Falling Walls Lab in Beijing: Three minutes to change the world
In September, the DAAD in cooperation with the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Institute of Physics CAS and the Helmholtz Association organized the Falling Walls Lab 2022 in Beijing.
Falling Walls Lab is a world-class pitch competition, networking forum, and stepping stone that brings together a diverse and interdisciplinary pool of students and early-career professionals by providing a stage for breakthrough ideas both globally and locally. Each year from March to October, renowned academic institutions around the world host local Falling Walls Labs to showcase the quality, diversity, and passion of their region’s most innovative minds. In three minutes each, participants are given the opportunity to present their solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time to peers, a high-calibre jury of experts from academia and business, and the general public.
An ten-member jury chaired by Dr. He Hong, Chief Representative of the Helmholtz Association, evaluated each online presentation based on three weighted criteria:
breakthrough factor – how innovative is the proposed idea?
relevance and impact – how relevant is the idea to the discipline and beyond?
performance – how convincing was the presentation?
The winners of the Falling Walls Lab Beijing 2022 are as follows:
The First Prize
ZHANG Xiyue, Breaking the Wall of Osteoporosis Bone Fixation
„This unforgettable competition experience has given me the opportunity to learn about outstanding achievements in other fields, and has constantly encouraged me to continue to exert my professional characteristics and make some meaningful research to improve people’s lives.“
–ZHANG Xiyue
The Second Prize
LI Yang, Breaking the Wall of Prediction of SARS-CoV-2 infection
„It is a great honor for me to receive this reward. I`d like to thank Falling Wall Lab Beijing 2022 for providing us with this valuable opportunity. I would like to thank the organizing committee for allowing me to stand on such a wonderful stage to introduce my project to experts from different countries and backgrounds. At the same time, I`d like to thank Prof. Liang Mifang and Prof. Zhou Xiaohua for their guidance and help. This competition gave me more growth than success, and made me more confident in the projects I love. I will continue to explore viral diseases and hope to share more interesting results with you in the future.“
–LI Yang
The Third Prize
LI Xin, Breaking the Wall of Radionuclide Adsorption
„Falling Walls Lab is undoubtedly an excellent platform for innovators worldwide. Hats off to all the innovators!“
–LI Xin
Outstanding Presentation
Falling Walls Lab Beijing 2022
Organizers in Beijing
DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)
Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Institute of Physics CAS
Helmholtz Association
Special thanks for the support from
Berlin Business Desk China
SAP
Chinese Physical Society
Euraxess
