From August 20th to 22nd, the "Obel Cup" Sixth National Food Engineering Practice Comprehensive Ability Competition (Finals), guided by the Ministry of Education’s Advisory Committee for Food Science and Engineering Programs and hosted by the China Food Industry Association, was successfully held at South China University of Technology. Three NEFU students—He Tianwen, Liu Yu, and Han Xinying, all undergraduates from the 2022 cohort of the School of Life Sciences' Food Science and Engineering program—performed outstandingly under the guidance of Professors Guo Qingqi from the School of Life Sciences and Cheng Qian from the School of Materials Science. Their efforts earned them first prize in the national finals, marking NEFU’s second consecutive victory in this prestigious event.

The national finals of this competition featured teams from 45 universities, including China Agricultural University, Northwest A&F University, Nanchang University, Jilin University, Ocean University of China, Northeast Forestry University, and Jiangnan University. These teams advanced from regional competitions in northern, southern, northwestern, and southwestern China. The competition was divided into a theoretical exam, simulated food engineering operations, and hands-on experiments with food engineering equipment. It emphasized both the application of fundamental knowledge and the exploration of cutting-edge developments in the field while also assessing the teamwork and innovation of the participants.

The "Obel Cup" National Food Engineering Practice Comprehensive Ability Competition is one of the most prestigious and widely participated competitions for universities offering food science and engineering programs in China. Its goal is to ignite students' passion for scientific research and technological exploration, encouraging them to value hands-on practical skills. The competition also aims to inspire creativity in scientific experiments, foster innovative thinking, and improve students' engineering practice and research abilities. In this year’s event, the students from NEFU demonstrated foundational solid knowledge and showcased their innovative spirit.