From October 31 to November 3, 2025, the 19th "Challenge Cup" National College Students' Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition was held at Nanjing University. During the event, the project "Time-Signal Exploration: Reliable and Trustworthy Ultra-Fast, Ultra-Long-Duration, and Ultra-High-Resolution Microscopic Imaging Technology," led by Department of Automation doctoral students Liu Shuran and Xu Wencong under the supervision of Academician Dai Qionghai, was awarded the Special First Prize in the main competition. This achievement marked Tsinghua University’s successful reclaiming the "Challenge Cup" after six years.

The "Challenge Cup" is a nationwide competition for its guiding principles, exemplary influence, and broad participation. Co-sponsored by leading Chinese universities and news media, it was first held at Tsinghua University in 1989 and has since been successfully organized for nineteen editions.

Tsinghua University places great importance on the educational role of the "Challenge Cup" Competition, regarding it as a key platform for cultivating top innovative talent. Through its well-established student science and technology innovation system, the university brings together faculty advisors, experts, scholars, and student leaders to actively prepare for the event, providing participants with comphrensive guidance and full-process support.

Doctoral students Liu Shuran and Xu Wencong from the Department of Automation were awarded the Special First Prize in the main competition of the national "Challenge Cup".