On August 17, the final round of the 2024 Tsinghua International Case Analysis Competition of Public Policy on SDGs was successfully held at the School of Public Policy and Management (SPPM) of Tsinghua University, while some contestants participated in the competition online. The competition was jointly organized by the China Case Center for Public Policy and Management (CCCPPM) at SPPM of Tsinghua University and the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals, Tsinghua University (TUSDG), with core support from JA Solar Technology Co.
Competition Scene
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted unanimously by all United Nations Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, have drawn a blueprint for a better and more sustainable future for all, aiming to push the world's countries to shift to the path of sustainable development from 2015 to 2030 by thoroughly resolving the development problems in the three dimensions of society, economy and environment in an integrated manner. The competition is open to undergraduate and master's students from universities around the world, encouraging students from different countries, institutions and professional backgrounds to explore in depth the typical problems, vivid practices, policy innovations and solutions in the field of sustainable development in China and other countries around the world in the form of case studies, to cultivate a keen sense of problem and innovative thinking, and to enhance the ability to apply theoretical knowledge to analyze and solve practical problems.
Since its launch in May this year, the competition has attracted the participation of 100 students in 40 teams from 20 institutions in China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Philippines. The participating teams chose the topics around the 17 UN SDGs, analyzed the sustainable development cases from the perspective of public policy, conducted field research and carefully wrote case study reports. After more than four months of preparation and two rounds of professional judging, a total of 13 undergraduate teams and 8 master's degree teams entered the final round.
Teams Conducting Research
The judges of the competition were Yin Chengzhi, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of SPPM, Li Yingbo, Associate Professor, and Chen Jidong, Associate Professor.
Yin Chengzhi Served as a Judge for the Final
Li Yingbo Served as a Judge for the Final
Chen Jidong Served as a Judge for the Final
The final round of the postgraduate group was held in the morning of the 17th. The participating teams demonstrated and reported the results of the cases of Sustainable Clean Energy Cooperation Model, Beijing Smoking Control Policy, Philippine Rural Education for Environmental Protection and Climate Change Response Practice Project, Chicago Old Building Energy Efficiency Retrofitting, and Science and Technology Institutes for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Erhai Basin, etc. They demonstrated in detail the practical explorations in implementing the SDGs in various places, used theoretical knowledge to analyze in-depth the reasons, mechanisms, problems and experiences behind them, and put forward solutions or policy recommendations. The teams also answered questions raised by the three judges.
Postgraduates Competing
The final of the undergraduate group was held in the afternoon. The participating teams focused on the Dilemma of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Combating Domestic Violence in Local Judicial Practice, the Case of Prosecutorial Public Interest Litigation on the Construction of Barrier-free Environment in Tianjin, the Policy of Caring for People with Disabilities in Bristol, United Kingdom, the Green Transformation of Heavily Polluting Enterprises in Ri Zhao, the Problem of Human-elephant Conflict in Yun Nan, the Construction of a Sustainable Community, the Carbon Purchase Platform for Green Living in Beijing, and the "Food Bank" in Futian, Shenzhen. Teams reported in detail the cases in the field of sustainable development, analyzed the conflicts, problems and experiences in the cases with theoretical knowledge, and put forward solutions or policy suggestions and they also answered the questions raised by the three judges.
Undergraduates Competing
An award ceremony was held in the evening, with Zhu Xufeng, Dean and Professor of SPPM and Executive Director of TUSDG, Yin Chengzhi, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of SPPM, Gao Yuning, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of SPPM, Chen Jidong, Associate Professor of SPPM, Mu Ling, Assistant to the Dean and Director of CCCPPM, and Zhang Yun, Vice Director of the CCCPPM, as well as all the participants participated through a combination of online and offline.
Award Ceremony Offline Venue
This was followed by the awards announcement session, where Mu Ling unveiled the third prize and presented the awards to the winning students. The HKUST MPP Team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology won the third prize in the postgraduate group, while the Alvit Team from Yunnan University, the Sustainnovators Team from Sun Yat-sen University and University College London, and the Rice Family Team from Peking University won the third prize in the undergraduate group.
Mu Ling and the Offline Winning Teams
Yin Chengzhi announced the second prize and presented the awards to the winning students. Grid Weaver team from Tsinghua University won the second prize in the postgraduate group; Curious Commandos team from Tsinghua University and Peking University won the second prize in the undergraduate group.
Yin Chengzhi and the Offline Winning Teams
Gao Yuning announced the first prize and presented the award to the winning students. Team Or VC from Beijing Foreign Studies University won the first prize in the postgraduate group; team ISEEU from Nankai University won the first prize in the undergraduate group.
Gao Yuning and the Offline Winning Teams
The rest of the finalist teams won the excellence awards of the competition, which were presented by Zhang Yun.
Zhang Yun with the Offline Award-winning Teams.
Or VC, the first prize team in the postgraduate group, expressed their heartfelt thanks to the organizers and instructors of the competition, and said that through researching the story of Tieniu Village in Chengdu, which promotes rural revitalization and achieves sustainable development, they had a very interesting experience of exploring the localized implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level.
First Prize Team of Postgraduate Group
ISEEU, the first prize team of undergraduate group, said that this competition provides a platform and opportunity for students to study the sustainable development issues in depth, and through the competition, they have created a lot of unforgettable memories, and have deeply realized the importance of practicing in the real world, discovering the actual problems, and looking for solutions to the problems of public management.
First Prize Team of Undergraduate Group
Finally, the 2024 Tsinghua International Case Analysis Competition of Public Policy on SDGs came to a successful conclusion. In the past four months, the participants, motivated by their deep interest in the SDGs conducted in-depth research, cooperated sincerely, collided their views, and refined their thinking, which not only trained their academic ability to carry out public policy research, but also deepened their understanding of domestic realities and global governance issues. Since its launch in 2018, this event has attracted a total of 1,140 participants from 208 institutions in 17 countries, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, Switzerland, Singapore, Ireland, Australia, Germany, India, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. We sincerely invite more students to pay attention to and join this event, and work together to contribute to the realization of the SDGs with the wisdom and strength of young people.
Teams Group Photos
List of winners
