(Text:Mei Pengfei;Li Wengjing; Photos:Conference Team;Lin Chunyin)On August 8, local time, the China International College Students' Innovation Competition (2026) Brazil Regional Finals, hosted by the Ministry of Education and eleven other ministries and commissions, organized by HIT, and co-organized by ZARI and UNESP, concluded successfully at UNESP, Brazil. Xie Yancun, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in São Paulo, Prof. Cesar Martins, Vice President of UNESP, and Zhang Hong, Member of the Institute Council, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.
Opening Ceremony of the Finals
This year's Brazil Regional Finals marked the first time that the competition was held in South America. It solicited high-quality innovation and entrepreneurship projects from university students in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, attracting over 400 innovation teams and more than 1,000 young participants from dozens of leading South American universities, including the University of São Paulo, the State University of Campinas, and the University of Buenos Aires. Following eligibility review and online evaluation, 47 teams advanced to the regional finals.
At the Pitch and Q&A Session
During the finals, participating teams competed on projects focused on South America's industrial upgrading and cutting-edge technology applications, covering fields such as agricultural technology, green energy, digital healthcare, and artificial intelligence. Following team presentations and on-site expert evaluations, 9 gold awards, 14 silver awards, and 24 bronze awards were presented. These high-quality outcomes, characterized by innovation and application potential, demonstrated the innovative vitality and practical capabilities of South American youth in collaborative innovation for shared development.
Awarding Ceremony
During the competition, the organizing committee also held the South American Youth Innovation Achievement Exhibition and the Henan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition. The Henan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, using traditional Chinese culture as a bridge, vividly showcased Central Plains intangible cultural heritage skills and distinctive folk culture, telling Chinese stories and spreading Chinese culture to Latin American youth. Through cultural integration, it fostered youth consensus and strengthened China-Latin America friendship, building a new international exchange framework empowered by both technological innovation and culture.
South American Youth Innovation Achievement Exhibition
Henan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition
The China International College Students' Innovation Competition, with the core concept of I dare to venture, I can create, is one of China's largest, most extensive, and most influential global university innovation and entrepreneurship competitions. Adhering to the overall goals of More Chinese, More International, More Educational, More Comprehensive, More Innovative, and More Collaborative, the competition continues to expand its overseas regional competitions, deepen international exchanges and cooperation in innovation education, and build a major international platform for college students innovation education exchange and cooperation. This Brazil Regional Finals filled the gap of the competition in South America, further optimizing its global presence.
In the future, ZARI will continue to leverage HIT's strong academic and research foundations and international education advantages, as well as the policy and geographic advantages of Henan Province and Zhengzhou City in opening up and international talent exchange. It will continue to expand its global science and technology innovation exchange and cooperation network, bring together the innovative power of young people worldwide, promote the exchange and application of high-quality innovation outcomes in the Central Plains, support HIT in enhancing its international innovation education capabilities, and empower provincial and municipal industrial innovation and development.
Typeset by: Zhang Qiu
Responsible Editor: Mei Pengfe
Reviewed by: Zhang Hong; Zhang Yiwen
