News Information

On November 24th, the closing ceremony of the "Hackathon 2024X One Cycle Youth" sustainable Development Co-creation program for chemical engineering youth was held at the Shanghai Botanical Garden. At the ceremony, young people shared on the spot their in-depth research and innovative solutions to seven important issues related to the chemical industry and social sustainable development, including climate change, circular economy, sustainable raw materials, lithium battery safety, higher vocational education, and barrier-free travel. Li Bin, vice president of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, and Pang Guanglian, a member of the Party Committee and deputy secretary-general, specially went to Shanghai for on-site observation and had exchanges with young people.

The "Sustainable Development Education" team supported by Evonik, which explores the sustainability and diversity of front-line talents in the chemical industry, has won the Social Impact Award. This group, in light of the background of sustainable development education and vocational education both at home and abroad, Evonik's "Unlimited Growth" project for female vocational college students' career empowerment, and the existing problems on the front lines of the chemical industry, conducted research and dialogue in enterprises and schools, and presented the group's co-creation process to the public in a visual way through videos We hope to contribute to the career development of female vocational college students in the chemical industry through a combination of forms such as on-site observation, workshops, research reports, and paper submission.

It is reported that in 2018, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation established an industry-wide college student competition - the College Students' Chemical Innovation Challenge (Hackathon), which closely follows social hotspots and integrates technology and business. Over the years, it has successfully attracted the participation of over a hundred colleges and universities and tens of thousands of students. It has become a bridge for the industry, enterprises and universities to jointly enhance the influence of chemistry and chemical engineering among young people, as well as a stage for young people to showcase their wisdom and creativity.

This year's "Hackathon 2024X Yixun Youth" Chemical Industry Youth Sustainable Development Co-creation Program (hereinafter referred to as "Hackathon 2024X Yixun Youth") adheres to the core spirit of "collaboration, openness, and innovation" that the Hackathon competition has always held, and collaborates with professional sustainable development institutions and business ecosystems. And it is jointly and meticulously promoted by many globally renowned chemical enterprises such as Arlanx, BASF, LyondellBasell, Lanxess, Evonik, and Invista, dedicated to guiding young people in the chemical industry to pay attention to the challenges faced by sustainable social development, and empowering young people in multiple system dimensions such as values, knowledge, skills, and innovation. Enhance the ability reserves of young people to perceive and solve real-world problems, help them grow into outstanding talents with sustainable innovative thinking and practical abilities, gather the beauty of chemical engineering, pool professional strength, and jointly create a sustainable future.

At the closing ceremony, Pang Guanglian, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and deputy secretary-general of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, first delivered a welcome speech to the young people and the guests present. We are well aware that the future of the chemical industry lies not only in technological innovation and industrial upgrading, but also in a continuous supply of talents and development. The "Hackathon 2024X: Following the Path of Youth" brings together young people from diverse backgrounds to jointly explore the sustainable development path of the chemical industry. The innovative thinking, enthusiasm for action and independent perspectives demonstrated by young people here today will become valuable assets needed for the development of the chemical industry and even society. Pang Guanglian also served as a judge for this closing ceremony. He listened to the graduation project reports of the young people throughout, gave them positive feedback and encouragement, and put forward some pertinent suggestions.

Sun Haiyan, co-founder and chief editor of Business Ecosystem, reviewed the journey of "Hackathon 2024X - Following the Youth". She said, "During the three months of peer learning and online and offline mentor guidance, the young people and industry professionals sparked intense intellectual exchanges." On the one hand, the students have gained an improvement in self-awareness, friendship and the power of role models. What is even more encouraging is that through this innovative sustainable education practice project, they have gained a deep understanding of different sustainable issues and the values in climate transformation and development. They have connected the issues with the corresponding social problems in life in different ways, enhancing their understanding of real challenges.

Youdaoplaceholder0, a student majoring in chemical engineering at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and he Yiwei, a student majoring in Chemical Engineering and Engineering Management at East China University of Science and Technology, as representatives of young people, shared their feelings and thoughts about participating in the "Hackathon 2024X One Cycle Youth" project at the closing ceremony. Youdaoplaceholder0 said, "Through the platform of 'Hackathon 2024X - One Xun Youth', I got up close and personal with very outstanding enterprises in the chemical industry, breaking the information barrier that students' couldn't find jobs' and enterprises' couldn't recruit students' in this field." In the diverse context of student partners, we have seen a broader world through each other's perspectives and learned that the most important thing in teamwork is to learn to help others achieve success.

During these three months, I not only gained professional knowledge in the field of sustainability and a new understanding of the chemical industry, but also grew more professional, reliable and confident under the encouragement of my mentors and friends. When I was in high school, I chose the chemical engineering major with great enthusiasm. But in fact, before participating in the "Hackathon 2024X One Follow Youth", I knew very little about this major. Even every time I talked about the future development of the chemical engineering major, I would frown. He Yiwei shared, "Through the platform of this event, I delved into the front lines of chemical enterprises and found that many rumors were dispelled on their own." During the group co-creation process, everyone is striving for the topic of sustainable development, hoping that even if the road ahead is difficult in the future, we will not forget our mission of protecting the blue sky and white clouds."

A jury composed of 14 experts, scholars and practitioners from industry associations, chemical enterprises, the field of sustainable development and social innovation conducted a rigorous and comprehensive review of the sustainable innovation explorations of young people. Li Bin, vice president of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, served as the chairperson of the judging panel for the closing ceremony of the "Hackathon 2024X Yixun Youth". Ultimately, the comprehensive grand prize of Sustainable Innovation and three individual awards - Technological Innovation Award, Business Model Innovation Award and Social Impact Award - were selected. This selection not only values the initial solutions or plans ultimately proposed by young people, but also their exploration process of real issues over the past three months.

It is reported that the "Sustainable Mobility" co-creation team has won the Sustainable Innovation Award. They proposed to prepare a fire-extinguishing microcapsule particle that neither affects the performance of the battery itself nor has a good fire-extinguishing effect, as a transitional solution to address the current safety challenges of lithium batteries. This team also won the Technological Innovation Award and the On-site Popularity Award. The "Sustainable Development Education" team won the Social Impact Award. They enter enterprises and schools for research and dialogue. Through a combination of forms such as on-site observation, workshops, research reports, and paper submission, they contribute to supporting the career development of female vocational college students in the chemical industry. The "Inclusive Mobility" co-creation team won the Business Model Innovation Award. They produced a guide brochure and related posters for quickly establishing friendly communication with people with disabilities. We have also collaborated with multiple merchants to provide them with free ramp pads, hoping to enhance public awareness of the importance of barrier-free facilities and break down barriers between different groups.

In fact, all seven co-creation teams delivered satisfactory results at the closing ceremony. The "circular economy" explored the challenges and opportunities of recycling disposable paper cups. The "Cities and Sustainable Lifestyles" co-creation team calls on everyone to do their part to reduce the plastic waste challenge caused by coffee cups and milk tea cups. The "Sustainable Raw Materials" co-creation team has proposed path suggestions of "soft optimization" and "hard transformation" in response to the transformation challenges of China's chemical industry towards a carbon-neutral future. The "Climate Resilience and Friendly Cities" co-creation team has proposed using AI to assist communities in climate risk assessment.

During the Q&A session with the judges, the stage and the audience engaged in a lively exchange of ideas. The older generation generously and earnestly provided feedback, while the younger generation listened humbly. In his concluding remarks at the award ceremony, Li Bin expressed to all the young people who participated in the "Hackathon 2024X One Cycle Youth" : "Looking back on the journey of this competition, I am deeply gratified." Through this activity, we witnessed the passion and concern of the vast number of young students for the chemical industry, the growth and progress of the young people in innovative practice, the responsibility and mission of the young people in the future green transformation of the industry, and were also very excited to see that the innovative achievements of the young people in the three months have injected new vitality into the sustainable development of the chemical industry. Thank you for your active participation and outstanding performance in this competition. We believe that in the future, you will be able to contribute more wisdom and inspiration to the sustainable development of the chemical industry.