Recently, the Ministry of Education of China released the results of the 2025 China International College Students’ Innovation Competition. More than 20 students from Zhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJUI) represented multiple teams in the national finals and delivered an exceptional performance. Competing in both the International Track and the Industry Track, ZJUI-affiliated teams won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the International Track, plus 1 silver medal in the Industry Track. These results strongly reflect the Institute’s excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship education, as well as its distinctive approach to nurturing global engineers.
One of the highlights of this year’s competition was the participation of two PhD alumni. They not only competed as members of an Industry Track silver-award team but also proactively mentored undergraduate participants throughout the competition. They are Wu Shaoxiong, a 2019 doctoral graduate in Electronic Science and Technology, and Feng Tian, a 2018 doctoral graduate in the same field, both from Zhejiang University under the supervision of Associate Professor Hu Huan. They are also founding members of Haining Jiuseguang Chip Technology Co., Ltd.
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Reflecting on the competition, Wu and Tian pointed out that the Industry Track focuses more on real-world application. Judges evaluate not only technological innovation but also engineering feasibility, clear application scenarios, and commercialization potential. Drawing on their research and entrepreneurial experience, the two alumni provided undergraduate teams with valuable guidance on technical design, engineering optimization, and application development, helping students better understand how innovations can move from the laboratory to the marketplace.
Their entrepreneurial journey began during their time at ZJUI. As computer vision advanced rapidly, they noticed that while machines had become more capable of recognizing images and language, their understanding of materials and substances remained limited. Meanwhile, spectroscopy, which provides critical composition data, was held back by high costs and bulky equipment, making large-scale application outside the lab difficult. This observation inspired their vision to build a spectrometer on a chip. With guidance from ZJUI Associate Professor Hu Huan, they launched their entrepreneurial project.
Focusing on this goal, the team has been working to miniaturize and reduce the cost of detection devices using spectroscopic chip technology, enhanced by computational modeling for improved material and component identification. Their technology has potential applications in agricultural testing, material sorting, industrial automation, and other fields. Starting with lab verification, the project has progressed through prototype development, performance optimization, and real-world testing, and is now steadily moving toward industrialization. In their early entrepreneurial stage, the team completed two generations of miniature spectroscopic detectors, filed 3 invention patents, and launched testing and cooperation with industrial partners. Supported by strong technology and promising application prospects, the project received seed funding from Miracle Plus in 2023 and won several top awards in local entrepreneurship competitions, demonstrating strong momentum from lab research to market application.
They also stressed that none of their progress would have been possible without strong support from ZJU. From the early stages of research to later entrepreneurial practice, the Institute has provided consistent backing. Associate Professor Hu Huan offered careful guidance on research direction, technical strategy, and project execution. The Institute’s well-equipped labs and research platforms laid a solid foundation for technical development and prototyping. Rich innovation competitions, entrepreneurship courses, and networking opportunities also broadened the team’s vision, enhanced their entrepreneurial capacity, and supported the commercialization of their research.
Looking ahead, they will continue to advance technology research and product iteration, deepen industrial applications, and support more ZJUI students in innovation and entrepreneurship by sharing their experience.
