Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (IMUST) in Baotou won one gold award and three silver awards at the final of the China International College Students' Innovation Competition (CICSIC) 2025, which was held at Zhengzhou University in Henan province from Oct 12 to 15.

The gold-award-winning project, titled "Rare Metal Ceramics — Pioneering Industrialization of High Temperature Synthesis of Rare Earth Metal Ceramic Materials", was the only project from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to win gold at the competition, achieving a historic breakthrough.

The project adopts the method of doping rare earth elements to construct a particle core-shell structure, combined with the preparation process of combustion synthesis casting infiltration technology, to solve common technical problems such as poor uniformity of the microstructure of the metal ceramic composite layer, easy aggregation, and irregular shape of ceramic particles.

The CICSIC 2025 attracted 6.19 million projects from 5,673 schools in 161 countries and regions around the world, with 24.43 million registrations. Among them, 69,000 projects came from 54 universities in Inner Mongolia, with 275,400 applicants. Fourteen projects were shortlisted for the final.