During this year's summer break, over 400 faculty members and students from the College of Informatics at Huazhong Agricultural University formed 51 teams aimed at serving grassroots communities nationwide. Applying their expertise in code and algorithms to address real-world needs, the teams worked on projects involving Red education, rural industries, intangible cultural heritage, and digital literacy.

Beginning their journey at historic revolutionary sites, the students grounded their mission in ideological education. Immersed in the revolutionary history and local heritage, they realized that technology is only truly valuable when it serves the people.

Equipped with this ideological foundation, students tackled agricultural challenges. In Lankao county, Henan province, a team designed standardized data ledgers and livestreamed to promote the "photovoltaic-sheep" farming model. In Shennongjia, Hubei province, another team developed a traceability system using QR codes to authenticate local herbs.

To preserve cultural heritage, students created digital archives and mini-programs for endangered tea-making techniques, folk music, and legend stories in Muyu town, Shennongjia, Hubei province, alongside interactive embroidery websites in Hong'an county, Hubei province. Finally, in rural classrooms across Ezhou, volunteers bridged the digital divide by introducing children to programming through interactive robotic dogs and financial literacy games.

Through these diverse initiatives, the students transformed abstract code into practical tools, effectively answering the call of the new era through hands-on service.

A team member experiences tea picking at a local plantation. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]

Li Weijun, head of the planting base, introduces the facility's operations to the team members. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]

A team member explains the internal structure of the robotic dog to local elementary school students. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]