A team of three PhD students from the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), in collaboration with a student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has secured the first prize in the Northeast Asia division of the 2024 ISETS-ESCAP Youth Voice Competition for their innovative research on digital twin technology for sustainable transportation.
The team named “Energy Victory” operates under the International Centre of Urban Energy Nexus (IUEX) of PolyU, which is led by Prof. Jerry YAN, Chair Professor of Energy and Buildings of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering of PolyU.
Supervised by Prof. YAN and Dr Ying DU, Postdoctoral Fellow of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering of PolyU, the talented students: Junxiang ZHANG, Shibo ZHU, Dayin CHEN, and Haolan CHEN (from Shanghai Jiao Tong University) developed an innovative project titled "Drawing the Blueprint of Traffic Electrification with Digital Twin." This awarded project aims to foster Sustainable Development Goals in the transportation sector, demonstrating the team's dedication to driving impactful change through advanced digital twin technology.
The ISETS-ESCAP Youth Voice Competition is organised by the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The competition brought together young leaders from all over the world and attracted approximately 300 submissions from 77 teams across 37 countries. The triumph of the PolyU team underscores the university’s dedication to nurturing young student researchers and leadership in advocating for sustainable energy solutions.
The award not only recognises the students’ effort but also demonstrates PolyU's standing as a leading institution for innovative research and collaborative endeavours in sustainability. Next, the PolyU team will compete in the Global Final Competition in Chengdu this November, representing PolyU at the United Nations ESCAP Headquarters in Bangkok.
