The Intensive Training Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ITP) of Zhejiang University, is a characteristic class for cultivating interdisciplinary talents in Chu Kochen Honors College. The Intensive Training Program aims to cultivate high-quality innovative and entrepreneurial talents and leaders who can lead the new round of the scientific and technological revolution and possess global competitiveness.
Glad tidings
From October 12 to 15, 2024, the National Finals of the China International College Students' Innovation Competition were held at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. A total of 5.14 million projects from 5,406 schools in 153 countries and regions were registered for the competition, with 20.836 million person-times participating.
Students from Zhejiang University stood out in the national competition and won a total of 7 gold medals. Among them, the students from the ITP won 3 gold medals, interpreting the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of daring to think, daring to venture, and bravely standing at the forefront with practical actions!
On October 16, 2024, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, wrote back to the representatives of the students participating in the China International College Students' Innovation Competition, giving them kind encouragement and expressing his ardent hopes.
National Gold Medal Overview
Zhulong Technology,Pioneer in Omni-Modal AIGC Review
Project leader
Dong dong (Class of 2021 ITPer)
Participants
Huang Enhao (Class of 2022)
Chen Shuang (Class of 2022)
Zhang Chaoran (Class of 2022)
Ren Hongyi (Class of 2022)
Ding Jiaying (Class of 2022)
Qian Chengming (Class of 2021)
Introduction
With the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC), issues such as misinformation and deep fakes pose serious challenges to social security and information authenticity. Traditional content moderation methods are no longer sufficient to cope with the vast and diverse range of AIGC content, creating a pressing demand in the market for efficient and accurate full-modal detection tools. Zhulong Technology, leveraging the research achievements of its team members at Zhejiang University's NESA Lab and the computational power support from the university's Intelligent Computing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, has enhanced the accuracy and reliability of AIGC content detection. The company has achieved real-time processing of massive amounts of data and uses homomorphic encryption to protect user privacy. Zhulong Technology’s full-modal AIGC detection tools can efficiently and accurately identify AIGC content across multiple modalities, including images, audio, and video. These tools help governments, enterprises, and individuals address the security threats posed by AIGC, promoting the responsible use of technology.
Honors
The Zhulong project team won the Gold Award in the Undergraduate Creative Group of the Higher Education Main Track at the 2024 China International College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (CISIEC), ranking first among all participating teams. This project was selected as the only undergraduate project to be showcased at the Innovation Achievements Exhibition of this year’s competition. The team had the opportunity to interact with and present their work to prominent leaders, including Chen Jining, Secretary of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Huai Jinpeng, Minister of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, receiving high recognition for their achievements. Additionally, the Zhulong project team engaged in in-depth academic exchanges and discussions with project teams from top universities such as Oxford University, Tsinghua University, and Peking University on topics related to academic research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Reflections by ITPers
Indeed, ITP is not a "traditional" excellent class in the usual sense, and the students selected for the intensive program are not universally recognized as "outstanding" students. Here, the teachers are not focused on a medical student’s rank, a computer science student’s LeetCode score, or a mathematics student’s ability to solve complex differential equations. They are not concerned with whether you will pursue further studies, whether you will graduate with a stable, respectable job, or whether you will become a universally accepted "exemplary person." From the perspective of the program’s goals and curriculum, the intensive class hopes that each student can use the general knowledge learned in subjects like economics, business models, and intellectual property law to understand how their primary field of study can contribute to the functioning of society and improve the lives of ordinary people.
A tech leader in computer science may publish ten papers in top conferences each year, earning accolades in academia. But within the intensive class, they are expected to think about how their research can most efficiently touch the lives of the general public. It might be faster mobile internet speeds, more powerful CPUs, or more useful AI dialogue models, but you must figure out how to deliver these innovations directly to the end-user and explain how your work contributes to products or services that improve the everyday lives of ordinary people who may not understand your specialized field. Furthermore, you must also figure out how to turn this work into a profitable business.
This requires thinking with the end goal in mind—ensuring that the outcome for the user is clear, to avoid engaging in "useless" work. In pitch meetings with investors, one of the most frequent questions we are asked is, "What is the practical use of your technology?" This is essentially a call for that direct-to-consumer thinking. They want to see that we have a clear goal first—such as developing a locally running intelligent agent on smartphones to enable better automated operations—and then explain how we will achieve it, perhaps by introducing an efficient model pruning method or similar.
From my perspective, ITP aims to cultivate people who can connect their primary field of study with the broadest possible audience, people who are willing to break through the boundaries of their specialized knowledge to create tangible products that ordinary people can relate to. This, I believe, is a key aspect of "business."
— Dong dong, ITPer from Class 2021
For different people, ITP may carry different meanings. For me, ITP holds many complex yet sincere emotions and has revitalized my passion. As an engineering student, I was able to single-handedly complete a national competition business plan BP while simultaneously working on technical development, thanks to the management and business knowledge I gained through ITP courses. When our team faced the most difficult moments, we were able to keep going because of the guiding spirit of our class. Lastly, when preparing for competitions while simultaneously working on exhibition tasks, it was the collaboration and mutual support of my fellow ITPers that made it all possible. "When the darkness clears, the stars shine bright," is the perfect way to describe our project!
Of course, the competition was only a simulation of the business world, and the awards were simply recognition of our hard work. I believe no ITPer is content with lingering on past achievements. Courage is our foundation, and innovation is the driving force behind our exploration. Our class will never take pride in producing a certain number of national projects or awards; we aspire to be a healthy force leading the future development of China! Some things, from a distance, may appear to be lighthouses, but up close, they may be cliffs.
As the new Class of 2023 ITPers join, I would like to share some thoughts with them. Young people should have lofty ambitions and strive to make a difference in the world! I hope that the new ITPers will focus less on telling stories and more on taking concrete actions. Sometimes, we do things to carve out real growth space for ourselves, but during this process, we should never forget that people achieve greatness together. When the task is completed, we should always remember why we began.
— Huang Enhao, ITPer from Class 2022
Zhongke Huayu -Bio-Medical Company Focused on High-Biocompatibility Hemostatic Gel Material Development, Project Leader
Project leader
Huang Chaoyu (Class of 2022 ITPer)
Participants
Lu Yuqi (Class of 2021)
Zhou Jia (Class of 2022)
Ji Jiamin (Class of 2021)
Zhang Lemeng (Class of 2021)
Zhao Yi (Class of 2021)
Zeng Anqi (Class of 2022)
Introduction
Zhongke HuaYu is dedicated to the development of high-performing hemostatic gel materials. The enterprise is achieving a breakthrough in the technology boundary via rewriting the natural code. Its Aquaseal series of products medical adhesives made by mucus protein from marine species, are based on cutting-edge researches in New Materials Science, Genetic Engineering, and Synthetic Biology. The material tackles the industry-wide issue of human body's general immune response to biogel materials, expanding the medical adhesive market from superficial skin applications to clinical-level applications, as well as avoiding the danger of clinical vascular ruptures.
Honors
The team’s project ranked first in the Undergraduate Group in China International College Students' Innovation Competition (2024), winning the Gold Award. The team has received an invitation to a press conference from the Publicity Committee of the Ministry of Education, becoming the one and the only representative project of new medical sciences nationwide selected by the Publicity Committee of the Ministry of Education. Additionally, the team has received reporting invitations from presses including China Education Daily, China Youth Daily, and Shanghai Education Press Group.
Reflections by ITPers
"The enterprise’s name is taken from the Chinese character "Yu" in both our names(the ITPer Huang Chaoyu and his co-founder Lu Yuqi). We want to be good partners, and we met each other in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management Enhancement Program(ITP)of Chu Kochen Honors College, Zhejiang University. Through the competition we gained entrepreneurial skills and developed an innovative mindset. The entire project originates from the ITP program, including courses in management, team communication, entrepreneurial marketing, business models, and innovation-based entrepreneurship courses, and the professors have broadened our horizons through their lessons.
Since joining the program, ITP has imprinted the motto "Please do better than us"in every student’s mind. We look forward to telling everyone: We come from China's best entrepreneurship class, being the new generation of ITP, standing in the center of the stage,confidently stating how many investors we have communicated with through the class platform, being invited to the Ministry of Education's press conference, and proudly announcing plenty of outstanding individuals come from our class. Entrepreneurship is challenging, but no one would work alone as we are always encouraged by our seniors.
In the ITP team, I have learned to genuinely praise others. I love the inclusiveness and diversity, disagreements and unity,seeing the most authentic selves in each other,thus finding the most complete and liberate version of myself. We cooperate with each other and achieve a mutual success. New ITPers are about to join the class, and please do better than us.
—— Huang Chaoyu, IPTer from Class 2022
"It's not easy for us to start the enterprise, but we are gifted with the upright and promising entrepreneurial spirit endowed by ITP."
We have traversed a difficult process. When preparing for the competition, we need to integrate personal professional progress with innovation and entrepreneurship management learning practice. We stayed up late to revise competition materials and contemplate the prospects of the project. We attempted to upgrade the technology based on our old products and focused more on application in individual and clinic levels, considering the product's implementation with a underlying logic of starting from the needs. In fact, the starting point of product innovation and business practice attempts has some similarities with solving clinical problems, with both committing to solve the problems of the consumers(patients) and meet their needs. As a clinical medical student or doctor, we must always remember the principle of "sometimes to cure, often to help and always to comfort", which works when the clinical problem is difficult to solve with current technology. We should actively engage in scientific and technological innovation and the commercial promotion of related achievements, so that the patients can share the blessings of technological progress and reduce the situations where "always to comfort" is the only option due to technical defects in clinical practice.
Through the two-year learning of innovation and entrepreneurship as well as competitions, I deeply feel that such invaluable experiences have helped me further explore the real needs in my field and spark more innovative ideas. ITP lifts our spirit, endows us with abilities, and brings together like-minded partners. As long as we have the ideas and courage for innovation and entrepreneurship, we will naturally work together to challenge ourselves.
As an old ITPer, I have witnessed the entire process of the new ITPers joining the class in 2023, and perhaps will continue to witness them creating more exciting innovation and entrepreneurship stories in ITP's high-quality teaching and practicing atmosphere, and genuinely doing more beneficial things. "Please do better than us" this is the best verbal totem of our mutual supporting, mutual progressing, and it is also our deepest expectation, showcasing the true spirit of ITP.
——Lu Yuqi, IPTer from Class 2021
FlyDrug - A Global Leader in Intelligent Drug DiscoveryProject leader
Li Zhiyu (Class of 2022)
Introduction
FlyDrug is an integrated intelligent platform for drug discovery that incorporates AI technology, integrating target discovery, drug screening, molecular generation, and property prediction into a seamless process. This product is based on the interdisciplinary innovation achievements of "AI + Pharmacy" at Zhejiang University's School of Pharmacy, pioneering the deep integration of AI technology with drug development and successfully creating an integrated intelligent cloud platform for drug discovery. Compared to traditional drug discovery technologies, this project uses AI algorithms to build a "cloud architecture" for drug discovery, which is of epoch-making significance with various technical indicators leading the industry.
Honors
Gold Award in the Graduate Creative Group of the Higher Education Main Track of the China International College Students' Innovation Competition (2024) (ranking second in the group)
Reflections by ITPers
If the innovation competition is a full-scale simulation of entrepreneurship,then the ITP courses and competition preparation are a process where theory and practice complement each other.Over the nearly one year of the competition,I learned how to effectively build a team from scratch in the team communication and leadership course.In the entrepreneurship marketing course,I learned how to gain more recognition for high-quality products and technology.In the innovation-based entrepreneurship course,I learned how to create a project entirely and applied it to the competition preparation.
Whether it's a full-scale simulation or real entrepreneurship,it's not enough to just talk on paper.In the FlyDrug project,I was responsible for the overall business planning.Facing the relatively unfamiliar biopharmaceutical industry,I recruited members,polished and rewrote the hundred-page business plan word by word,countless times,integrated resources,and repeatedly sorted out the logical framework,until it was unanimously recognized by investors and national judges.Along the way,there were countless challenges,pressures,and doubts,but the strong examples of ITP seniors gave me more courage and confidence to talk with major investors and respond to various questions from national judges,truly withstanding countless tests.What has supported the nearly one-year competition,in addition to the solid knowledge system of ITP,is also the philosophy and class culture of ITP,the DPRS class spirit,which encourages us to embrace dreams,be passionate,take responsibility,not be swayed by emotions,stay calm and smile,dare to break through ourselves,and face difficulties head-on.Excellent peers and seniors are also the driving force that inspires me to keep moving forward.Empowering scientific innovation,creating value,with dreams and pursuits in mind,whether in or out of the classroom or in innovation and entrepreneurship,ITPers are always on the way.
——ITPer Li Zhiyu,Class of 2022
Conclusion
Just as the award-winning ITPers have said, the ITP has been forging ahead on the road of innovation and entrepreneurship. "With our shoulders side by side and our hands clasped together, we are like an ever-flowing river." Never forgetting the path we have taken and not fearing the road ahead, we are down-to-earth and focus on getting things done. We support each other and help each other succeed. We applaud our efforts and hard work. The story of ITP, the story of innovation and entrepreneurship is still going on, passing the torch from generation to generation , chasing the sun with the flame in hand. There are still more stories waiting for ITPers to write! Please, make sure to do even better than we have!
