Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student-Chapter 352 - 236: Shen Qiushan, the Great Contributor!
"Second prize?"
"Old Zhao, do you really have so little confidence in your team?"
Zhang Ziran, also a professor at the School of Electronic Information, shook his head with a smile.
"If it’s not the second prize, could it possibly be the first prize?"
Zhao Ruihai put down the academic file in his hand, his expression becoming serious. The National University Student Electronic Technology Competition traditionally only awards one first prize each year, and it’s rare to have a tie.
In the electronic information field, there are at least three universities in the country stronger than Sanjiang University, so in past competitions, the best achievement for Sanjiang University had only been second prize.
Anyway, second prize was already the best result in nearly ten years. As for first prize, Zhao Ruihai didn’t even dare to consider it.
Could it be that Qingbei and Ke University both performed unusually this year?
A thought flashed through Zhao Ruihai’s mind. If they had won the first prize, they must have defeated many strong opponents!
But that seemed almost inconceivable!
This year, the project Sanjiang University submitted for the competition was "Application of Electronic Lasers in the Military Field."
The project wasn’t novel; in recent years, several top universities and institutions had similar projects.
The project that Sanjiang University submitted was led by Shen Qiushan. Zhao Ruihai glanced over it and found the approach not particularly fresh, just standard at best.
Partly because he had been sidelined at the school for a long time, Zhao Ruihai hadn’t taken this competition to heart, almost entirely leaving it to Shen Qiushan.
So, he had only looked at the thick project book casually.
As Zhao Ruihai was pondering silently, the phone on his desk rang abruptly.
He composed himself and picked up the phone.
"Professor Zhao?"
"This is Zhu Qidong."
"Ah? Principal Zhu?"
Zhao Ruihai was taken aback. Principal Zhu Qidong calling him personally was an unprecedented honor.
"Professor Zhao, you’ve done great service to our school this time!"
"National University Student Electronic Technology Competition Special Prize! Creating the best record in our school’s history of participating in this competition!"
"An unprecedented achievement indeed!"
Zhu Qidong’s voice came through the phone.
"Sp-Special Prize??"
The phone almost slipped from Zhao Ruihai’s hand, his face full of shock.
"Professor Zhao, if you’re not busy right now, can you come by my office?"
Zhu Qidong continued.
"Uh, sure!"
With the principal personally inviting him, Zhao Ruihai had no reason to refuse.
But after hanging up the phone, it still felt like a dream to him.
Muttering to himself: "Special Prize!"
"We actually won the Special Prize!"
"Old Zhao, you’re about to take off!"
"Don’t forget us when you get rich!"
Zhang Ziran commented with a cheerful smile.
"Did we really win the Special Prize?"
Zhao Ruihai still looked incredulous. The National University Student Electronic Technology Competition had a history of more than twenty years, and only four Special Prizes had ever been awarded during that time.
If Sanjiang University really won this time, it would be the fifth!
This achievement could be boasted about for a lifetime!
Of course, the honor is just one aspect.
As Zhang Ziran said, Zhao Ruihai is likely to take off this time. Winning the Special Prize means the project will most probably receive substantial funding.
Although this funding wouldn’t go directly into his pocket, as the project leader, Zhao Ruihai had control over it, and he could receive a huge compensation.
So besides the honor, winning the Special Prize would bring tangible benefits.
"I’ll first go to Principal Zhu’s office to check the situation."
"Hopefully, the organizing committee didn’t make a mistake!"
Zhao Ruihai stood up and strode out of the office.
Walking down the corridor, he still felt bewildered, unable to believe his team had actually won the Special Prize.
Although he organized this competition team, it was Shen Qiushan who did the actual project work.
He was only a freshman, albeit an older one, and wasn’t expected to create a project worthy of a Special Prize.
But the fact was, they really won the Special Prize!
Even if it still felt unbelievable, with Principal Zhu Qidong personally notifying him, it couldn’t be false.
The judging panel of the National University Student Electronic Technology Competition consisted of members from the Huake Institute, so the competition was highly authoritative and unlikely to have any mix-ups.
Moreover, this time they awarded the rare "Special Prize," making a mistake impossible.
With curiosity, Zhao Ruihai arrived at Zhu Qidong’s office.
"Professor Zhao, please have a seat."
"I just brewed some Dragon Well tea, have a taste."
Zhu Qidong was very welcoming, even personally pouring Zhao Ruihai a cup of tea.
This act left Zhao Ruihai feeling a bit at a loss. After all, Zhu Qidong was the principal of Sanjiang University, which was a university directly under the Ministry of Education, and in terms of rank, he was equivalent to a deputy minister.
"Principal, did we really win the Special Prize?"
Zhao Ruihai asked, holding the cup of tea.
"No doubt about it."
"The congratulatory announcement has already reached our school."
Zhu Qidong spread his hands with a smile: "Professor Zhao, you truly deserve immense credit for this!"
"I just discussed with Secretary Su, and we’ve decided to prioritize your award-winning project as a school focus project, giving it priority in funding, human resources, and facilities support."
"Whatever you need, feel free to ask the school, and we will do our utmost to meet your demands..."
Zhu Qidong directly offered very generous conditions, with the clear aim of winning over this esteemed professor who had received recognition from the Huake Institute.
Previously, Zhu Qidong hadn’t paid much attention to Zhao Ruihai, considering him just an inflexible "old scholar."
But now the situation was entirely different. A project that won a Special Prize would certainly receive significant support from above.
The funding coming in would be in the billions, and of course, Zhu Qidong wanted a share of this enormous fortune.
"Principal, there’s something I must report truthfully."
After a brief hesitation, Zhao Ruihai decided to speak the truth: "Although I’m the project leader in name, Shen Qiushan was the one truly responsible for the actual execution and preparation of this project!"
"He’s the main contributor to winning this award!"
"Shen Qiushan?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"Are you serious?"
Upon hearing the name, Zhu Qidong raised his eyebrows. As the principal of Sanjiang University, he was certainly aware of Shen Qiushan, the older college student.
He had met him before, but their interactions were limited.
And recently, Shen Qiushan’s name was trending due to his participation in "Voice of Hua Country," clearly showing his popularity.
