2023 Jiangsu Province Postgraduate Energy Conservation and Low-Carbon Scientific Research Innovation Practice Competition

In response to the national “3060” dual-carbon strategy goals, and in line with the spirit of documents such as the Ministry of Education’s “Action Plan for Carbon Neutrality Science and Technology Innovation in Higher Education Institutions” and the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education’s “Implementation Plan for Improving the Quality of Postgraduate Education in Jiangsu Province (2021–2025)”, this competition aims to enhance postgraduate capabilities in scientific research and academic innovation. It is organized by the Jiangsu Province Engineering Category 1 Postgraduate Education Steering Committee, with joint sponsorship from Jiangsu University and Nanjing Tech University.

Significance of the CompetitionSince 2019, the “Jiangsu Province Postgraduate Energy Conservation and Low-Carbon Scientific Research Innovation Practice Competition” has been successfully held for four consecutive sessions, gaining recognition and support from various universities and postgraduate students, thus establishing itself as a well-known event.

The competition aims to encourage postgraduate students to engage in practical and applied innovative research, strengthen the orientation and motivation behind their innovative activities, promote learning, teaching, and improvement through competition, and support the sustainable development of postgraduate education by continuously raising the quality of talent training.

Competition Theme

Low-Carbon Innovation for a Green Future

Competition TopicsEntries should reflect new thinking and ideas through physical creations (including models), software, designs, etc., closely aligned with the competition theme. The topics cover (but are not limited to) fields such as Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics, Energy and Power Systems, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science and Engineering, Control Sciences and Engineering, and Safety Science and Engineering.

EligibilityThe team leader must be a full-time master’s or doctoral student at university. Participants must enter the competition in groups of no more than 7 people, with one supervisor per group. To further expand the competition’s influence and enhance its international profile, overseas graduate students are encouraged to serve as team leaders or members. Under equal conditions, they will be given priority to advance to the finals.

Competition Schedule and Arrangements1. Competition registration and submission: Participants must complete their projects by September 30, 2023, and send the registration form, application letter, and instructions (print one copy each of the application letter and instructions, attach the instructions to the back of the application letter, and bind them together; see Attachments 1, 2, and 3 for file formats) via courier to the competition organizing committee. At the same time, send an electronic version (without stamps) to the competition’s contact email: jsjndt2023@vip.163.com. The mailing address (via EMS or SF Express) is Room 1202B, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, No. 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, Postal Code 212013; recipient: Teacher Han, phone: 13255802130.

2. Preliminary evaluation of entries: The timeline is tentatively set from October 7 to November 2, 2023, during which the organizing committee will organize experts to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the entries. This will determine the list of entries awarded excellence awards and those qualifying for the finals.
3. Public announcement of entries: Entries that pass the preliminary evaluation will be publicly listed for 3 days.
4. Finals: The finals are tentatively scheduled to be held in mid-to-late November 2023.

Judging Rules(I) Evaluation Rules

Adhering to the principles of “fairness, openness, and impartiality”, instructors of the submitted works are not allowed to serve as judges in the preliminary or final rounds of this competition, and the entries must not infringe upon third-party intellectual property rights. Judges will evaluate the works based on criteria such as scientific validity, feasibility, innovation, and economic value, conducting both preliminary and final assessments to determine the list of award winners. (II) Evaluation Process The competition is divided into two stages: the preliminary round and the final round.

1. Preliminary evaluation. The preliminary evaluation stage includes form checks, initial expert reviews, re-evaluations by experts, and public announcements. (1) Form check: The competition organizing committee assigns staff to conduct form checks on registration forms, materials, and works, while verifying the valid identity information of participating students. Teams are advised to correct any defects in their works within the specified time. (2) Initial expert review: The organizing committee hires experts to form an expert panel that conducts a preliminary review of eligible entries. (3) Re-evaluation by experts: For works that generate significant disagreements during the initial expert review, the organizing committee arranges further re-evaluations by experts. (4) Public announcement: Based on the results of the preliminary and re-evaluation stages, the list of works advancing to the final round and the list of third-prize winners are determined and made public. Participating institutions are notified accordingly. Those with objections can file appeals within the given time frame, and such appeals will be handled by the competition’s arbitration committee.
2. Final round. The final round includes work presentations and Q&A sessions, final judging, and public announcements: (1) Work presentation and Q&A: The presentation should not exceed 10 minutes, followed by approximately 10 minutes for Q&A. During the presentation, the creator must explain the background and significance of the work, its research content, innovative aspects, and achievements. They should also answer questions from the judges. The judges evaluate the presentation and Q&A together to determine the score for each work. In assessing the works, judges must operate independently and assign scores based on the final round criteria. (2) Final judging: After ranking the defense scores, the levels of awards for each work are determined based on the quota ratios set for the competition’s awards. (3) Public announcement and award ceremony: The list of winners from the final round will be posted on the website. Awards will be presented at the competition’s closing ceremony according to the announced results. (III) Scoring criteria
3. Preliminary review: Each work is evaluated by 3 judges, and an expert recusal system is applied, meaning experts do not judge works from their own universities. The scoring criteria are as follows:

The score of each work is calculated based on the evaluations of three experts, and all works are ranked according to their scores to determine the finalists as well as the winners of the third prize and excellence award. If a work needs reevaluation, it will be reviewed by a different panel of experts from the preliminary review stage to decide whether it qualifies for the finals. 2. Finals: During the final defense, the work presentation should be clear and concise, the demonstration smooth without errors, and the defense accurate and brief. Each defense panel consists of 3–5 experts. All experts must avoid judging their own institution’s entries, and no two or more experts from the same university can serve on the same panel. The judges in each panel score the works according to the specified criteria, and staff then calculate the total score for each work before ranking them within the group. Finally, a comprehensive ranking is determined by combining the scores from all groups. The expert committee holds a meeting to discuss and finalize the list of award recipients for different grades and the excellence organization award, which is then published after approval by the competition organizing committee.

Reward System

1. The competition offers two categories of awards: grade awards and outstanding organization awards.
2. The grade awards include a special prize (which may be vacant), first prize, second prize, third prize, and an excellence award. The proportion of winners is determined by the competition committee based on the actual scale of participants, with initial estimates at 2%, 7%, 10%, 15%, and 15% respectively.
3. The Outstanding Organization Award is nominated by the Organizing Committee for units that have demonstrated exceptional performance in competition organization, and is finalized after discussion and approval by the Competition Committee.
4. The competition committee will award prizes or certificates for each category.

Contact Information

大赛联系邮箱：jsjndt2023@vip.163.com

QQ Group: 824363861 (for simultaneous release of relevant notices) Contact person: Teacher Han 联系方式：13255802130