'Super students' ride tide of AI innovation

Self-taught prodigy

Shaoqing has already built several technology-based tools for his school, participated in hackathons and innovation programs, and served as a technical teaching assistant at an AI camp.

In primary school, he tried an object-oriented programming language used to build software, but found it too abstract.

In seventh grade, a school course on game development introduced him to a more practical way of creating. A seven-day AI hackathon organized by Super Brain Studio in the summer of 2025 was a major turning point.

"That experience opened a door for me. For the first time, I realized that AI could help one person solve problems for many people. After returning home, I couldn't stop thinking about what I wanted to build next," said Shaoqing.

Inspired by the experience, he began teaching himself AI-related skills, focusing less on advanced coding than on learning enough to build functioning products.

Many of his ideas came from everyday observations. After noticing students often forgot homework assignments, Shaoqing developed a homework management system that expanded from a single class to an entire grade.

He later created Dipont Exchange, a platform for charity sales, secondhand uniform trading, and lost-and-found services. Another project, Dipont Vocabulary, used gaming mechanics such as rankings and team competitions to make learning English more engaging.

Building products also taught him lessons beyond coding. After launching each one, he spent weeks fixing bugs and responding to user feedback, realizing that continuous improvement could be as important as building the product.

The teenager has taken part in Tencent's Future Pioneer Program, the Mini Goose Innovation Camp, the Super Brain AI Incubator, and the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which he said had the greatest impact on him by demonstrating AI could solve real-world problems.

In July, Shaoqing served as a technical teaching assistant at the AI For Good camp organized by the Super Brain AI Incubator, helping younger participants navigate technical challenges.

His advice to students interested in AI is, "stay curious, stay passionate, and build things that can genuinely help other people".

During the summer vacation, he also developed Super Brain Studio, an AI learning platform now available on Apple's App Store, with a miniprogram awaiting approval. He hopes to build a public-benefit AI learning community where educators can share learning videos and users can learn together.

His mother said Shaoqing received no intensive academic training, adding his interest in technology grew out of daily experiences, especially his curiosity about games.

However, Liu believes exploration of projects should not come at the expense of basic learning. "Projects are an addition to education, not a replacement for learning. Children need to learn how to balance their interests, responsibilities and choices," she said.