Beijing, China - The 2025 “You Are Da Vinci” Global Youth Science, Technology, and Art Innovation Award concluded successfully in Beijing on September 23. As the world’s first international youth competition integrating STEM with the arts and entrepreneurship, this year’s event focused on the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since its launch, it has attracted significant attention from STEAM institutions and Project-Based Learning (PBL) centers worldwide, with strong support from the North American Division.
Record Participation & Global Reach
From May through September, the competition received 1,689 submissions during its 100-day call for entries. Works were submitted by youth aged 5 to 22 from countries and regions including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, France, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and mainland China. After multiple rounds of rigorous evaluation by an expert jury, 255 projects were shortlisted based on innovation, practicality, and social value.
Awards were conferred in several categories, including Da Vinci Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals, as well as the Special Award for Art and Creative Idea Award. One hundred contestants were named to the “Global Top 100 Innovative Teenagers” honor roll.
Gold Medal: AI Recognition of Pattra-Leaf Scriptures
The Da Vinci Gold Medal—the highest honor of this year’s event—was awarded to Team Tianlu (captain: Xiaoyong Liu; member: Grace Shang) from the Chinese Division for their project “AI Recognition of Pattra-Leaf Scriptures”.
With a winning probability of just 0.1%, the project stood out for its cultural significance and technological innovation. By applying advanced artificial intelligence tools, the team successfully digitized and recognized authentic pattra-leaf scriptures brought back to China by Monk Xuanzang—a precious heritage of human civilization. This work revitalizes ancient culture that has lain dormant for centuries, applying cutting-edge technology to the inheritance and protection of intangible cultural heritage. It provides a pioneering youth-driven contribution to the SDGs’ goals of cultural preservation and sustainable development, serving as a model of “technology empowering humanity.”
Silver Medal Winners: Youth-Led Solutions for Global Challenges
The Da Vinci Silver Medal was awarded to three teams led by 16-year-old captains:
- Team BioVoger (Wing Ham Antia Li, with four teammates) – “The Role of Architecture in Bird Conservation: A Comprehensive Review”. This project transformed the abstract goal of ecological protection into practical architectural strategies, demonstrating international perspectives on sustainability.
- Team Mercury (Shunyu Qiao, Wenqi Gu) – “Horse Welfare-Compliant Horse Ranch Design”. This cross-disciplinary work combined spatial science with artistic simulation, using music to model equine welfare, exemplifying creative problem-solving across disciplines.
- Beijing No.35 High School International Division Team (Haoyu Yu and six teammates) – “Research on Buoyancy Engine Buoy Based on Peristaltic Pump Principle”. This innovation addressed marine ecological monitoring challenges by designing a low-power, high-reliability buoy capable of real-time underwater data collection and transmission.
Special Award for Art: Phoenix Rising by 9-Year-Old Broadway Actress
The Da Vinci Special Award for Art was presented to Grace Shang (Shang Tianmu, age 9) for her original musical Phoenix Rising (Phoenix Nirvana). The work centers on women’s equality, retelling the story of Mulan through the form of a Broadway musical. Innovatively integrating renowned Eastern IPs with the Broadway musical format, it powerfully conveyed the spirit of UN SDG-5 (Gender Equality).
Notably, Grace Shang is the first child actor from mainland China to join the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) on Broadway. Her dual achievements—contributing to the Gold Medal-winning AI Recognition of Pattra-Leaf Scriptures and creating Phoenix Rising—perfectly embody the event’s vision of “Da Vinci-type” talents: youth who unite artistic imagination with technological creativity to solve real-world problems.
Statements from Organizers
Wang Siyin, head of the Organizing Committee, emphasized:
“Our evaluation this year extended beyond academic innovation and artistic integration. We placed strong emphasis on social responsibility, humanistic care, and interdisciplinary problem-solving—values aligned with the talent-selection standards of leading global institutions.”
Anny Chan, Head of the North American Division and former Chair of the Harvard China Education Forum, and Founder of both the Harvard China-US Innovation Education Association and Aitiwen Education, added:
“Winners of the Gold, Silver, Bronze Medals and Special Awards will each receive scholarships ranging from USD $1,000 to $5,000 toward admission to the UN SDGs STEAM Youth Camp. In addition, award-winning works will be showcased at the 2026 Cambridge Global Innovation Literacy Winter Camp Exhibition and the 2026 Harvard STEAM Innovation Summer Camp Art Exhibition, connecting youth innovation to international exchange.”
Mr. Lü Yugui, Secretary-General of the Global World Expo Alliance (event organizer), stated at the closing ceremony:
“The vision of ‘You Are Da Vinci’ is to inspire young people to break disciplinary boundaries and pursue both their talents and interests. In the AI era, single-skill expertise is insufficient for global challenges. Instead, the world needs ChangeMakers—youth who combine scientific thinking, artistic expression, and social responsibility.”
Congratulations to the Following Award Winners:
—Da Vinci Gold Medal Award—
- 14-year-old Xiaoyong Liu (Team Tianlu: Grace Shang) - "AI Recognition of Palm-Leaf Manuscripts"
—Da Vinci Silver Medal Award—
- 16-year-old Wing Ham Antia Li (Li Yonghan) (BioVoger: Qianyao Wang, Youxuan Lian, Shenghao Wang, Haoyi Wang) - "The Role of Architecture in Bird Conservation: A Comprehensive Review"
- 16-year-old Shunyu Qiao (Team Mercury: Wenqi Gu) - "Horse Welfare-Compliant Horse Ranch Design"
- 16-year-old Haoyu Yu (Beijing No.35 High School International Team: Yixing Wang, Yuchen Zhang, Zhuxuan Li, Haoran Xu, Junqiao Wu, Yuhua Zhao) - "Research on Buoyancy Engine Buoy Based on Peristaltic Pump Principle"
—Da Vinci Bronze Medal Award—
- 17-year-old Qixin Lei - "Research on the Impact of Multisensory Stimulation on Adolescent Neural Plasticity"
- 14-year-old Zhekai Cui - "Design and Construction of an Eco-Friendly Mountain Water Circulation System"
- 16-year-old Yujie Lu - "Human Clean Water Solution - Smart Eyes Water Tap for Quality Inspection"
- 11-year-old Meng Li (Guizhou Care Team: Yun Shan, Shuhao Li) - "AR Cloud-Based Family Letter Tour"
- 15-year-old Dongxu Li - "Digital Ink Wash: A Dynamic Landscape Painting Generation System for AI to Learn Traditional Brush Techniques"
—Da Vinci Special Award for Art—
- 9-year-old Grace Shang (Shang Tianmu) - "Phoenix Rising"
—Da Vinci Global Top 100 Innovative Teenagers Award—
- 14-year-old Xiaoyong Liu, Grace Shang (Shang Tianmu) - "AI Recognition of Palm-Leaf Manuscripts"
- 16-year-old Wing Ham Antia Li (Li Yonghan), Qianyao Wang, Youxuan Lian, Shenghao Wang, Haoyi Wang - "The Role of Architecture in Bird Conservation: A Comprehensive Review"
- 16-year-old Shunyu Qiao, Wenqi Gu - "Horse Welfare-Compliant Horse Ranch Design"
- 16-year-old Haoyu Yu, Yixing Wang, Yuchen Zhang, Zhuxuan Li, Haoran Xu, Junqiao Wu, Yuhua Zhao - "Research on Buoyancy Engine Buoy Based on Peristaltic Pump Principle"
- 17-year-old Qixin Lei - "Research on the Impact of Multisensory Stimulation on Adolescent Neural Plasticity"
- 14-year-old Zhekai Cui - "Design and Construction of an Eco-Friendly Mountain Ecological Circulation System"
- 16-year-old Yujie Lu - "Human Clean Water Solution - Smart Eyes Water Tap for Quality Inspection"
- 11-year-old Meng Li, Yun Shan, Shuhao Li - "AR Cloud-Based Family Letter Tour"
- 15-year-old Dongxu Li - "Digital Ink Wash: A Dynamic Landscape Painting Generation System for AI to Learn Traditional Brush Techniques"
- 15-year-old Xiaotong Cui - "Immersive Sound Effect Creation Based on Marine Detection Acoustic Signals"
- 16-year-old Zhirou Li - "Distance Measuring Sensor & Aerospace Treasure Box"
- 10-year-old Xige Wang - "The Encounter at 380,000 Kilometers"
- 6-year-old Chengji Li - "Smart Garden - AI Automatic Watering System"
- 7-year-old Yufeng Sun - "Fantasy of the Star Abyss"
- 15-year-old Mingli Zhi - "Simulated Mars Soil Crop Cultivation Experimental Device"
- 13-year-old Tianze Luo - "Investigation on the Relationship Between Household Food Waste and Carbon Emissions"
- 13-year-old Ethan Liu - "Intelligent Tracker for Pet Activity Trajectories"
- 10-year-old Haoyi Wang - "Exploring the Oriental Dietary Wisdom in Earth's Food Diversity"
- 15-year-old Xi Huang - "Intelligent Remote Sensing Biological Assistance System"
- 14-year-old Xinyu Zhang - "Insect Chirp Concerto - Electronic Music Creation Transformed from Insect Behavior Patterns"
- 5-year-old Juan Lang - "Symbiotic Farm"
- 9-year-old Nan Yao - "Sci-Fi Essay - A Day in the Life of Martians"
- 12-year-old Manjia Ma - "Conjecture on Biological Treatment of Industrial Wastewater"
- 10-year-old Yihan Luo - "Unmanned Driving vs. Ride-Hailing: Who Will Drive into the Future?"
- 15-year-old Chengsong Wang - "Arduino-Based Intelligent Safety Greenhouse System"
- 8-year-old Xiaoyu Liu - "Intelligent Controlled Vehicle"
- 12-year-old Mengyue Li - "Interstellar Adventure: Searching for a New Home"
- 12-year-old Liam Chen - "UN SDG - Marine Garbage Purification Vessel"
- 11-year-old Guanlin Li - "Time-Series Flight Path"
- 16-year-old Junhao Huang - "Interactive Paper-Cutting Art Combined with Conductive Ink"
- 12-year-old Noah Chen - "Silicon-Based Life"
- 10-year-old Olivia Wang - "Sci-Fi Painting - Cyber City"
- 10-year-old Qindan Yu - "Super Intelligent Residence"
- 9-year-old Xu Hangqiao - "Floating City in the Air"
- 15-year-old Zhong Zhao - "Urban Heavy Rainwater Waterlogging Early Warning Guard System"
- 9-year-old Lechen Yang - "The Wonderful World"
- 17-year-old Bingnan Wang - "AI Intelligence and Air Surveillance Sky Eye"
- 13-year-old Kaizhi Chen - "Future High-Intelligence House"
- 9-year-old Xiran Weng - "Noah's Ark"
- 16-year-old Jielin Li - "Remote Interactive Intelligent Education Application for Poor Mountainous Areas"
- 15-year-old Xiaoyun Tan - "Space Station Garbage Recycling Robot"
- 10-year-old Sophia Lan - "Life Express"
- 11-year-old Zhiqi Lin - "Tech Innovation Across the World, Splendid Years of Illusion"
- 10-year-old Haodong Shi - "Mechanical City"
- 12-year-old Shihan Huang - "The Road to the Star Vault - A Millennium Dialogue Between Technology and Civilization"
- 9-year-old Muhan Zeng - "Heroes and Dreams"
- 15-year-old Yiming Xie, Lin Lin - "AI System for Assisting Students in Poor Mountainous Areas with Self-Directed Math Learning"
- 5-year-old Yufan Wu - "Sci-Fi Warrior, Star-Hunting Operation"
- 6-year-old Ava Zhong - "Underwater Octopus Robot"
- 12-year-old Bolin Qu - "Exploring the Ecological Water World"
- 18-year-old Yixin Yang, Tao Zhang - "Reciprocating-Based Adaptive Multifunctional Environmental Protection Pipeline Inspection"
- 17-year-old Fan Cai - "Real-Time Speech-to-Text Intelligent LED Display Screen"
- 11-year-old Yuying Xu - "Artistic Transformation of Marine Plastics"
- 10-year-old Xicheng Liu - "Urban Cooler"
- 12-year-old Xinlin Lü - "Sewage Analyzer"
- 15-year-old Aisha - "Bioluminescent Plant Street Lamps"
- 7-year-old Yutao Xie - "AI-Self-Made English Picture Book 'Cats Playing'"
- 13-year-old Zixiao Gao, Fan Fan - "Community Kitchen Waste Intelligent Decomposition Station"
- 9-year-old Ruixin Wang - "Cosmic Stairway to Heaven"
- 13-year-old Beihai Zhang - "Campus Shared Bike Orderly Parking Guidance System"
- 10-year-old Xinyang Bo - "Chaotic Galaxy"
- 16-year-old Yifan Chen, Dong Chen - "Ceramic Defect Detection System Based on Machine Learning"
- 15-year-old Yuanhao Chen, Ran Li - "Bluetooth-Controllable Intelligent Warning Roadblock"
- 10-year-old Haoxuan Lin - "Mechanical Beehive"
- 11-year-old Xinyu Hu - "Wireless Energy Transmission Satellite"
- 15-year-old Haoyu Wang - "AI-Accompanied Intelligent Assistant for the Hearing Impaired"
- 16-year-old Hangyue Gong - "Visual Classroom Management System"
- 7-year-old Mingming Li - "A New Chapter of Wearable Future Computers"
- 9-year-old Zuyi Feng - "Resounding Bugle"
- 16-year-old Gong Rong Team - "Track-Mounted Road Rescue Inspection System Based on Visual Recognition"
- 14-year-old Weihua Xue - "Multifunctional Safety Tunnel with Intelligent Monitoring"
- 17-year-old Chen Ou - "SmartVision Intelligent Vision Detection and Prevention Integrated System"
- 6-year-old Luoyu Li - "Future Agriculture - Grain Harvester"
- 16-year-old Boran Yu - "AI-Based Campus Plant Growth Monitor"
- 15-year-old Haosheng Zou - "Household Old Item Intelligent Classification and Recycling Robot"
- 12-year-old Yichen Li - "Concept of Small-Scale Water Collection and Storage Device in Desert Areas"
- 10-year-old Mingqian Li - "The Cyclops' Space Dream"
- 8-year-old Bowen Liang - "Earth in 3025 AD"
- 10-year-old Qinghao Kong - "Smart Agricultural Machine"
- 15-year-old Xuanbo Wang - "Intelligent Housekeeper System for Caring for the Elderly Living Alone"
- 16-year-old Tian Wang - "Plants Have 'Codes': Music Device Based on Plant Electrical Signals"
—Da Vinci Outstanding Guiding Institution Award & Outstanding Guiding Teacher Award—
- UCIS Mercury Academy - Leo TANG
- Hardcore Tech Innovation - Father Tang
- Beijing No.35 High School International Department - Ziyu Tian
- Gewu Children's Creation - Chang Liu
- Xiangcheng Hui Education Technology - Longbo Cui
- Sannai Art Space - Yajun Song / Bahejiang
- Yingshi Tech Innovation Laboratory - Yarong Wen
Media Contact
Company Name: Da Vinci
Contact Person: Susan Lee
Email: Send Email
City: BEIJING
Country: China
Website: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LRmPuY-dbBMZJLZ361v-7g
