A team of five Aerospace Engineering students from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) has won the global championship at the 2025-2026 IEEE ITherm Cold Plate Student Design Competition, achieving the best result ever recorded by a university in China in the competition’s history.
Competing against teams from leading international institutions, the UNNC team, MicroAero, was the only undergraduate finalist and secured first place with an innovative liquid-cooling solution designed for high-performance GPU chips. Official testing showed significant improvements in cooling efficiency, temperature reduction and flow performance compared with the benchmark design.
The achievement reflects UNNC’s commitment to providing students with opportunities to engage in world-class competitions and real-world engineering challenges. Throughout the project, the students received extensive support from academic staff, including expert guidance in fluid dynamics, heat transfer and advanced manufacturing, as well as access to research opportunities and cutting-edge facilities.
The winning team members had previously participated in undergraduate research projects under faculty supervision, enabling them to apply research experience directly to the competition. With continued support from the University, they were able to refine their design, present their work internationally and compete on the global stage.
The success marks the culmination of UNNC’s steady rise in the competition over the past three years and highlights the University’s strengths in engineering education, research-led teaching and talent development. It also demonstrates how students at UNNC are empowered to transform classroom learning into internationally recognised achievements through close collaboration with faculty and access to hands-on research opportunities.
Published on 05 June 2026