The national finals of the 2024 iCAN Digital Economy Decision Innovation Challenge were held at Tianjin Normal University from December 6 to 8. SCMU’s team, comprising Zhang Shizhuang and Sun Longyu from the School of Economics and Yang Wei from the School of Management, under the guidance of instructors Wang Lei and Pan Zejiang, won the second prize.

In recent years, the Center for Experimental Teaching and Engineering Training and the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship have actively explored new models integrating disciplinary competitions with talent cultivation to meet market demands. The Economics and Management Laboratory has established a professional mentoring team to guide students in building competition teams, organizing comprehensive practical training, and analyzing simulated business operation data. Following the development trends in economics and management experimental teaching, the center and school have established a flexible smart laboratory with the university’s support. This laboratory not only meets experimental teaching needs but also provides an innovation platform for students interested in competitions.

Team members Zhang Shizhuang and Sun Longyu noted that during the digital economy decision-making competition, they took on the role of internet project pioneers in enterprise digital transformation, simulating the operation of a platform economy company and enhancing their digital economy decision-making innovation capabilities. The new business model of platform economics inspired students’ innovative thinking, while continuous refinement of competition strategies helped the team master innovative methods in digital economy decision-making.

Participating teacher and students at the competition venue.

Photo courtesy of Center for Experimental Teaching and Engineering Training

The iCAN College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was included in the “National College Student Competition Analysis Report” competition catalog in 2023. The Digital Economy Decision Innovation Challenge focuses on platform economics, using market data to simulate the business journey of shopping, travel, and food delivery platform companies from perfect market competition to oligopolistic competition. Team scores were calculated based on indicators such as owners’ equity, return on investment, and brand value impact. Over 2,000 teams from nearly 400 institutions participated in regional competitions, with 140 teams advancing to the national finals.