The first quarterly contest for the Wuhan Science and Technology Innovation Competition kicks off in OVC. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The first quarterly contest for the Wuhan Science and Technology Innovation Competition was recently held in the Wuhan Future City of the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC), sponsored by Hankou Bank.

Focusing on artificial intelligence and the digital economy, the highly anticipated event attracted over 1,000 participants, including representatives from local governments, research institutes, venture capital firms, and technology innovators.

The projects covered various industries, from autonomous driving and intelligent mapping to digital animation and smart connectivity. Each team had its sights set on tackling common pain points and challenges in production and daily life.

The competition format consisted of an 8-minute PowerPoint presentation and a 5-minute Q&A session, where experts posed questions and contestants defended their ideas.

One competitor at the contest. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The participants in the competition were from diverse backgrounds. Among them were tech geeks who poured their knowledge and passion into their creations. There were also enthusiastic college students, bringing fresh perspectives to the challenges.

The inaugural prize was bestowed upon the "Digitized Technology Empowering Healthcare Payment Reform" initiative, which exhibited unparalleled excellence amongst its peers. The second-place distinction was duly conferred upon both the "Smart Butler for Urban Bridge Management" and "Digital Empowerment System for Complex Equipment Maintenance" schemes. Furthermore, a triad of projects were duly acknowledged with the third-place accolade.

"The competition is a good platform to let sci-tech talents in Wuhan stand out, communicate with industry insiders, demonstrate their new ideas, and receive professional remarks on their future careers," said Wu Zhiqiang, executive president of the School of Intelligence Science and Technology of Peking University, speaking highly to the contest.

Moving forward, there will be 24 monthly contests, two quarterly contests, one training camp just before the final, and one annual final for the rest of the year.