Xu Shibiao, a member of the Wings team, agreed with Deng and offered an example of his own. "We made every part of our system with our own hands, while I found that many competitors from other countries and regions just bought the parts that they needed." The Wings team invented a real-time monitor and analysis system for oil pollution in oceans. The system also can predict the future situation of oil pollution by using the data collected.

The competition also poses a great challenge to the Chinese students' language capabilities, as none of them are English language majors. "In all oral defense or communication with other contestants during the competition process, we had to speak English, which is not our mother language. We had to keep practicing and improving it all the time, there's no other choice," said Guo.

"I think the greatest advantage of the Chinese students is their perseverance. They would never bow to hardship," said Deng.

Another tutor of Chinese students, Guo Li, said that the Chinese students faced an additional hurdle-overcoming shyness. "As our students are mostly introvert, the biggest challenge for them is how to express themselves and how to let out their passions," he said.

Imagine Cup Imagine Cup, the world's premier competition for technology students, gives students the chance to unlock their creative genius and build solutions that tackle real-world issues facing society today. This year, a total of 370 students from 124 teams representing 61 countries and regions competed in the worldwide Imagine Cup finals in nine categories: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Development, "Project Hoshimi" (Programming Battle), IT Challenge, Algorithm, Photography, Short Film and Interface Design. The student teams were asked to undertake a series of challenges relating to digital media or technology depending on the invitation. Imagine Cup 2009 will be held in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, with the theme of "imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today." Students will be encouraged to create software solutions that are aligned to one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight MDGs range from halving extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing universal primary education.