[Photo by Gao Erqiang]

The Shanghai Odyssey of the Mind Competition, which also served as the selection contest for the 45th World Odyssey of the Mind, started at Songjiang Yunjian High School Affiliated to Shanghai International Studies University on March 2-3.

The event, co-organized by the Shanghai Odyssey of the Mind Association, the Shanghai Educational Center of Science & Art, and Shanghai Education Publishing Group, attracted the participation of 276 local teams, 220 teams from 10 other provinces and municipalities, six teams from South Korea and one team from Germany. Over 4,000 teachers and students took part in the two-day event.

The winning team has the opportunity to participate in the 45th World Odyssey of the Mind finals, which will be held at Iowa State University in the United States on May 21-24.

[Photo by Gao Erqiang]

Founded in 1980, the OM is an international event aimed at fostering innovation, teamwork, and practical skills among children and teenagers. It is open to students in college, middle school, elementary school, and kindergarten, and students compete in age groups.

China has been participating in the event since 1987, winning 75 world championships.

This year's OM competition featured projects such as the construction of a car cinema, structures in the depths of space, and the design of artificial intelligence devices.

[Photo by Gao Erqiang]

The highly open-ended aspects of these topics require participating students to be bold in exploration and innovation and encourage unity and collaboration in the process of solving the issues and the pursuit of ingenuity, said Lin Zhongqin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chairman of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society, at the opening ceremony.

Zhong Lixin, president of the Shanghai Odyssey of the Mind Association and director of Shanghai Education Publishing Group, said he looked forward to seeing more events like this to inspire the creativity and potential of more youths, and cultivate more innovative talents for the future society.