On November 26, 2023, the 12th "Qicheng Cup" Artificial Intelligence Micromouse Competition for College Students in Tianjin was held at Nankai University. More than 300 teams from 17 universities including Nankai University, Tianjin University, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Beijing Jiaotong University, and Tianjin College of Beijing University of Science and Technology competed in the competition. Zhang Bilan from the Higher Education Department of the Tianjin Education Commission, Li Yuelin, the minister of the Academic Affairs Department of Nankai University, Du Yujin, the secretary of the Party Committee of the College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering of Nankai University, and Song Lihong, the CEO of Tianjin Qicheng Science & Technology Co., Ltd., attended the opening ceremony of the competition. 

Sun Guiling, the vice dean of the College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering of Nankai University, stated that since 2007, the competition has served as an outstanding platform for cultivating compound talents among college students who are "capable of practice", "daring to innovate" and "skilled at collaboration". This year's competition is divided into two tracks, namely classical and virtual simulation, with the aim of promoting the transformation of competition achievements and the cooperation of "industry-university-research". 

Zhao Jian, the dean of the School of Control and Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin Chengjian University, said that the competition maze follows the international standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The micromouse starts at the starting point and independently explores the unknown maze environment. After optimizing the best path, it makes a dash. Currently, the competition is going strong among college students in provinces and cities like Tianjin, Beijing, Shandong, Henan, and Jilin, constantly promoting the development of this event to a higher level and a broader field.

Wang Jinhai, the Party branch secretary of the School of Life Science of Tianjin Polytechnic University, said that the competition is oriented towards the development needs of multiple industries such as the new generation of information technology and intelligent manufacturing. With the theme of intelligent control application and the design concept of "Micromouse + Smart Thinking = Traversing the Maze", it strives to create a competition mode that combines online and offline and interacts between virtual simulation and real scenarios. The competition focuses on examining the comprehensive practical application of technical knowledge such as embedded technology, intelligent sensing technology, intelligent algorithms, 3D virtual simulation, and artificial intelligence of college students. 

Song Lihong, the CEO of Tianjin Qicheng Science & Technology Co., Ltd., a company that has sponsored and supported the competition for 12 consecutive sessions, said that enterprises should play the role of "question setters", focus on the cutting-edge development of today's science and technology, aim at major national strategies, benchmark against the actual needs of enterprises, deepen the integration of science and education, the integration of industry and education, and school-enterprise cooperation, and contribute to the construction of an independent knowledge system and the production of more innovative achievements. 

Dai Shenghua, a professor from the School of Electronic and Information Engineering at Beijing Jiaotong University, said that since 2016, Jiaotong University has come to Tianjin to participate in this competition almost every year. The "Qicheng Cup" Artificial Intelligence Micromouse Competition has developed into a top-level event of this competition in China. As a typical application scenario of intelligent robots, the micromouse precisely meets the construction needs of the "Artificial Intelligence +" and "Robot +" new economic industrial system by the government and enterprises, focuses on new technologies and new business forms, and can cultivate compound innovative talents with a scientific and innovative spirit. 

Zhang Bilan from the Higher Education Department of the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission said that discipline competitions are a crucial link in practical education in colleges and universities and an important platform to test teaching achievements and demonstrate educational effectiveness. For more than ten years, this competition has been highly popular among college teachers and students and has become a powerful means to promote educational reform and cultivate innovative talents. We should strive to make this event go beyond Tianjin and attract more college students to participate to a greater extent, making the Artificial Intelligence Micromouse Competition a national brand of discipline competitions for college students.