On July 23, the summary and exchange meeting of the 6th National Teaching Innovation Contest for College Teachers, guided by the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and hosted by the China Association of Higher Education (CAHE), was held in Nanjing. After fierce competition in the online preliminary review and national on-site finals, the course team led by Tang Ming from the School of Business Administration of HUTB won a national third prize for its Innovative Thinking and Methodology course.

Launched six years ago with the goal of "promoting teaching innovation and cultivating first-class talent," the competition has established a "four-in-one" teaching innovation ecosystem combining competition incentives, academic guidance, training transformation, and standard support. This year's contest saw participation from 1,308 universities, with 138,000 teachers joining the university-level competition, 45,000 teachers advancing to the provincial level, and 2,694 teachers and teams entering the final national on-site evaluations with 699 courses. A total of 104 first prizes, 247 second prizes, 348 third prizes, and 22 outstanding organization awards were conferred in this competition.

Innovative Thinking and Methodology is a 2-credit, 32-hour general education course for first- and second-year undergraduates. Grounded in a problem-based approach and centered on a design-thinking problem-solving framework, the course integrates generative AI teaching tools and adopts a task-driven, project-based learning model. Students progress through a complete innovation cycle—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test—to systematically develop problem-identification, problem-solving, and practical innovation capabilities. Closely aligned with real-world social contexts, the course drives classroom outcomes into tangible results through project incubation, academic competitions, and cross-sector international collaboration. It guides students to innovate in response to societal needs and contemporary challenges, achieving simultaneous growth in higher-order competencies and innovative literacy.

During the competition preparation period, the CPC HUTB Committee attached great importance to the effort, with the Academic Affairs Division and the School of Business Administration providing overall coordination and meticulous organization. The lead instructor devoted full energy to preparation—repeatedly refining instructional design, the innovation report, and on-site presentation content—while continuously optimizing the course’s innovation framework. The Academic Affairs Division built a comprehensive preparation and cultivation system, inviting domestic and international experts to conduct multiple rounds of intensive training and one-on-one targeted coaching. From instructional videos and innovation outcomes to on-site defense, every aspect was enhanced to provide solid support for this national-level achievement.

(Reported by the Academic Affairs Division)