How can students continuously enhance their innovation and entrepreneurial abilities in practice, and turn strategic business concepts into successful projects? At Shanghai College of Science and Technology, innovation and entrepreneurship have always been a top priority. The university actively promotes reform in innovation and entrepreneurship education systems, strengthens faculty development, and fosters students’ entrepreneurial mindset, aiming to build a distinctive educational brand in this field. Two student-led projects, Ruida Exploration and Smart Riveting Pioneers, were recently awarded Gold in the Creative Group of the Vocational Track at the 2024 China International College Students’ Innovation Competition (Shanghai Division). Grateful for the recognition, the winning students expressed that the award not only affirms the value of their projects but also serves as a strong encouragement for their teamwork and innovation capabilities. They look forward to exchanging ideas with outstanding teams from across the country in the national competition and contributing to technological innovation and industrial advancement together.

Guardians of Mine Safety: Revolutionizing the Industry

With the growing demand for mineral resources and the national push for smart mining development, Xu Haihong, a sophomore majoring in Artificial Intelligence Technology, was inspired by his grandfather and father’s long careers in the mining industry. After visiting mining sites and seeing the urgent need to enhance worker safety, Xu set out to address this challenge through the Ruida Exploration project.

Facing challenges like technical implementation and funding, Xu’s team received significant support from Shanghai College of Science and Technology. The school provided expert guidance, laboratory resources, and financial backing, facilitating their journey from concept to execution.

“The team’s strength lies in our diverse, interdisciplinary backgrounds. This allowed us to complement each other’s strengths, effectively combining knowledge and practical innovation,” Xu said proudly.

Their hard work paid off when Ruida Exploration won the Gold Award in the Creative Group at the 2024 China International College Student Innovation Competition. In addition to the award, the project has created both direct and indirect job opportunities. Xu and his team are now working on refining the product prototype and preparing to showcase their latest progress at the national competition. The primary goal of the project is to develop a smart mining helmet that will reduce the risks for workers and accelerate the shift towards intelligent mining. Looking ahead, the team is committed to continuing their innovation, offering sustainable solutions for the mining industry.

Leading Innovation in Robotic Riveting

Wang Ling, a third-year student majoring in Industrial Robotics, has always been passionate about technological innovation. He and his team at Shanghai College of Science and Technology recognized the inefficiencies in traditional riveting processes in smart manufacturing and decided to use modern technology to improve this process. This led to the creation of the Zhimou Pioneer project.

Working under the guidance of faculty members, Wang’s team, made up of students from various disciplines such as robotics, automation, and automotive technology, developed a solution using machine vision and robotics for automated riveting. Their primary challenge was securing funding and finalizing the technical design, but with numerous discussions, experiments, and continual optimizations, they succeeded.

“The school provided us with the necessary resources, funding, and entrepreneurial guidance. The support of industry experts was also vital for the project’s success,” Wang said.

The project has already produced a prototype that has been tested in several enterprises, leading to significant improvements in production efficiency and product quality. In addition, the Zhimou Pioneer project has filed multiple patent applications and won several awards, including the Gold Award at the 2024 China International College Student Innovation Competition.

Moving forward, Wang and his team aim to further refine the intelligent riveting system, improve its stability and intelligence, and explore commercialization opportunities by building partnerships with more enterprises, bringing the project’s achievements to the market.