On August 22, the 2023 "Tianzheng Design Cup" 17th National University Students' Chemical Design Competition concluded at China University of Petroleum (East China) in Qingdao. The work titled"Lianyungang Shenghong Annual Output of 230,000 Tons of Adiponitrile Project"(team members: Jiang Yu, Feiyang Yu, Jiabing Mei, Yingying Chen, Xin Liu;Instructors: Bangqing Ni, Tengfei Niu, Jin'e Han, Liangliang Lin) from the "Liu Jing Yi Cai" (鎏腈溢彩) team of the School of Chemical and Material Engineering at Jiangnan University, after intense competition in the Jiangsu Provincial Competition, the East China Regional Selection, and the National Finals, along with the outstanding performance of the five team members during the defense, ultimately won the Jiangsu Provincial Special Prize (Silver Award), the East China Regional Special Prize, and the National First Prize.

The National University Students' Chemical Design Competition is a Class A national event sponsored by the Chinese Chemical Society and the China Chemical Education Association. It is currently the competition with the highest level, the largest number of participating teams, and the greatest influence in the chemical engineering field among Chinese universities. It has become an important driving force and a second classroom for cultivating students' comprehensive qualities, innovative thinking, and engineering abilities. This year's competition attracted 432 schools, 3,391 teams, and nearly 17,000 students nationwide, setting a new record in participation scale. After rigorous selection at provincial and seven regional levels, 60 teams were ultimately selected to compete in the national finals. The 2023 competition tasked participants with "designing a branch plant for clean production of adiponitrile for a large chemical enterprise," aiming to encourage chemical engineering students to comprehensively apply their professional knowledge in chemical engineering while witnessing the localization and rapid development of adiponitrile production technology, and to actively explore and innovate clean production technologies related to adiponitrile, playing a significant role in China's goal of becoming a major producer and technological powerhouse in adiponitrile in the near future.

Following the release of the competition topic, the school actively mobilized students and formed 19 teams, with full participation from the 2020 cohort of chemical engineering students. Over several months, the students continuously refined and improved their works, ultimately achieving one national first prize, one national second prize, and seven national third prizes; one East China Regional Special Prize, four regional second prizes, and three regional third prizes; and two Jiangsu Provincial Special Prizes, three provincial first prizes, and 14 provincial second prizes. After the competition, advisor Bangqing Ni remarked, "The purpose of the competition is to cultivate students' competencies, enhance various abilities, and develop their skills. The process is more important than the result. The students formed their teams over a year ago and progressed to the national competition. The myriad of experiences, both sweet and bitter, along the way are the best catalysts for their future success." The participating students also gained valuable insights: "Although there were regrets in this competition, the unexpected twists and turns in life never cease—it's all part of the journey. We are grateful for the teamwork of our teammates, the hard work of our teachers, and the selfless help from our senior students. The past may be dim and unreachable, but the road ahead is bright and splendid!"

Since participating in the Chemical Design Competition, the school has consistently attached great importance to it, with teachers providing meticulous guidance and students striving diligently. The excellent results achieved in successive competitions demonstrate the school's effective implementation of the new engineering talent cultivation concept and its solid advancement of practical teaching. They also attest to the school's unwavering commitment to cultivating chemical engineering talents and the recognition of its engineering education level in the field of chemical engineering and technology by universities nationwide.

Medals won by the "Liu Jing Yi Cai" (鎏腈溢彩) team

Group photo of team members andInstructors

Instructorsand students communicating in the computer lab