The World Laureates Forum kicked off in Shanghai on 29 October. Besides 26 Nobel Prize winners and many world-leading scientists, including winners of world famous academic awards such as the Wolf Prize, Lasker Award, and Turing Award, many post-2000s generation students are also taking part, and have drawn lots of attention.

Wang Yanyi, a student from Beijing No. 4 Middle School, was seated around the no.1 table during a discussion session. However, he didn’t show any nerves about being together with the intelligentsia and actively participated in the discussion.

Wang Yanyi has an interview with Eastday. [Photo/ Eastday]

In 2016, Wang, who was in grade one of senior High School, won the first prize of the 31st National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition with his project titled, “A Fast Self-stabilizing Image Platform”.

Speaking of how to make a breakthrough in science, he said, “Never be afraid of being rejected, and don't be afraid to make mistakes, but instead treat them as an achievement. Do what you love and challenge impossibility. Stay crazy and stay hungry."

Pan Baile, a 16 year-old participant, is very proud of his research projects on photocatalysis, electro-absorbed seawater desalination, and fire-resistant moisturizer for firefighters.

Pan Baile has an interview with Eastday. [Photo/ Eastday]

In May, Pan and his team won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize on behalf of China with a project titled, “Using waste and solar energy to combat the freshwater crisis”.

Pan’s success is partly owed to his family’s support. “My parents are university teachers. When I was nine years old, I bought a set of chemical experiment apparatus to do experiments at home. Since then, my parents have been supporting me in doing research,” said Pan.

In his words, university level knowledge is what he needs to break through. The communication with the top scientists made him realize that he needs to explore in more fields in order to form a broader vision.

According to Chen Yihan, the only student representative from Hangzhou, when she spoke about some currently unrealized dreams to the two Nobel Prize winners sitting at the same table as her, they were quite happy to hear her ideas and said, as long as the science is developing, all these good wishes will become true, and it is this belief that has motivated them to keep moving forward.

Chen Yihan has an interview with Eastday. [Photo/ Eastday]