Audrey Hepburn on the Spanish Steps enjoys a gelato under the charming gaze of Gregory Peck. This image from Roman Holiday has seduced billions of people around the world and is the starting point of the gelato and pastry project that allowed Tan Dongmei and Wu Zhongxuan of Jiangnan University to win the first edition of the Carpigiani Gelato Baking Competition. The two students won a cash prize and a gelato course in Italy at Carpigiani Gelato University, flights included. The project also won the Creativity Award.

Thirty-three two-person teams, not necessarily from the same school, participated in the preliminary qualifications. Twenty teams then moved on to the finals and were invited to present creative gelato and pastry projects that included the development of a product and marketing project.

In addition to the first prize, two groups were also awarded the Best Style Award:  Xiayidan Julaiti and Aerhasi Yeliboli of Shanghai Jiaotong University with the project "Soulmate," and Zou Yuke and Chen Shilin of Sichuan Agricultural University with the project "Tianfu Forest." The Creativity Award was also given to the "The Universe" project by Luo Honyan and Teng Jialu of Jiangnan University.

Of the 39 universities registered for the preliminary round, only 16 had access to the 4-day final. The universities, all with nutritional science and agriculture programs, came from eight different countries. From China: Jiangnan University, Southwest University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Sichuan Agricultural University, Agricultural University of Hebei Province, Hezhou University, China Agricultural University, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine. From Thailand: Kasetsart University and Prince of Songkla University. From Poland: Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences. From South Korea: Kangwon National University. From Cambodia: Royal University of Agriculture. From Russia: Moscow State University. From New Zealand: Massey University. And finally, from the United States: Chicago University.

The work of the students was judged by a highly qualified jury led by the president of the Gelato World Cup Committee Giancarlo Timballo. The other judges were: Shi Jianmeng, founder of China West Point Baking Education and Training, president of the Shanghai Modern Food Vocational Skills Training Center, vice president of the Shanghai Food Association; Keshavan Niranjan, professor of Food Bioprocessing at Reading University in the UK; Cheng Gang, head of research and development at Baked Flying Academy; Lu Chaolei, one of the first and most important Chinese gelato masters; Su Wei, general manager of the Shanghai Bakers Management Consulting Company; Wang Wei, professor at Jiangnan University in the department of Food College; Liu Jun, professor of gourmet pastry in China and executive bakery chef at the Huanglong Hotel in Hangzhou.

The event is part of the broader agreement called "Belt and Road University Alliance for Food Science and Education" that connects some of the most prestigious international universities dealing with food and technology, with the support of the Gelato and Culture Association, Association of high level schools in food research, Food research institutions in the province of Jiangsu, the Pastry Association in China, the Research and Development Center of the main Chinese universities in food research of Jiangnan University. Carpigiani is the sponsor of the project.