XJTLU 2025 IMIS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

Competition Description

1. Competition Theme

Practical Design of Cross-Border E-Commerce Innovation and Entrepreneurship Projects

As the landscape of cross-border e-commerce evolves rapidly, the development of cross-border e-commerce in China continue to thrive. The information technology industry urgently needs to explore new models, business formats, technologies, and development approaches to seize opportunities and address challenges. To this end, the Information Management and Information Systems (IMIS) programme of IBSS at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) is holding the 2025 IMIS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. This competition upholds the principles of openness, inclusiveness, innovation, and fairness, and cordially invites all XJTLU students to participate. Focusing on the theory and practice of cross-border e-commerce, the competition encourages participants to apply their knowledge and skills to propose innovative and practical solutions. It aims to create a platform for learning, exploration, and collaboration among our students, especially those currently studying or considering studying the IMIS. Participants will be able to enhance their practical abilities by learning from mentors in both industry and academia, contributing to the Information Technology/Information System innovation in cross-border e-commerce business.

2. Organizing and Supporting Unit

Department of Intelligent Operations and Marketing (IOM) International Business School Suzhou (IBSS)

The Department of Intelligent Operations and Marketing actively pursues excellence in student learning and teaching, academic research and social impact. We promote student-centred education by bridging the worlds of theory and practice on cutting-edge topics such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data.

Information Management and Information Systems (IMIS) Programme

The IMIS programme was selected as one of the first national first-class undergraduate programmes in 2020 and awarded the title of "Jiangsu Province University Brand Programme". In addition, IBSS has obtained multiple certifications, including the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), and is one of the world's top 100 elite business schools with the "Triple Crown" certification.

The IMIS programme, anchored in emerging technologies, places a strong emphasis on the integration of diverse disciplines, encompassing management science, information technology, e-commerce, and economic finance. It is distinguished by its pronounced interdisciplinary nature and practical applicability, and stands as a quintessential innovative major tailored to the business activities within the modern economic and social arenas. This programme is committed to the cultivation of compound and innovative professionals. These professionals are required to have a solid command of the fundamental theories and comprehensive skills in information technology and management science, thereby enabling them to satisfy the requirements of contemporary business operations, professional management, and technical services. Our historical data indicates that upwards of 90% of the graduates from this major submit applications for admission to the top 100 overseas universities. The primary further-study directions principally cover majors such as Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Fintech, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Information Systems, and Information Engineering.

3. Participation Requirements

• Participants

All undergraduate students at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University are eligible to participate in this competition.

• Team Formation

1. Participate in teams, each team must include at least two Year-1 students.
2. Team size: 4-5 people (including the team leader)
3. One innovation and entrepreneurship mentor (assigned by the organizer)
4. Individuals cannot participate in multiple teams at the same time.
5. Once registered, team members and mentors cannot be changed.

• Topic Selection

Each participating team will select a topic within the recommended theme scope. Through means such as data collection and field research, it conducts an analysis of its innovative projects, deeply explores the feasibility of the innovative projects, and forms a comprehensive analysis report. It is necessary to provide innovative and feasible solutions and suggestions in view of target product, destination country, and selected theme.

4. Competition Schedule

1. 1. Phase I. Registration
      1. Registration Information Submission: February 17, 2025 (Week 1, Monday) - February 28, 2025 (Week 2, Friday) 24:00
      2. Registration method:
         1. Click here to fill in the information for registration, including team name, member names, member contact information, etc. After the registration deadline, the participating information could not be changed.
         2. The team leader of the shortlisted team will receive a confirmation email (requiring a reply confirmation) and will be informed of the detailed information about the opening ceremony and attendance requirements.
   2. Phase II. Opening Ceremony
      1. Date: March 5, 2025 (Week 3, Wednesday)
      2. Procedure: The detailed competition procedure will be introduced on-site during the opening ceremony. Participating teams will randomly draw the target product and the target country on the spot. The content of the works of participating teams must fall within the scope of the following four themes. Participating teams can freely choose one of the themes to conduct an innovation and entrepreneurship feasibility analysis of the cross-border e-commerce business model. According to the selected topics, each participating team will be assigned one innovation and entrepreneurship mentor to simultaneously participate in guiding the production of the works. The four themes are as follows:

      Track 1: Supply Chain Management System Optimization Design (Supply Chain Management):

      Design a model of supply chain management system to improve the efficiency of inventory management, order distribution, and logistics tracking for cross-border e-commerce platforms globally.

      Track 2: Intelligent Application Design of Customer Relationship Management System in Cross-Border E-Commerce (Customer Relationship Management):

      Design an AI and big data analysis to improve the CRM system of cross-border e-commerce, for target marketing, customer segmentation, and personalized recommendations.

      Track 3: Multi-Channel Marketing System Design in Cross-Border E-Commerce (Omni-channel Marketing System):

      Design a multi-channel marketing system for cross-border e-commerce platforms to integrate data from various channels such as social media, e-commerce platforms, and search engines, and to optimize advertising delivery strategy and improve customer conversion rates.

      Track 4: Traffic Acquisition Strategy and Interactive Interface Design in Cross-Border Live Streaming E-commerce Platform (UX/UI and Traffic Acquisition Strategy):

      Design a traffic acquisition strategy and user interface for live streaming e-commerce platforms to improve user activity and purchase rate, and optimize the sales performance and user satisfaction of cross-border e-commerce.

   3. Phase III. Final Round
      • • Time: March 12, 2025 (Week 4, Wednesday)
        • Location: IBSS, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
        • Prior to the commencement of the final round, each participating team shall submit PPT, Word report, and plagiarism report (Turnitin report) to kaiyu.xu@xjtlu.edu.cn before 23:59 on March 11, 2025 (Week 4, Tuesday).
          The document name should be "Team Name_Theme Track Number_Project Name".
        • On March 12, 2025, all participating team members shall attend the finals competition onsite. The report time for each team is 10-15 minutes.
        • Each team member shall take the stage for the speech. The report should include product information, destination country, and theme track.
        • After the end of each team's report, there will be a 10 - minute Q&A session with judges' comments.
        • After the report, the results will be announced on-site, and awards and certificates will be presented.

5. Awards and CertificatesAll participating team members will receive a participation certificate.
6. Case Report Writing RequirementsThe submitted report must be original, and participants must not engage in plagiarism, false reporting, or lying.
7. Contact InformationEmail: kaiyu.xu@xjtlu.edu.cn