The China International College Students’ Innovation Competition (CICSIC) is dedicated to promoting international exchange and collaboration in innovation and entrepreneurship. As a global platform for college students to showcase their innovative practices, CICSIC has become one of the largest innovation competitions worldwide. In 2025, it attracted 24.43 million participants from 5,673 universities in 161 countries and regions, including entrants from all the top 100 universities.
To further expand its international influence, the Competition will launch the Italy Division Contest, hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which will select outstanding international projects to recommend to the CICSIC 2026 Grand Final. We sincerely invite outstanding young minds from Italy and other countries across the globe to participate and join us in realizing your innovative dreams and creating a brighter future together.
I. Entry Requirements
1. Projects should address societal needs, create innovative products and business models, and contribute to the advancement of key industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, energy, and environmental protection. Projects promoting the integration of digital technologies with education, healthcare, transportation, finance, and cultural exchange are also encouraged. 2. Projects must be ethical, legal, and comply with all applicable laws and regulations. All inventions, patented technologies, and resources utilized must be accompanied by the necessary intellectual property and proprietary rights. Submission of plagiarized or infringing work will result in immediate disqualification, forfeiture of any awards, and full legal liability.
3. Entrants must select the appropriate category for their project and submit accurate and complete entry materials through the official registration system by the specified deadline. Projects that have previously received a Gold or Silver Award in CICSIC are ineligible.
- Entrants must be under 35 years of age (born after March 1, 1991).
II. How to Participate
The Competition only accepts only team entries. Teams must consist of 2 to 15 members, including a designated team leader. Teams may be composed of students from multiple colleges. All team members must be core contributors to the project.
Team members must be currently enrolled students at a non-Chinese institution of higher education or have graduated from such an institution within the past five years (i.e., after 2021). The team leader must submit the application on behalf of the team. A team can represent only one institution, which must be the institution where the team leader is currently enrolled or from which they graduated. A "non-Chinese institution" refers to a university or vocational school located outside the People's Republic of China that is accredited to provide tertiary education and award degrees. An "enrolled student" is defined as a student officially registered and studying at a non-Chinese institution, pursuing a degree or diploma.
Projects will be categorized based on the team leader's academic status (Undergraduate or Postgraduate) and the project's stage of development (Idea Stage or Startup Stage). Institutions are responsible for guiding their teams to select the correct category during registration.
The specific entry requirements are as follows:
1.Undergraduate.
a. Idea Group. Projects should demonstrate strong creativity and a well-developed product prototype or service model, and must not have completed any business registration (including industrial and commercial) before April 26, 2026. The applicant, acting as project leader, and all team members must be currently enrolled undergraduate or associate degree students.
b. Startup Group. Projects must have completed all necessary business registrations (including industrial and commercial) before April 26, 2026. The applicant must be the project leader and the legal representative of the registered company, and must be either a currently enrolled undergraduate or associate degree student, or have graduated from an undergraduate or associate degree program within the past five years.
2.Postgraduate
a. Idea Group. Projects should demonstrate strong creativity and a well-developed product prototype or service model, and must not have completed any business registration (including industrial and commercial) before April 26, 2026. The applicant must be the team leader and a currently enrolled postgraduate student. Team members can be currently enrolled postgraduate, undergraduate, or associate degree students.
b. Startup Group. Projects must have completed all necessary business registrations (including industrial and commercial) before April 26, 2026. The applicant must be the project leader and the legal representative of the registered company, and must be either a currently enrolled postgraduate student or have graduated from a postgraduate program within the past five years.
III. Competition Rules
The Competition consists of three stages:
- Eligibility review (Mid June, 2026). The organizing committee will review all submitted materials from international participants to ensure completeness and adherence to eligibility requirements.
- Online evaluation (Late June, 2026). Qualified entries will undergo multiple rounds of online evaluation, culminating in the selection of finalists.
- On-site competition (Early July, 2026). Exceptional projects selected during the evaluation will advance to the final round held in Italy. If participation in the on-site competition is not possible, finalists may participate via online presentation.
IV. Awards
1. The regional contest will award 5 Gold Awards, 10 Silver Awards and 15 Bronze Awards.
2. The top three places will receive prizes of €3,000, €2,000 and €1,000 respectively.
V. Registration
1. Register online at http://Italy.pilcchina.org, the official website for the Promotion Association for Global Youth Innovation Leaders Community (PILC). Registration opens at 0:00 on May 13, 2026 and closes at 24:00 on June 13, 2026 (China Standard Time, UTC+8).
2. Submit your business plan in PPT format. You may also include supplementary materials, such as a Word document or a 1-minute video. Please convert your business plan into PDF format prior to uploading.
3. All team members must submit proof of their student status (current enrollment or graduation certificate) or shareholder status, as applicable, by the registration deadline. Teams with mentors should provide their mentor's information during registration.
4. All submitted materials and presentations should be in either Chinese or English.
VI.Other
The final interpretation of the terms and conditions outlined in this Annex rests with the Organizing Committee of the Switzerland Division Contest of China International College Students’ Innovation Competition (CICSIC).
VII. Contact Information
Student Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Ms. Feng Xiao
Tel: 021-54744401 Ext. 820
Email: innovative@sjtu.edu.cn