On November 3, 2025, the final review and competition of the 19th "Challenge Cup" National Undergraduate Curricular Academic Science and Technology Works by Race concluded successfully at Nanjing University Xianlin Campus. Known as the "Olympics" of scientific and technological innovation for Chinese college students, this top-level event attracted more than 400,000 entries from over 2,000 higher education institutions nationwide, involving more than 3 million college students. Amid intense competition, the project guided by Associate Professor Liu Erpeng, Deputy Director of the Center for International Cooperation and Disciplinary Innovation of Income Distribution and Public Finance (111 Center), and Researcher Zou Jianwen won the national first prize. The title is "Research on the Prevention of the 'Slip' of the Marginal Middle-Income Group—Empirical Analysis Based on Follow-Up Visits to 1,331 Households in Five Provinces". This marks a historic breakthrough for the 111 Center in this event, setting the best performance since its participation.
The "Challenge Cup" National Undergraduate Curricular Academic Science and Technology Works by Race, as a nationwide competition for college students in scientific and technological innovation, is characterized by its guidance, exemplary role, and widespread participation. It is hailed as the "Olympic" event of scientific and technological innovation for contemporary college students. This year's "Challenge Cup" has established a "1+2+N" collaborative service matrix for youth scientific and technological innovation, attracting more than 400,000 entries from over 2,000 institutions and more than 3 million college student participants.
Oriented toward serving major national strategic needs, this competition has established a "1+2+N" service matrix for youth scientific and technological innovation, with a focus on contemporary topics such as common prosperity, ecological civilization, and the modernization of national governance. Since the launch of the event, the 111 Center has fully leveraged its advantages as a national-level intellectual platform. With the guidance and support of the University's Youth League Committee, the overall arrangement of the School of Public Finance and Taxation, and the meticulous organization and comprehensive guarantee of the School's Youth League Committee, diverse resources have been integrated to collaboratively promote preparations for the competition. The 111 Center has organized a team of researchers to provide specialized guidance, conducting multiple rounds of systematic refinement and academic scrutiny of the participating projects—from topic selection, theoretical framework development, and field investigation implementation to policy recommendation formulation—to ensure the research embodies both theoretical depth and practical relevance.
The project "Research on the Prevention of the 'Slip' of the Marginal Middle-Income Group—Empirical Analysis Based on Follow-Up Visits to 1,331 Households in Five Provinces" focuses on the "slip" of the marginal middle-income group in China. Utilizing multidimensional databases such as the income distribution survey of residents in China and combining quantitative analysis with qualitative interviews, the project has delved into the current situation of the marginal middle-income group and identified various risk factors affecting the "slip". Drawing on the experience of Zhejiang, a demonstration zone for common prosperity, the project has proposed systematic policy recommendations. The team has been awarded the "Hubei Youth May Fourth Medal", and the research achievements have been repeatedly affirmed and approved by the central leadership, and have been adopted by various departments, such as the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, the General Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Education. The project has provided practical insights for preventing the "slip" of the middle-income group, facilitating the development of an "olive-shaped" society, and achieving substantive progress in common prosperity.
This prize not only highlights the significant achievements of the 111 Center in high-level talent cultivation and research-based education but also demonstrates the researchers' ability to closely integrate internationally cutting-edge perspectives with critical local issues. In the future, the 111 Center will promote deeper integration of research innovation and professional teaching to enable high-quality intellectual resources to better support the innovation and practice of students. Moreover, the 111 Center will encourage more young students to focus on real-world problems, pay attention to the national economy and people's livelihood, and contribute their wisdom and strength to the process of Chinese modernization.