Since its inaugural launch in 2020, the "Integrate in Learning, Insight in Innovation" University Student Innovation Competition organized by UTSEUS (Shanghai University) has celebrated five years of development. As a core platform for the college to practice the Sino-French cooperative high-level engineering education philosophy and deepen university-enterprise collaborative talent cultivation, the competition aims to foster international and innovative engineers. Through five iterations and upgrades, it has gradually built a competition ecosystem featuring "in-depth enterprise participation, full student leadership, and practical orientation". Starting from 2021, Eaton (China) Investment Co., Ltd. has deeply participated in the subsequent four competitions through fund support. Together with the college and multiple cooperative enterprises, it has developed the competition into a high-quality university-level brand event at Shanghai University, serving as a crucial bridge connecting campus education with industrial needs.

I. Competition Philosophy and Original Aspiration: Anchoring the Core of International Engineer Training

As a Sino-French cooperative educational institution, UTSEUS has always adhered to the educational vision of "cultivating international and innovative talents who are enterprise-oriented, socially responsible, and replicable and promotable". In the French engineering education system, corporate practice and project innovation are core components of talent training, while domestic higher engineering education is in urgent need of breaking down the barriers between "theoretical learning" and "industrial application". Against this backdrop, the "Integrate in Learning, Insight in Innovation" Innovation Competition came into being, with its core philosophy and original aspiration reflected in three dimensions.

(I) Building a Cross-Cultural Innovative Practice Platform

The competition's name "Integrate in Learning" accurately interprets the educational characteristics, integrating the practice-oriented nature of European engineering education with the actual needs of China's industrial development. It aims to cultivate students' international perspective and cross-cultural collaboration capabilities. Since the first competition, the French dean and foreign corporate executives have deeply participated in sessions such as speeches and reviews. International exchange students have also joined through sharing sessions and joint team formation, allowing the concept of cross-cultural innovation to run through the entire competition.

(II) Activating Students' Engineering Innovation Potential

With the core goal of "stimulating students' engineering innovation potential and cultivating engineering innovation capabilities", the competition guides students to transform professional knowledge into practical problem-solving skills through real corporate projects. As the executive dean of the college stated, the innovation competition is an important means to "promote learning through competition and teaching through competition", helping students temper their innovative thinking, collaboration capabilities, and engineering literacy in practical scenarios.

(III) Constructing a University-Enterprise Collaborative Talent Cultivation Ecosystem

The disconnection between university talent training and corporate talent needs is a common pain point in engineering education. The original intention of the competition is to place corporate needs at the forefront of talent training by involving enterprises in the entire process of competition design, guidance, and evaluation. From the first cooperation with Alibaba Cloud in 2020, to the leadership support of Eaton in the subsequent four competitions, and the joint participation of 13 well-known domestic and foreign enterprises, the competition has gradually formed a closed-loop talent cultivation model of "enterprises propose topics, mentors provide guidance, students solve problems, and collaborative innovation is achieved", realizing the synchronization of talent training with industrial needs.

II. Competition Rules: Professionalization and Inclusiveness in Iterative Upgrades

Over the past five years, while maintaining core characteristics, the competition rules have continued to optimize—from a single track to classified competitions, from simple proposition to diverse participation. It has gradually formed a rule system that combines professionalism, inclusiveness, and innovation, providing a solid guarantee for the competition quality.

(I) Competition Organizational Structure: Professional Operation with Multi-Party Collaboration

The competition adopts an organizational model of "college-led, enterprise-managed, and multi-party participation". As the organizer, UTSEUS is responsible for overall coordination and integration of on-campus resources. Eaton (China) Investment Co., Ltd., as the core supporting enterprise for the subsequent four competitions, not only provides financial donations but also takes the lead in corporate topic proposition and mentor selection. It has also established the Eaton-UTSEUS Career Club to pave the way for students' career development. Co-organizers such as the Engineering and Technical Training Center of Shanghai University and the Shanghai Chief Engineers Association provide venue support, technical guarantees, and industry resource connection.

The competition organizing committee is responsible for specific work such as competition process design, topic review, and progress control. For each competition, a review team composed of corporate technical executives, industry experts, and college teachers is established to ensure that the evaluation criteria are in line with both academic norms and industrial reality.

(II) Track and Topic Design: Precise Empowerment through Hierarchical Classification

To meet the participation needs of students from different grades and with different foundations, the competition innovatively set up a dual-track model of "Innovation Track" and "Sprint Track" starting from the third session. The Innovation Track targets lower-grade undergraduates, with the goal of "warm-up incubation and project enlightenment", encouraging students to boldly explore new technologies and directions. The Sprint Track is oriented towards upper-grade undergraduates and postgraduates, focusing on "project deepening and high-level preparation", supporting students to iterate and upgrade existing projects to prepare for higher-level competitions such as the China International College Students' Innovation Competition.

The topic selection has always adhered to the principle of "enterprise-led and closely aligned with cutting-edge trends". Cooperative enterprises such as Eaton, Alibaba Cloud, Saint-Gobain, and Panthronics AG provide real topics based on industry pain points and technical trends. The content covers multiple cutting-edge fields including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, new energy, industrial automation, and healthcare, featuring both forward-looking and practicality. For example, topics such as "Digital Solutions for Microgrids" and "Regenerative Braking Energy Recovery Strategies and Commercialization Ideas" in the fourth competition directly address actual corporate needs, and some outstanding schemes have entered the pilot application stage in enterprises.

(III) Competition Schedule and Evaluation Mechanism: Fair and Impartial Process-Oriented Cultivation

The competition usually starts in December each year and closes in April of the following year, lasting about 5 months. It is divided into five stages: topic release, team formation and preparation, mentor guidance, work submission, and evaluation and award ceremony. In the guidance stage, corporate mentors maintain close communication with students through a combination of online and offline methods, providing full-process guidance from technical thinking and scheme optimization to achievement presentation. The college supplements students with industry knowledge and innovative methods through corporate salons and technical lectures.

The evaluation stage adopts a "double-blind review + on-site defense" model, with comprehensive scoring from multiple dimensions including technical feasibility, innovation level, commercial value, and team collaboration. The awards include Special Prize (Jury Award), First, Second, and Third Prizes, as well as Outstanding Individual Awards, with supporting bonuses ranging from 1,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan. This not only recognizes students' innovative achievements but also encourages more students to participate.

(IV) Featured Sessions: Multi-Dimensional Interaction Extending Competition Value

In addition to the core competition sessions, the competition also sets up featured activities such as corporate salons, senior sharing, and work exhibitions to extend the educational value of the competition. The corporate salon after the closing ceremony builds an in-depth communication platform for universities, enterprises, and students. Corporate guests, college leaders, and student representatives freely exchange ideas and spark innovative inspiration. Outstanding seniors from previous sessions and alumni from partner institutions such as UTC share their innovation and entrepreneurship experiences, providing peer guidance for participating students. The award-winning work exhibition allows students to learn from each other and broaden their innovative horizons.

III. Achievements: Comprehensive Growth and Breakthroughs through Competition-Oriented Education

Over five sessions, the competition has attracted more than 1,200 students from over 20 colleges across the university, forming more than 300 teams and producing a number of innovative achievements with both academic value and application prospects. The competition has not only become an important platform for students' growth and success but also achieved remarkable results in preparing for high-level competitions and promoting achievement transformation.

(I) Comprehensive Improvement of Students' Capabilities

Participating students have achieved all-round growth in innovative thinking, practical capabilities, and collaborative spirit. At the technical application level, by solving real corporate topics, students have transformed classroom knowledge such as mechanical design, electronic technology, and programming development into practical operational capabilities. Many students have mastered cutting-edge technologies such as AI target detection, IoT system construction, and embedded development. In the fourth competition, the "BLANCINQIT" team developed an automatic annotation system for sealed points in LDAR filing images based on the YOLO algorithm, which accurately solved the enterprise's pain point of low detection efficiency and was highly recognized by enterprises.

At the innovation literacy level, the competition encourages students to break disciplinary boundaries and form interdisciplinary teams. Students from different majors such as UTSEUS, the School of Mechanical Engineering, and the School of Management collaborate to tackle the same topics, leveraging their professional advantages and cultivating interdisciplinary thinking. The ECODRIVE PRO regenerative braking energy recovery system developed by the "CYBER GEEK" team integrates knowledge from multiple fields such as mechanical design, energy management, and business model design, demonstrating comprehensive innovative capabilities.

At the career development level, through close contact with corporate mentors, students have gained an in-depth understanding of industry trends and corporate talent needs, clarifying their career development directions. Cooperative enterprises such as Eaton have identified outstanding talents through the competition and provided internship green channels for participating students.

(II) Breakthroughs in Preparing for High-Level Competitions

As a "training ground" for the college to participate in high-level competitions, the innovation competition has accumulated valuable experience for students to participate in prestigious events such as the China International College Students' Innovation Competition and the National Undergraduate Electronic Design Competition. Over the past five years, many teams emerging from the UTSEUS Innovation Competition have achieved excellent results in various competitions: in the 8th China International College Students' Innovation Competition, teams such as "Qianli Tongfeng" and "Zhituxin Workshop X" won the First, Second, and Third Prizes respectively. After the 5th Innovation Competition, the transparent photovoltaic project led by student Zheng Kaiwen won the Silver Award in the international track of the national competition, achieving a major breakthrough for the college in national-level events.

These achievements are inseparable from the systematic training provided by the innovation competition. By polishing projects, optimizing schemes, and accumulating experience in the innovation competition, students are more competitive in facing higher-level events, forming a sound trend of "promoting teaching through competition, learning through competition, reform through competition, and construction through competition".

(III) Diversified Transformation of Innovative Achievements

The competition attaches great importance to achievement transformation and promotes the implementation of outstanding projects through university-enterprise cooperation platforms. For example, projects such as automotive digital keys based on UWB technology and intelligent garbage classification systems have carried out small-scale application tests with the support of cooperative enterprises. Projects such as digital solutions for microgrids and remote control intervention robots have further improved technical details through university-enterprise joint research and development, laying the foundation for subsequent market promotion.

In addition, the competition results have provided important references for the college's teaching reform. Some outstanding competition topics have been incorporated into the college's practical teaching curriculum system, and case textbooks compiled with the participation of corporate mentors have become important materials for students' engineering practice, realizing the transformation of "competition achievements into teaching resources".

IV. University-Enterprise Relations: Core Support and Development Engine of the Innovation Competition

In the development of the "Integrate in Learning, Insight in Innovation" Innovation Competition, university-enterprise cooperation has always been the core supporting force. From initial single-enterprise collaboration to the current diversified enterprise alliance, universities and enterprises have achieved resource sharing, complementary advantages, and collaborative development through the competition as a link. The competition itself has also become an important carrier for consolidating and deepening university-enterprise relations.

(I) The Core Role of Enterprises in the Competition

As the "topic proposers", "mentors", and "evaluators" of the competition, enterprises deeply participate in the entire operation process, providing comprehensive support for the high-quality holding of the competition.

In terms of resource support, Eaton (China) Investment Co., Ltd., as the core supporting enterprise for the subsequent four competitions, has not only provided continuous financial donations for four consecutive years but also offered technical guidance and industry resource connection. The company's "Future Ready" talent strategy is highly consistent with the competition's talent training goals, and it has discovered and cultivated a number of innovative talents meeting corporate needs through the competition. Other cooperative enterprises such as Alibaba Cloud, MIPRO Software, and Shanghai Qiantang Communication have also provided technical support, internship positions, and mentor resources, injecting strong momentum into the competition.

In terms of talent training, corporate mentors play an irreplaceable role. These technical experts and management talents from the industrial frontline bring cutting-edge industry trends and practical corporate experience into the campus, helping students break out of the limitations of textbooks and establish an innovation concept "oriented by market demand". From topic interpretation and technical tackling to scheme optimization and achievement presentation, corporate mentors provide full-process accompanying guidance, solving students' technical problems and imparting valuable experience in engineering practice. As Yang Bo, President of Eaton Vehicle Group and Vehicle Electrification Business Asia Pacific, stated, the participation of corporate mentors allows students to understand corporate talent needs earlier and prepare for becoming high-quality innovative talents.

In terms of competition evaluation, the participation of corporate representatives ensures the practicality and forward-looking nature of the evaluation criteria. Corporate evaluators conduct professional assessments of participating works from perspectives such as market demand, technical feasibility, and commercial value. The modification suggestions put forward often directly address project pain points, helping students optimize schemes and improve project quality. This "corporate perspective" evaluation enables students to more clearly recognize the gap between technological innovation and market application, cultivating comprehensive literacy of "understanding both technology and market".

(II) The Consolidation and Deepening of University-Enterprise Relations by the Competition

The innovation competition not only relies on university-enterprise cooperation but also plays an important role in consolidating and developing university-enterprise relations, realizing a virtuous cycle of "taking competition as a medium and achieving win-win cooperation".

Firstly, the competition provides a regular communication platform for universities and enterprises. Throughout the preparation, holding, and summary of the competition, the college maintains close communication with enterprises. Every link from topic design and mentor selection to achievement transformation embodies the joint efforts of both parties. This regular interaction breaks down the communication barriers between universities and enterprises, enhances mutual understanding and trust, and lays a solid foundation for subsequent cooperation. For example, through four years of competition cooperation with the college, Eaton has not only deepened its recognition of the college's talent training quality but also jointly established the Eaton-UTSEUS Career Club with the college, expanding cooperation in multiple aspects such as internships, employment, and joint research and development.

Secondly, the competition provides enterprises with an accurate talent reserve channel. Through the competition, enterprises can closely observe and understand students' comprehensive qualities such as professional capabilities, innovative thinking, and collaborative spirit, and discover potential talents meeting corporate needs. Many cooperative enterprises regard the competition as an important channel for talent recruitment, selecting outstanding students through the competition for internships or direct employment. This talent recruitment model of "early locking and precise training" reduces enterprise recruitment costs and improves talent matching, while students also obtain high-quality employment opportunities, realizing a "two-way rush" between universities and enterprises.

Thirdly, the competition promotes university-enterprise joint research and development and technological innovation. Enterprises release real technical needs through the competition, and student teams carry out innovative research around these needs. The formed outstanding schemes provide new ideas and methods for enterprise technological upgrading. Some enterprises carry out joint research and development with the college based on outstanding competition projects to jointly tackle technical problems. This cooperation model of "campus innovation + enterprise transformation" not only reduces enterprise research and development costs but also provides practical scenarios for the college's scientific research work, realizing the collaborative development of university-enterprise technological innovation.

Finally, the competition enhances enterprises' brand influence and social reputation. Participating in university talent training is an important manifestation of enterprises' social responsibility. By supporting the innovation competition, enterprises demonstrate their technical strength, corporate culture, and talent philosophy to university teachers and students, as well as all sectors of society, enhancing brand visibility and influence. Many enterprises have attracted the attention of more outstanding talents through the competition, accumulating talent resources and social capital for long-term development.

(III) Expansion and Upgrade of University-Enterprise Cooperation

Starting from the innovation competition, the relationship between UTSEUS and cooperative enterprises has continued to deepen, forming a diversified cooperation pattern of "competition cooperation → talent recruitment → joint research and development → platform co-construction". In addition to competition support and talent recruitment, universities and enterprises have carried out a series of in-depth cooperation: establishing joint laboratories to provide students with better practical platforms; cooperating to set up characteristic courses, integrating enterprise technical standards and industry norms into teaching content; constructing enterprise internship bases to allow students to participate in actual projects in the front line of enterprises; jointly applying for scientific research projects to tackle common industrial technical problems.

This diversified university-enterprise cooperation model not only enriches the connotation of the college's talent training but also injects innovative vitality into enterprise development. Up to now, the college has established long-term and stable cooperative relations with 13 well-known domestic and foreign enterprises such as Eaton, Alibaba Cloud, Saint-Gobain, and Panthronics AG, forming an open, inclusive, and win-win university-enterprise cooperation ecosystem.

V. Summary and Outlook: Five Years of Hard Work, Innovating for the Future

From the initial attempt in 2020 to the fifth competition in 2024, the "Integrate in Learning, Insight in Innovation" Innovation Competition has become a landmark brand activity of UTSEUS, Shanghai University. Over the past five years, adhering to the original aspiration of "cultivating international and innovative engineers", the competition has continuously optimized the competition system, deepened university-enterprise cooperation, and improved competition quality. It has cultivated thousands of outstanding students with innovative thinking, practical capabilities, and international perspectives, produced a number of innovative achievements with practical application value, and provided strong support for the college's teaching reform, talent training, and university-enterprise cooperation.

Looking back on the development of the five competitions, we can clearly see that the successful holding of the innovation competition is inseparable from the sincere cooperation and joint efforts of universities and enterprises. The in-depth participation of enterprises has provided real topics, professional guidance, and valuable resources for the competition, making it more in line with industrial reality and more practical. The careful organization and overall coordination of the college have provided a solid guarantee for the competition, ensuring the orderly conduct of the event and the effective realization of educational goals. The competition itself has become a bridge for communication and a link for cooperation between universities and enterprises, promoting the development of university-enterprise relations from simple competition collaboration to in-depth talent training, technological innovation, and platform co-construction, realizing mutual benefit and win-win results for both parties.