On August 16, the Grand Final of the 2025 Tsinghua International Case Analysis Competition of Public Policy on SDGs took place at Tsinghua University’s School of Public Policy and Management, bringing together 12 outstanding finalist teams from 75 universities across 7 countries.
We are proud to share that two teams from HKUST achieved remarkable success:
• Team Betelgeuse (ZHANG Yuge, SHAN Yutian, PENG Jiahui) won Second Prize with their case “The Blade of Disfigurement and The Purse of Profit: Multilayered Dilemmas and Exploratory Governance Initiatives in Hunan’s Betel Nut Regulation.” Their research sheds light on the complex intersections of public health, industry regulation, and governance innovation.
• Team ZeroX (ZHU Mingqi, CHEN Shumin, CHAN Tsz Ni, LIEW Jiayi) received Third Prize for their case “Paying for Household Waste in a Metropolis? The Failure of Hong Kong’s Municipal Solid Waste Charging Scheme.” Their analysis critically examined the challenges of implementing environmental policies in metropolitan contexts.
In addition, we are delighted to recognize that ZHANG Yuge, PENG Jiahui, and LIEW Jiayi were each awarded the Best Individual Performance Award, highlighting their outstanding personal contributions to case research and presentation.
This year’s competition attracted 90 teams and 288 participants worldwide, reflecting the growing commitment of young scholars to address urgent global challenges such as climate change, inequality, and sustainable urban governance.
Congratulations to both PPOL teams for their rigorous research, innovative thinking, and excellent performance on the global stage. We look forward to seeing their continued contributions to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.