A taste of the real world

His team designed a portable light made using thermoplastic urethane. The light can be charged in daylight and can last for up to 13 hours.

Zhang says his parents encouraged him to participate in the program, which has helped him boost his innovation and social skills, and teach him about earning money.

So far, Zhang and his team have opened an online shop on Taobao, China's biggest online shopping platform, and also sell their lights on the busy streets of Chengdu.

Ma Mengxi, another member of the team, says they have also set up a customer community and hold meetings to boost relation.

Prima Facie, a shoe design company from the Philippines, was founded by Grade 12 students from Saint Scholastica's College Manila Leadership Academy.

Bea Battung, 17, one of the founders of the company, says that through the manufacturing process of their shoes, they can help clean rivers as well as providing jobs for housewives.

That's because they use a unique material-water hyacinth-which can clog up the drainage system to produce their footwear. And housewives from around Manila were hired to collect and dry the water hyacinth.

Jose Isabel Rea, CEO of the company, says: "This experience has strengthened our sense of social responsibility, taken us out of our comfort zones and maximized our capabilities and potential."

The team won second prize in the competition.

The Cyclo team from South Korea uses coffee grounds to make small flowerpots using a 3D printer.

According to Cyclo, there are 800,000 tons of coffee grounds being discarded around the world every year, leading to huge economic and environmental losses.

So, to prevent the coffee grounds from being thrown away and polluting the environment, they designed these unique flowerpots.

The team won the FedEx Access Award and was praised for their awareness of global connectivity.