Nearly 8,000 Young People Compete in Ninth National Youth AI Innovation Challenge Finals

The finals of the ninth National Youth Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge were held in Wuzhen, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, on August 15–16. Nearly 8,000 young people from all 31 mainland provincial-level regions as well as Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan competed online or in person. Organized by the China National Children's Center, the Ministry of Education-approved national competition has run for nine consecutive editions and attracted a cumulative 610,000 participants.

As a national competition approved by the Ministry of Education, its scale and rule changes reflect the direction of youth AI education, emphasizing hands-on practice and comprehensive abilities and offering useful reference to schools, teachers, and providers. It encourages a shift from memorization toward practical work and adaptability. New events and scoring rules signal demand for areas such as drone programming and embodied intelligence.