A student at the 6th Shandong College Student AI Competition and the Intelligent Equipment Design Contest. [Photo/Dezhou Daily]

The 6th Shandong College Student AI Competition and the Intelligent Equipment Design Contest was held in Laoling, Shandong province on Nov 25.

A total of 77 college students from 15 universities showcased a range of innovative intelligent equipment, including automated water-cleaning robots, concrete inspection devices, and intelligent strawberry-picking robots during the event.

"I didn't expect Laoling's science and technology innovation environment and talent policy to be so superior," said Ma Shuowei, a junior student of Shandong Management University, who revealed an intelligent archive management robot at the competition.

The competition serves as a platform for collaboration between businesses, academia, and government, and is expected to spur local economic transformation, attract talent, and facilitate technology transfer.

Laoling is known for its sports hardware, food seasoning, medicine and chemicals, and automotive and parts industries.

The city, which presently has 182 technological innovation platforms, secured the top provincial scientific and technological progress prize for two consecutive years. It is also the only county-level city in China with two national engineering and technology research centers.

Through innovation fairs and school-enterprise collaboration, Laoling has attracted 45,000 talents from diverse fields. Last year, it was approved as a pilot city for youth-friendly development in Shandong province.