On July 4, 2025, the 2025 International Summer Camp of the School of Civil Engineering at Chongqing University entered its sixth day of activity schedule. Under the leadership of associate professor Tu Xi, young teacher Pouria Ayough, foreign affairs secretary Chen Ruidi, and PhD student Scarlet Montilla, more than 70 international exchange students from over 10 countries participated in the laboratory visit and handmade bridge design competition on that day.

In the morning of that day, all team members visited important scientific research platforms such as the National Key Laboratory of Civil Engineering Safety and Resilience in Mountainous Areas, the Key Laboratory of Mountain Urban Construction and New Technology of the Ministry of Education, and the National Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Environmental Geological Disaster Prevention and Control in Reservoir Areas. Pouria Ayough and Scarlet Montilla introduced the overview, development history, and major research achievements of each laboratory to all campers in recent years.

Pouria Ayough and Scarlet Montilla give presentations to international summer camp campers

In the afternoon, the first International Summer Camp Handmade Bridge Design Competition was held. The competition themed “Lightweight, Efficient, Creative Carrying” and required participating teams to use bamboo provided uniformly to make bridge models with a span of not less than 60cm within 3 hours. The final winner was determined by the carrying efficiency (ratio of load-bearing capacity to self weight). Campers from different countries were mixed with local primary and secondary school students, totally forming 20 participating teams. During the competition, the contestants fully utilized their professional knowledge and innovative thinking to design and produce various bridge types such as arch bridges and truss bridges. On site, the interweaving of multiple languages such as English, Japanese, and German presented a vivid scene of cross-cultural communication. Among them, the representative team from Kyoto University in Japan won the championship with the highest load-bearing efficiency thanks to precise calculations and reasonable structural design.

Professor Zhang Wengang, Vice Dean of the School of Civil Engineering, announced the start of the handmade bridge competition

Associate Professor Tu Xi introduces the rules of the handmade bridge competition

Handmade Bridge Competition Site

Chinese and foreign students collaborate to produce bridge components

Bridge loading site

Group photo of the winning teams in the competition