12 May 2026
On 7 May, Xi’an Jiaotong‑Liverpool University (XJTLU) and Tencent Marketing jointly hosted the awards ceremony for the inaugural Manchuang Cup AI Animation Creative Competition at Tencent’s Shanghai office. Launched in March, the competition offered XJTLU students training, mentorship, and evaluation in AI animation production, AIGC tool application, and content innovation. A total of 45 works were shortlisted, with awards presented for Best Work, Best Creativity, Best Art, and Best Technical Application.
The ceremony was attended by Lei Huang, General Manager of Industry Sales Operations at Tencent Marketing; Professor Qian Liu, Dean of XJTLU’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology (AFCT); Jia Liu, Business Development Director at XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang); as well as industry creators and student awardees.
Exploring AI content creation through real projects
The Manchuang Cup, aimed at university students, provided a practical platform for engaging with industry tools, understanding production workflows, and exploring AI-driven content creation. From March training sessions to the May final, participants received guidance on tool usage, concept development, scriptwriting, visual generation, and work refinement. Using Tencent Marketing’s Miaochuang one-stop animation production platform, students independently selected topics and produced AI animations spanning themes from healing and personal growth to science fiction.
Lei Huang highlighted in his speech: “AI will not replace creators, but those who master it will surpass those who don’t. Through the Manchuang Cup, we aim to bring AI creation to campuses and nurture the next generation of creators. Outstanding works are not just competition results—they are authentic user feedback on our products.”
Industry-university collaboration in creative education
Unlike traditional competitions, the Manchuang Cup emphasised interaction between enterprise tools, teaching practice, and student feedback. AFCT staff contributed to event planning, competition scheduling, training, preliminary work screening, and judging.
The Academy provided foundational training on AI animation workflows, audiovisual language, and AIGC tool usage, supplemented by online and in‑person workshops. Faculty and students also evaluated the Miaochuang platform, offering insights to refine tools and instructional approaches. For the final judging stage, two AFCT lecturers joined industry experts as adjudicators.
Professor Qian Liu said, “Our collaboration with Tencent allows students to access cutting-edge tools and production standards. This model—real projects, real tools, real feedback—complements our talent development system and prepares students for the evolving creative industries.”
Cheng Fang, Director of AFCT’s Digital Content Creation Centre, added that the competition offered students a platform to showcase creative and technical skills, while informing the Academy’s future curriculum design, project-based learning, and industry collaborations. Participants experienced the full production chain, practising narrative, visual expression, technical application, and teamwork.
Embedding industry logic into the classroom
Jia Liu from XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang) commented: “This is more than a competition—it’s a value‑driven educational ecosystem. From co-developing tools to nurturing talent, XJTLU and Tencent bring industry logic into the classroom. Every participant benefits, grows, and contributes back—this is the essence of integrative education and a long-term commitment we continue to pursue with Tencent.”
Towards a sustainable industry university ecosystem
As generative AI increasingly shapes film, animation, digital media, and marketing, creative talent development must integrate cross-disciplinary skills with real-world industry scenarios. The inaugural Manchuang Cup marks the start of XJTLU and Tencent’s joint exploration of AI animation education.
Looking ahead, AFCT and XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang) will leverage their strengths in discipline development, industry partnerships, and entrepreneurship education to expand AIGC collaboration with Tencent Marketing, offering students further opportunities to work with cutting-edge technology and real projects, cultivating versatile creators with creative, technical, and industry expertise.
Edited by Wenzhen Li
Source: Tencent Marketing
12 May 2026