelerating the development of strategic emerging industries and advancing the high-end, intelligent and green transformation of manufacturing industries, respond to the deployment of breaking through technical bottlenecks of key materials set forth in the National Guidelines for the Development of the New Materials Industry, unleash college students’ innovation potential, cultivate top-tier talents in materials science and engineering, and advance the high-quality development of the new materials industry. Upon approval by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and after deliberation by the Competition Organizing Committee, we have decided to launch the International University Students New Materials Innovation & Creativity Competition together with the 13th Shanghai Municipal University Students New Materials Innovation & Creativity Competition. Relevant arrangements are hereby notified as follows:
I. Objectives and Significance of the Competition
The materials industry serves as a fundamental pillar of the national economy. New materials, the vanguard of the materials industry, constitute a vital strategic emerging industry and a core arena for high-tech global competition.
Co-sponsored by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and undertaken by the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, the Shanghai New Materials Association, the International Society for Advanced Materials, and the International Mesostructured Materials Association, the International University Students New Materials Innovation & Creativity Competition (alongside the Shanghai Municipal University Students New Materials Innovation & Creativity Competition) opens a global platform for university students worldwide to showcase their innovative research achievements in the field of new materials.
Centered on innovation and creative design, the competition encourages university students to translate their professional knowledge of materials science into scientific research and engineering practice of new materials. Through laboratory research, corporate internships, engineering design and other activities, participants are expected to deliver innovative, highly visible research outcomes. It aims to foster students’ innovative awareness, creative thinking, teamwork capacity, and problem-solving skills for complex engineering challenges, facilitate the transformation of industry-university-research-application achievements in materials and related disciplines, and drive breakthroughs in core key technologies for engineering sectors.
The theme of this year’s competition is “Innovation Shapes the Future, Materials Transform the World”. Guided by innovation and creativity, the event promotes the application of cutting-edge material technologies in frontier sectors including new energy, ecological environment, biomedicine, electronic information, and intelligent manufacturing. It supports joint research on key scientific projects, addresses bottlenecks in disciplinary development, and fuels the growth of new quality productive forces.
Participating teams are encouraged to select research topics from practical challenges confronting society and enterprises. Priority shall be given to creative material research projects targeting industrial upgrading for major economic development, core national equipment serving critical national strategic demands, and eco-friendly development safeguarding people’s lives and health. While tackling real-world industrial challenges, contestants can further upgrade their independent innovation capabilities.
Competition Tracks (Three Categories)
(I) Innovation Track (Scientific Research & Technology Category)
Focusing on cutting-edge directions including semiconductor materials, additive manufacturing, energy storage materials, AI-enabled new materials, low-carbon and recyclable materials, this track prioritizes original technological breakthroughs in new material formulations, preparation processes and core equipment. Participating teams are encouraged to submit verifiable experimental samples, test reports issued by authoritative institutions, draft patent applications and other supporting documents to highlight technological strength and originality.
(II) Creative Design Track (Application Design Category)
Centered on scenarios such as lightweight structural materials, flexible wearable materials, eco-friendly degradable materials and cultural & creative functional materials, this track assesses teams’ innovative design capabilities for integrating materials with practical application scenarios. Teams may submit physical models, tangible exhibits, visualized creative proposals and other deliverables, emphasizing implementable creativity and immersive scenario experience.
(III) Entrepreneurship Track (Industrial Transformation Category)
This track targets real technical pain points of new material enterprises. Entries must feature complete market implementation plans, accurate cost estimations and clear industrialization roadmaps. Outstanding projects shall demonstrate potential for industrial incubation, with evaluation focusing on commercial viability and industrial landing value.
This competition is open to all full-time enrolled university students. Submitted innovative design deliverables (physical prototypes or software) shall fall under the following materials and related technical fields:
New energy materials
Eco-environmental materials
Biomedical materials
Electronic and information materials
Aerospace materials
Optoelectronic sensing materials
Rare earth functional materials
Advanced material forming technologies including 3D printing
Integrated AI-new material technologies
Other cutting-edge new materials and relevant technologies
II. Organizing Institutions & Administration
Organizer: Shanghai Municipal Education Commission
Undertakers: University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai New Materials Association, International Society for Advanced Materials, International Mesostructured Materials Association
Co-organizers: Shanghai Polyurethane Industry Association, Shanghai Mould Industry Association, Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Society
Sponsors: Open solicitation to the industry. Relevant enterprises and institutions are warmly welcomed to provide sponsorship and support for the competition!
III. Eligibility & Team Format
Participants: Full-time undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students. Three competition groups are set: Undergraduate Group, Master Student Group and Doctoral Student Group. The competition group of each team is determined by the highest academic qualification among all team members for evaluation purposes.
Team Composition: All participants shall compete in teams of 3–5 members, with one designated team leader. Each student may only join one team, and each team may submit only one entry. Cross-grade and cross-major team formation is encouraged.
Supervisors: Each team may have a maximum of 3 supervisors; one supervisor may guide multiple teams. Supervisors shall provide pre-competition guidance only and are prohibited from participating in on-site competition sessions.
Project Requirements: Projects shall match the knowledge background and implementation capacity of team members. Topic selection and creative framework construction shall be primarily proposed and completed by students. All team members shall accurately elaborate project content and underlying principles with authenticity. For entries involving scientific and technological achievements or patented inventions, supporting certification or patent authorization documents must be provided.
IV. Competition Timeline
Competition Launch: July 15, 2026
Registration & Submission of Application Materials: July 15 – August 15, 2026
Preliminary Round Result Release: By August 25, 2026
Final Round & Award Ceremony: September 26 – 27, 2026
V. Competition Procedures
1. Registration
Fill out the Entry Form and Summary Form, then submit entries to the official competition mailbox within the designated period. All entries must be reviewed and endorsed (with official seal) by the participant’s university, with two recommenders holding senior professional titles.
Official Mailbox: clds@usst.edu.cn. Electronic attachments shall be packed into a single RAR or ZIP compressed file. The file naming rule (also used as email subject): University Name_Team Leader Name_Group (Example: University of Shanghai for Science and Technology_Zhang San_Undergraduate Group.zip) Single document size limit: ≤5 MB. Double-check compressed files before submission to avoid garbled characters. Contact Information: Mr. Cheng / Mr. Zhang, Tel: 021-55273359
2. Preliminary Round
A panel of expert judges will select finalist entries from all submissions and publish the shortlist online. Official final participation notifications and relevant requirements will be sent to each shortlisted team leader.
Official Release Website: http://chxy.usst.edu.cn/
3. Final Round
Team leaders shall bring complete entries to the designated final venue for on-site presentation via posters, physical prototypes, equipment demonstrations and other formats. The final award list will be determined through on-site expert evaluation and defense sessions.
VI. Competition Awards
Two categories of awards are established: Outstanding Entry Awards and Excellent
Organization Awards.
Outstanding Entry Awards: First Prize, Second Prize and Third Prize, accounting for approximately 10%, 20% and 30% of all entries per group respectively, as determined by the Judging Committee. Certificates and trophies will be awarded to participating universities and project contributors. Exceptionally outstanding entries may be awarded Grand Prizes upon recommendation by the Judging Committee.
Excellent Organization Awards: The Organizing Committee will nominate eligible participating universities based on evaluation criteria including number of participating teams/entries, compliance with competition rules, organization of university delegations to attend on-site events, and on-site management capacity. Nominees will be submitted to the Organizing Committee for final approval.
VII. Exhibition, Academic Exchange & Technology Transfer
All final entries will be displayed or demonstrated on-site for judge defense, enterprise observation and public viewing. Undertakers and co-organizers may host academic exchange activities during the competition, including seminars, promotion conferences, forums, poster exhibitions and roadshows to showcase students’ innovative design outcomes, exchange experience and facilitate technology transfer of competition entries.
VIII. Supplementary Provisions
No classified state secrets or confidential content shall be included in any competition entry. All participating organizations and individuals shall respect the intellectual property rights of submitted entries; violators will be held legally liable in accordance with national laws and regulations.
All entries must be original designs fully owned by the participating teams, with a signed Letter of Commitment for Original Work required upon submission. Any plagiarism discovered will result in immediate disqualification. The involved students and supervisors will be blacklisted and banned from participating in this competition in the following year.
Intellectual property rights of all entries belong to the participating teams. If an entry secures investment, the team shall sign a separate investment agreement with the investor to clarify IP usage, revenue distribution and follow-up development arrangements.
If any team submits falsified information or violates competition rules, the Executive Committee reserves the right to revoke its entry qualification, and all liabilities arising therefrom shall be borne solely by the team.
The Organizing Committee reserves the final right of interpretation for all matters related to this competition.
Shanghai Municipal Education Commission
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (Seal Issued on Its Behalf)
Shanghai New Materials Association
International Society for Advanced Materials
International Mesostructured Materials Association
July 15, 2026
Full text: https://chxy.usst.edu.cn/2026/0717/c3679a368877/page.htm
