Recently, the “AI for a Sustainable Future” Competition, organised by the Regional Centre of Expertise Ningbo on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE Ningbo) and co-organised by OHFI Asset Management, successfully came to a close. As the first cross-university competition in Ningbo focusing on the theme of “AI + Sustainability”, the event brought together over 140 young innovators from six universities across the city to compete and collaborate. The competition also invited Dr Jonghwi Park, Head and Academic Programme Officer of lnnovation and Education at the United Nations University, to serve as a judge, bringing an international perspective and professional expertise to the event.
With its distinctive theme, solid organisation, and remarkable youth engagement, the competition earned high recognition from the United Nations University, fully showcasing Ningbo’s innovative vitality in the field of education and practice for sustainable development.
Professor Kok Wei Khong, Dean of Nottingham University Business School China and Chair of UNNC Environmental Sustainability Committee, stated in his opening address that sustainable development is a mission for all humanity, and education is its core engine.
Addressing sustainability challenges with AI demonstrates the sense of responsibility among young people and aligns with the business school’s educational philosophy.
Dr Jonghwi Park, Head and Academic Programme Officer of lnnovation and Education at the United Nations University, pointed out that since AI entered public life, it has brought enormous changes, yet also given rise to challenges such as surging energy consumption, growing water demand, and the marginalization of languages and cultures.She stated: “Our generation is native to the AI era. AI can help us realise visions we cannot achieve on our own. The key question is — do you want to be a passive participant, or a strategic leader?”She added that the core philosophy of the United Nations is “human-centred AI” — AI should augment, not replace, human intelligence, respect cultural diversity, and promote equity and justice.
Mr Juewen Hu, Founding Partner of Olympus Hedge Fund Investments Co., Ltd. and Deputy Chair of Nottingham University Business School China Advisory Board, shared insights based on industry practice. He noted that AI innovation has significantly lowered the threshold for university students to start businesses, while also opening up new possibilities for corporate sustainable governance and the improvement of entrepreneurial capabilities. This, he emphasised, is precisely the necessity of holding such competitions.
Unlike traditional concept-based competitions, this challenge emphasises tackling real-world problems with practical solutions. It encourages students to explore ways and pathways through which artificial intelligence can address sustainable development issues, guiding them to apply their technical knowledge to genuine social challenges:
First Prize
Dream Weaving Ancient Treasures: An "AI + Cultural and Creative Industries" Interactive System Based on Model Distillation and Multimodal Image Fusion Technologies
(Ningbo University of Finance and Economics)
This project focuses on SDG 11 (SustainableCities and Communities), bringing cultural momentum to sustainable development.
Addressing the pain points of poor interaction, low public engagement, and unsatisfactory experiences in museums, the team used AI to restore cultural relic data and help lost cultural relics “return home”. It builds an ecosystem for the sustainable development of Chinese culture, achieving the coordinated advancement of SDG 11 and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
Second Prize
Green Campus: AI-Based Photovoltaic Power Generation and Grid Optimal Scheduling System Design
(University of Nottingham Ningbo China)
This project directly addresses real-world challenges in Chinese universities, such as large-scale campus buildings, complex electricity consumption scenarios, and energy mismatch. It establishes a two-layer AI dispatching framework covering the entire process from forecasting to planning, and develops a visualized intelligent dispatching platform for AI microgrids, providing a systematic solution for the construction of green campuses.
Third Prize & AI Sustainability Pioneer • Popular Choice Award
"Otter" Tide Initiative: An Exploration of How AI-Enabled Ecological Coexistence
(University of Nottingham Ningbo China)
Focusing on the loss of genetic diversity among otters in Jintang, this project takes SDG 15 (Life on Land) as its core and integrates SDGs 4, 11, 13 and 17. The team has built a “data–content–user” closed loop, transforming scientific research data into narratives. By using AR technology to expand public engagement tools, it evolves AI from a mere “tool” into a “weaver”, empowering the iteration of cultural and creative products, and shifting ecological protection from reliance on public welfare to self-sustaining development.
“Through this competition, we have brought together students from different universities to mobilise the power of youth in our region, jointly moving towards a sustainable future. These youth-led projects translate cutting-edge artificial intelligence into practical, workable solutions — the very kind of innovation our region and our planet need most right now,” said Professor Jing Dai, Chair Professor of Sustainable Operations and Technology Management, Director of RCE Ningbo, and Director of Centre for Responsible Business and Innovation.
As the organiser of this competition, RCE Ningbo is the tenth Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in China, accredited by the United Nations University. Building upon the strategic framework set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan of the UNNC, RCE Ningbo serves as a key initiative and opportunity identified in the plan. It drives collaborative innovation across industry, academia, and research in the field of sustainable development, creating demonstrative effects that help Ningbo integrate more deeply into the global sustainable development agenda. The centre also supports the city’s transformation towards greener and more internationalised growth, striving to distil local practices into globally referential models of the “Ningbo Experience.”
At the same time, RCE Ningbo provides students with a hands-on platform for practical engagement, fostering multi-stakeholder cooperation to advance the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).